﴿ فَإِن لَّمْ يَسْتَجِيبُوا۟ لَكَ فَٱعْلَمْ أَنَّمَا يَتَّبِعُونَ أَهْوَآءَهُمْ ۚ وَمَنْ أَضَلُّ مِمَّنِ ٱتَّبَعَ هَوَىٰهُ بِغَيْرِ هُدًۭى مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ ﴾

“And since they cannot respond to this thy challenge, know that they are following only their own likes and dislikes: and who could be more astray than he who follows [but] his own likes and dislikes without any guidance from God? Verily, God does not grace with His guidance peo­ple who are given to evildoing!”

The real criterion for the acceptance or rejection of the message of Truth is its assessment on the basis of its inherent worth. If the message itself establishes that it is inherently a greater Truth, then that is sufficient to warrant its acceptance. Only Truth can answer Truth. If a man denies a truth and is unable to produce any other superior truth in its place, it indicates that he is denying the Truth as a result of following the dictates of his base desires. Those who behave in this way, have gone astray and are the worst of people. Such people will be treated as transgressors by God.