Mahabba

The banners of the Messenger of God, the station bestowed upon His messengers, peace be…

The banners of the Messenger of God, the station bestowed upon His messengers, peace be upon them, in the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms, the Quran, and others, and the proofs of his prophethood from luminous evidences and clear signs.

The signs of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his messengers, in the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms, the Quran, and others, and the proofs of his prophethood from luminous evidences and clear indications. The signs of the Messenger of God in the Torah. Among his signs in the Torah. And among his signs in the Torah, from the saying of the prophet Habakkuk in the time of Daniel. And from the mention of Isaiah of him. And from the mention of David of him in the Psalms. And in another Psalm. And in another Psalm. And in another Psalm from his description. And in another place. And in Isaiah, the mention of the Messiah ¹ of the prophet in the Gospel. The mention of the Messiah of the prophet in the Gospel. And in the account of John about the Messiah. And in another account. And in another account. And in the Gospel of Matthew, the mention of Mecca and the Sacred House ² in the previous scriptures. The mention of Mecca and the Sacred House in the previous scriptures. And in another place from the book of Isaiah. And he said in mentioning the Muslim stone ³. And Isaiah said in mentioning Mecca. And in Isaiah also, from the mention of Mecca. And in another place of Isaiah, the mention of the way to Mecca in Isaiah. And the mention of the Sanctuary ⁴ in the book of Isaiah. The mention of the companions of the Prophet. And the mention of the day of Badr in Isaiah. The mention of the Messenger of God in the news of the Persians. The mention of the conduct of the kings of Yemen. The collapse of the kingdoms of the nations at his sending and his birth, peace be upon him. The collapse of the kingdoms of the nations at his sending and his birth, peace be upon him. Among the kingdoms that collapsed at his sending, peace be upon him, the kingdom of Persia. And among the kingdoms that collapsed at his sending and his birth, may God bless him, the kingdom of the people of Yemen. And among the kingdoms that collapsed at his sending, the kingdom of al-Hira. And among the kingdoms that collapsed at his sending, the kingdom of the house of Jafna in Syria. The inference of his prophethood from his name, peace be upon him. The elephant ⁵. His signs after his death, peace be upon him. And among his signs, peace be upon him, the Quran. And among his signs, peace be upon him, the Quran. A letter in Surah al-Hijr and similar to it in the Quran. A letter in al-Tur. A letter in al-Hadid. A letter in Surah Maryam. A letter in al-An'am. A letter in Bara'a. A letter in Surah Maryam. A letter in al-Saffat. A letter in Surah al-Fath. A letter in Surah al-Kahf. The signs of the Prophet, peace be upon him, from the reports of the Quran. The signs of the Prophet, peace be upon him, from the reports of the Quran. And another report from the Book. Another report from the Book. Another report from the Book. Another report from the Book. Another letter from the Book. Another letter from the Book. Another letter from the Book. Another letter from the Book. Another letter from the Book. Another letter from the Book. The informing of the Prophet, peace be upon him, of what will be from other than the Book. The informing of the Prophet, peace be upon him, of what will be from other than the Book. Another report. And in another chapter of Isaiah. Another report. Another report. Another report. Another report. Another report. Another report. Another report. Another report. Another report. Another report. And from his answered supplication.

al-Masīḥ : The Messiah, a title for Jesus in Islamic tradition, referring to him as a prophet and messenger.
al-Bayt al-Ḥarām : The Sacred House, referring to the Kaaba in Mecca, the holiest site in Islam.
al-Ḥajar al-Muslim : The Muslim stone, possibly referring to the Black Stone (al-Ḥajar al-Aswad) or a stone associated with Islam.
al-Ḥaram : The Sanctuary, referring to the sacred precinct around the Kaaba in Mecca.
al-Fīl : The Elephant, referring to the Year of the Elephant (ʿĀm al-Fīl), the year of the Prophet Muhammad's birth, marked by the Abyssinian attack on Mecca with elephants.

The signs of the Messenger of God, the station conferred upon His messengers, peace be…

The signs of the Messenger of God, the station conferred upon His messengers, peace be upon them, in the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms, the Quran, and elsewhere, and the proofs of his prophethood from luminous evidences and clear indications.

Source: https://shamela.ws/book/847 Date of extraction: 2026-06-17

The Introduction

The Signs of God's Messenger Conferred upon His Messengers, Peace Be Upon Them, in the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms, the Qur'an, and Others, and the Proofs of His Prophethood from Luminous Evidences and Clear Indications. Authored by Abu Muhammad 'Abd Allah ibn Muslim ibn Qutaybah al-Dinawari—may God's mercy and pleasure be upon him. Narrated by Abu al-Hasan Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahid ibn Muhammad ibn Ja'far, known as Ibn al-Mu'addal al-Hariri, from al-Ajuri, from Ibn Bukayr al-Tamimi, from the author. [And] narrated by the Shaykh Abu al-Hasan al-Mubarak ibn 'Abd al-Jabbar ibn Ahmad ibn al-Qasim al-Sayrafi—may God support him with His secret—... By his hearing ... from Hamd ibn 'Ali ibn Abi ... al-Habbal ... Hearing: by Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn 'Abd al-Baqi ibn al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Tawq—may God benefit him thereby—narrated by the Shaykh Abu Yasir Ahmad ibn Bundar ibn Ibrahim ibn Bundar, from Abu al-Hasan 'Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Qushaysh, from al-Ajuri. Hearing: the venerable, learned Shaykh Abu al-Karam al-Mubarak ibn al-Hasan ibn Ahmad al-Shahrazuri—may God benefit him thereby. He heard this entire book from the most eminent, learned, unique master, Sayyid Abu al-Karam al-Mubarak ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Shahrazuri, and his hearing therein is from the Shaykh Abu Yasir, brother of Thabit, with his aforementioned chain to Abu ... , the chief, most eminent Abu Mansur Mas'ud ibn 'Abd al-Wahid ibn Muhammad ibn al-Husayn ibn al-Muqayyir, Ibrahim al-Khabbaz, and Abu Mansur Muhammad ibn Mas'ud ibn Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Khayyat, and Abu Bakr Muhammad ... , and Abu Zakariyya Yahya ibn Mu'alli ibn Sadaqah ibn 'Umruni al-'Aquli, and Ibrahim ... , and Tamim ibn Sulayman ibn Mu'alli al-'Abbadi, and Abu al-Ma'ali Nasr Allah ibn Salamah ibn Salim al-Hiti, ... . This was by the reading of Ahmad ibn Salih ibn Shafi' ibn Salih ... al-Jili, and he heard ... , and he heard from the first notification to ... . Shaykh Abu Yasir Ahmad ibn Bundar ibn Ibrahim ibn Bundar informed us, by reading to him in the house of ... , while I was present listening to him, he said: Abu al-Hasan 'Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Qushaysh informed us, in the month of Rabi' al-Akhir of the year four hundred and thirty-five [AH]. He heard it all and some of it successively, and he heard the first and third sessions ... The third session: the Shaykh Abu 'Abd Allah al-Khayr Muhammad al-Nabhani, and Abu Mansur Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya, and Abu Salih al-Mubarak 'Ali ibn Ahmad ... . In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Shaykh Abu al-Husayn al-Mubarak ibn 'Abd al-Jabbar ibn Ahmad ibn al-Qasim al-Sayrafi informed us, by reading to him and he acknowledged it, he said: Abu al-Hasan Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahid ibn Muhammad ibn Ja'far, known as Ibn al-Mu'addal al-Hariri, informed us, by reading to him and he acknowledged it in the Mosque of al-Mansur, he said: Abu Hafs 'Umar ibn Ahmad ibn Harun al-Muqri' al-Ajuri informed us, by reading to him in the Sanctuary [of Mecca] in the year three hundred and seventy-nine [AH], he said: Abu al-Qasim 'Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Bukayr al-Tamimi informed us, he said: Abu Muhammad 'Abd Allah ibn Muslim ibn Qutaybah al-Dinawari—may God have mercy upon him—said to us: Praise be to God, the Creator of creation, the Apportioner of provision, the One who tests with blessings and grants success for gratitude, who has settled in our hearts knowledge of Him, filled them with fear of Him, established them with remembrance of Him and hope for His promise, and guided us to His manifest light and straight path, and turned us away from the ways of the treacherous. And I ask Him—first and last—to bless Muhammad, the master of the messengers and the seal of the prophets, and all His perfect prophets, and to make our hearts firm upon what He has guided us to of knowledge of Him and sincerity in His oneness, and to seal for us with what He sealed for the seeking-forgiveness believers. To proceed: You wrote complaining about the spread in your region of these doubts and the corruption of hearts by a group of heretics ¹ who have attacked the Book and the Messenger, and have inclined to some weak Muslims, their dividers ², and their youths, with deception and obfuscation, until they have influenced hearts and cast doubt into insights. You ask me to write a book in which I clarify the brilliant signs of God's Messenger and his clear proofs from the earlier scriptures found in the hands of the People of the Book and from the Qur'an, and that I refrain from what has come in hadith regarding that: such as 'the complaint of the camel' ³, 'the speech of the wolf' ⁴, 'the walking of the tree' ⁵, 'the gushing of water from between his fingers' ⁶, and similar things, since most of these hadiths have no reliable transmitters. Moreover, the Successors ⁷ also oppose them with denial and claim they are fabricated, and that if they were authentic, they would have been mentioned in the Qur'an just as the signs of Moses were mentioned in the Torah and the Criterion ⁸, and the signs of the Messiah in the Gospel and the Qur'an. They said: The polytheists asked him to ascend into the sky and bring them a book, to cause the earth to gush forth a spring for them, and to drop the sky upon them in pieces, but he had nothing but the Qur'an and was incapable of that, and he said: {Say, 'Exalted is my Lord! Was I ever anything but a human messenger?'} [Qur'an 17:93]. And they said: God says: {And nothing prevented Us from sending signs except that the former peoples denied them} [Qur'an 17:59]. In this is evidence that no sign like those of the messengers before him came to him. And I see that you complain about what has spread in your region—what is widespread in every region and apparent in every town. The Messenger of God—peace be upon him—said: 'Indeed, Islam began as a stranger and will return as a stranger, so blessed are the strangers.' May God make us and you among them, and gather us in their company, and not strip us of the faith in Him and belief in His messengers that He has deposited in us, for our forelocks are in His grasp, and our hearts are in His hand; He turns them as He wills. God—mighty and majestic—said, relating from His Friend [Abraham], peace be upon him: {And keep me and my sons away from worshipping idols} [Qur'an 14:35]. And He related from those firmly rooted in knowledge: {Our Lord, do not let our hearts deviate after You have guided us and grant us from Yourself mercy. Indeed, You are the Bestower} [Qur'an 3:8]. And He said: {And know that God intervenes between a man and his heart and that to Him you will be gathered} [Qur'an 8:24]. And the Messenger of God—peace be upon him—said in his supplication: 'O Turner of hearts, make my heart firm upon Your religion.' If the chosen ones of God among His creation are fearful for their hearts and not secure from their deviation, how can those deserving punishment among the sinners be secure?

mulḥidūn : Heretics; those who deviate from orthodox Islamic beliefs, often denying prophethood or divine revelation.
qussāmuhum : Dividers; possibly referring to those who cause division among Muslims or interpret scripture in a divisive manner.
shakwā al-baʿīr : The complaint of the camel; a hadith where a camel complained to the Prophet about its owner's mistreatment.
kalām al-dhiʾb : The speech of the wolf; a hadith where a wolf spoke to a shepherd, testifying to the Prophet's mission.
mashy al-shajara : The walking of the tree; a hadith where a tree moved at the Prophet's command.
tafajjur al-māʾ min bayn aṣābiʿihi : The gushing of water from between his fingers; a miracle where water flowed from the Prophet's fingers.
al-tābiʿūn : Successors; the generation after the Companions of the Prophet.
al-furqān : The Criterion; a name for the Qur'an, meaning that which distinguishes truth from falsehood.

The signs of the Messenger of God in the Torah [1]

I thank you, may God have mercy on you, for what you have undertaken, hoping thereby for God's reward and His abundant recompense. I have seen that I should seek what you asked, even though you have narrowed a spacious path and restricted what was wide, stipulating that I mention the reports ¹ in a manner befitting their mention, so that the book may conform to the genre you intended, especially since the burden is upon us and the delight is yours, the toil is ours and the benefit is yours. I will say concerning that what is permissible, and mention such reports as have witness from the scriptures and consensus ², to the extent of my knowledge and ability, hoping that God may thereby confirm the truthful, return the deviant to the truth, increase the believer in insight, and record for us what we intended in that. There is no power nor strength except with God. I begin by mentioning the signs ³ of our Prophet found in the earlier scriptures of God, for they are our proof against the People of the Book ⁴ from their own scriptures, and against the atheists, since it is impossible in their view that Moses should have reported about Jesus, and Jesus about Muhammad. If it is established that this was, it could only have been from the Knower of the Unseen, and they wrote it and then suppressed it. [Signs of the Messenger of God in the Torah] Among that is the saying of God Almighty in the first book of Abraham: "I have answered your prayer concerning Ishmael, and I have blessed him and multiplied him and greatly magnified him exceedingly; and he will beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation." Then Moses reported similarly in this book, adding something: "When Hagar fled from Sarah, the angel of God appeared to her and said: O Hagar, servant of Sarah, return to your mistress and submit to her, for I will greatly multiply your descendants and your seed, so that they cannot be counted for multitude. Behold, you are with child and shall bear a son, and you shall call him Ishmael, because God has heard your affliction. And his hand shall be over all, and the hand of all shall be stretched out to him in submission." Reflect on this saying, for in it is a clear proof that what is meant is the Messenger of God, peace be upon him. For Ishmael's hand was not over Isaac's hand, nor was Isaac's hand stretched out to him in submission. How could that be, when prophethood and kingship were among the Children of Israel and Esau, both sons of Isaac? But when the Messenger of God was sent, prophethood passed to the children of Ishmael, so kings submitted to him and nations humbled themselves before him. God abrogated every law through him, sealed the prophets with him, and placed the caliphate and kingship in his household until the end of time. Thus their hands became over the hands of all, and the hands of all are stretched out to them in submission and desire. [And among his signs in the Torah] He said: "God came from Sinai, and dawned from Seir, and shone forth from the mountains of Paran." There is no obscurity in this for one who reflects, nor ambiguity. For the coming of God from Sinai and His sending down the Torah upon Moses at Mount Sinai is thus with the People of the Book and with us, and so it must be. His dawning from Seir is His sending down the Gospel upon the Messiah, and the Messiah dwelt in Seir, the land of Hebron, in a village called Nazareth, after which his followers were called Nazarenes. And just as His dawning from Seir was necessary, so too must His shining forth from the mountains of Paran be, by His sending down the Qur'an upon Muhammad from the mountains of Paran, which are the mountains of Mecca. There is no disagreement between Muslims and the People of the Book that Paran is Mecca. If they claim it is other than Mecca—and there is no avoiding their distortion and falsehood—we say: Is it not in the Torah that Abraham settled Hagar and Ishmael in Paran? And we say: Point us to the place from which God shone forth, whose name is Paran, and the prophet to whom a book was sent down after the Messiah. Or is not "shining forth" and "being manifest" the same? That is, what appeared and became evident. Do you know any religion that appeared as Islam appeared, and spread in the east and west of the earth as it spread? [And among his signs in the Torah] God Almighty said in the Torah to Moses in the fifth book: "I will raise up for the Children of Israel a prophet from among their brethren, like you, and I will put My words in his mouth." Who are the brethren of the Children of Israel but the children of Ishmael? Just as we say: Bakr and Taghlib, sons of Wa'il, then we say: Taghlib are brethren, and the children of Taghlib are brethren of the children of Bakr, referring to the brotherhood of the first ones. If they say: This prophet whom God promised Moses to send to them is also from the Children of Israel, because the Children of Israel are brethren of the Children of Israel—then they have belied the Torah and belied reason. For in the Torah: "There has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses." As for reason: If He meant "I will raise up for them a prophet from among the Children of Israel like Moses," He would have said: "I will raise up for them from among themselves like Moses," and He would not have said "from among their brethren." Just as if a man said to a messenger: "Bring me a man from among the brethren of the children of Bakr ibn Wa'il," he would have to bring a man from the children of Taghlib ibn Wa'il, and he would not have to bring a man from the children of Bakr. [From the saying of the prophet Habakkuk in the time of Daniel] Habakkuk said: "God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. And the earth was filled with the praise of Ahmad ⁵ and His sanctification, and He possessed the earth with His right hand and the necks of the nations." He also said: "The earth shines with His light, and His horses carry Him upon the sea." And some of the People of the Book added to me that it is said in the speech of Habakkuk: "And He will shoot forth in your bows abundantly, and the arrows will be saturated with your command, O Muhammad, saturation." This is an explicit mention of his name and attributes. If they claim it is other than our Prophet—and that is not surprising given their denial and distortion—then who is Ahmad whose praise filled the earth, and who came from the mountains of Paran, and possessed the earth and the necks of the nations? [From Isaiah's mention of him] Isaiah said concerning God: "My servant in whom My soul delights." Another translator rendered it: "My chosen servant, the delight of My soul, I will pour out My spirit upon him." Another translator rendered it: "Revelation is sent down upon him, and he will manifest My justice among the nations, and he will command the nations with the commandments. He will not laugh, nor will his voice be heard in the markets. He will open blind eyes, unstop deaf ears, and revive hardened hearts. What I give him I give to no other. Ahmad praises God with a new praise. He comes from the ends of the earth, making the wilderness and its inhabitants rejoice, and they will praise God on every hill and magnify Him on every mountain." Another added in the translation: "He will not weaken, nor be overcome, nor incline to frivolity. His voice will not be heard in the markets. He will not humble the righteous who are like a weak reed; he is a support for the humble. He is the light of God that will not be extinguished, nor will he dispute until My proof is established in the earth and the excuse is cut off. To his Torah ⁶ the jinn ⁷ will submit." This is an explicit mention of his name and attributes. If they say: What Torah does he have? We say: He meant that he will bring a book that will take the place of the Torah for you. Similar to this is the report of Kahmas, from 'Abdullah ibn Shaqiq al-'Uqayli, from Ka'b ⁸, who said: "Jerusalem complained to God of its ruin, and it was said to it: I will surely replace you with a new Torah and new workers, who will hasten to you at night like the flight of eagles, and will lament over you as the dove moans over its eggs, and they will fill you with cheeks prostrate for Me."

akhbār : Reports or traditions, often referring to hadith or historical accounts.
ijmāʿ : Consensus of scholars, a source of Islamic law.
aʿlām : Signs or marks, here referring to prophecies or proofs of prophethood.
ahl al-kitāb : People of the Book, i.e., Jews and Christians.
Aḥmad : Another name of Prophet Muhammad, meaning 'most praiseworthy'.
Tawrāt : Torah, the scripture revealed to Moses.
jinn : Spiritual beings created from fire, often mentioned in Islamic texts.
Kaʿb : Ka'b al-Ahbar, a Jewish convert to Islam known for transmitting Isra'iliyyat (traditions from Jewish sources).

And among those whom David mentioned in the Psalms [1].

And among the mention of Isaiah concerning him ¹: He said: "I am God, I have magnified you with truth, supported you, and made you a light for the nations, and a covenant for the peoples, to open the eyes of the blind, and to rescue the captives from darkness to light." And he said in the fifth chapter: "Elijah; the sign of his authority is on his shoulder," meaning: the mark of his prophethood is on his shoulder—this is in the Syriac interpretation, but in Hebrew it says: "Indeed, on his shoulder is the mark of prophethood." [And among the mention of David concerning him in the Psalms] "And in the Psalms: Praise the Lord with a new song, praise Him whose temple is the righteous, let Israel rejoice in its Creator, and the houses of Zion because God has chosen for Himself His nation, and given it victory, and honored the righteous among them with dignity, they praise Him on their beds, and magnify God with raised voices, In their hands are double-edged swords; to take vengeance for God on the nations who do not worship Him, they bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters." So which nation has double-edged swords other than the Arabs? And who is the avenger here against the nations who do not worship Him? And which prophet was sent with the sword other than our Prophet? [And in another Psalm] "Gird yourself, O mighty one, with the sword, and indeed a law and a secret are with you, you recite it for His awe to incline, and your arrows are sharpened, and the nations fall beneath you." So which prophet girded himself with the sword other than our Prophet? And beneath whom did the nations fall other than him? And whose laws were coupled with awe? Either acceptance, or the jizya ², or the sword, similar to his saying: "I have been supported by terror." [And in another Psalm] "Indeed, God has displayed from Zion a praiseworthy crown," using the crown as a metaphor for leadership and imamate ³, and "praiseworthy" is Muhammad—peace be upon him. [And in another Psalm describing him] "That he will pass from sea to sea, and from the rivers to the ends of the earth, and that the people of the islands will fall on their knees before him, and his enemies will lick the dust, kings will come to him with offerings and prostrate to him, and kings will submit to him in obedience and compliance, because he saves the oppressed and wretched from those stronger than him, and rescues the weak who have no helper, and he is compassionate to the weak and poor, and he will give gold from the land of Sheba, and prayers will be said for him at all times, and blessings will be invoked upon him every day, and his remembrance will endure forever." So who is this who ruled between sea and sea, and between the Tigris and Euphrates to the ends of the earth? And which prophet is prayed for and blessed at all times other than our Prophet? [And in another place] "David said: O God, send the one who makes the year ⁴ so that people may know that he is human." And this is an announcement about the Messiah and about Muhammad—peace be upon them both—ages before them, meaning: send Muhammad so that he may teach people that the Messiah is human, because David knew that some people would claim for the Messiah what they claimed. [And in Isaiah] "It was said to me: Arise, watchman, and see, and you will see what you will announce. I said: I see two riders approaching, one on a donkey and the other on a camel, one says to the other: Babylon has fallen, and its carved idols."

شعيا : Isaiah, the prophet in the Old Testament.
الجزية : Jizya, a tax levied on non-Muslims in Islamic states.
الإمامة : Imamate, leadership in Islamic community, often referring to the caliphate or spiritual leadership.
جاعل السنة : Literally 'maker of the year', interpreted as a reference to a prophet who will clarify the calendar or religious law.

The mention of the Messiah by the Prophet in the Gospel [1]

And the owner of the donkey, according to us and the Christians, is the Messiah. If the owner of the donkey is the Messiah, then why should Muhammad not be the owner of the camel? Was not the fall of Babylon and the idols carved from wood ¹ through him and at his hands, not through the Messiah? And have there not been kings in the region of Babylon worshipping idols since the time of Abraham, peace be upon him? Is he not more famous for riding the camel than the Messiah is for riding the donkey? [The Messiah's mention of the Prophet in the Gospel] The Messiah said to the disciples: "I am going, and the Paraclete ² will come to you, the Spirit of truth, who does not speak on his own, but only what he is told. He will bear witness to me, and you also bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. And everything that God has prepared for you, he will tell you." [In John's account of the Messiah] He said: "The Paraclete will not come to you unless I go. When he comes, he will convict the world of sin. He will not speak on his own, but whatever he hears he will speak to you and guide you into all truth, and he will tell you of events and unseen things." [In another account] "The Paraclete, the Spirit of truth, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things. And I will ask the Father to send you another Paraclete, who will be with you forever, and he will teach you all things." [In another account] "The Son of Man is going, and the Paraclete after him will gather for you the secrets and explain everything to you. He will bear witness to me as I have borne witness to him, for I bring you parables, and he brings you the interpretation." These things, despite their differences, are similar. They differ only because the disciples who transmitted the Gospel from the Messiah were several. The Paraclete, in their language, is a word derived from praise: either Ahmad, or Mahmud, or Muhammad, or something similar. In the Abyssinian or Roman Gospel, it is "Ben Na'atis" ³. Who is this Spirit of truth who does not speak except by revelation? Who is the successor to the Messiah, bearing witness that he has delivered the message? Who informed of events in times to come, such as the emergence of the Dajjal ⁴, the appearance of the Beast ⁵, the rising of the sun from its west, and similar things? And of the unseen matters concerning the Resurrection, the Reckoning, Paradise, and Hell, and similar things that are not mentioned in the Torah, the Gospel, and the Psalms—other than our Prophet Muhammad? [In the Gospel of Matthew] "When John son of Zechariah was imprisoned to be killed, he sent his disciples to the Messiah, saying: 'Tell him: Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect another?' The Messiah answered them: 'Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John son of Zechariah. And the Torah and the books of the prophets follow one another in prophecy and revelation until John came. But now, if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.'"

al-munajjarah : Carved or sculpted idols, specifically those made of wood or stone.
al-Bāraqlīṭ : Paraclete; from Greek 'Parakletos', meaning advocate or comforter. In Islamic tradition, this is interpreted as a prophecy of Muhammad.
Ben Na'atis : A term found in some versions of the Gospel, interpreted by Muslims as referring to Muhammad.
al-Dajjāl : The Antichrist in Islamic eschatology, a false messiah who will appear before the Day of Judgment.
al-Dābbah : The Beast; a creature that will emerge from the earth as a sign of the Hour in Islamic eschatology.

The mention of Mecca and the Sacred House [1] in the previous scriptures [2].

This name ¹ is not free from one of three possibilities: either he said, "Ahmad is about to come," and they changed the name, as Allah Almighty said: {They distort words from their [proper] places} [4:46], and they made it Eliyahu ²; or he said, "El ³ is about to come," and El is Allah Almighty, and the coming of Allah is the coming of His Messenger with His Book, as it is said in the Torah: "Allah came from Sinai," meaning Moses came from Sinai with the Book of Allah, and no book came after the Messiah except the Qur'an; or he meant the prophet named by this name, and this is not permissible according to them because they are unanimous that there is no prophet after the Messiah. [The mention of Mecca and the Sacred House in previous scriptures] In the book of Isaiah: "The desert and the cities will be filled with palaces of Qedar ⁴; they will glorify, and from the mountaintops they will call out; they are those who give glory to Allah and spread His praise on land and sea." And he said: "Raise a banner for all nations from afar, and whistle to them from the ends of the earth; behold, they come swiftly." The sons of Qedar are the Arabs, because Qedar is the son of Ishmael by consensus of the people, and the banner that is raised is prophethood, and the whistling to them is their call from the ends of the earth for pilgrimage; behold, they come swiftly. This is the saying of Allah Almighty: {And proclaim to the people the Hajj; they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel, coming from every deep mountain pass} [22:27]. [In another place in the book of Isaiah] "I will send a people from the east ⁵, and they will come from the east responding with the talbiyah ⁶ in multitudes, numerous as the dust, and like the potter who treads clay with his foot." The east comes from the rising of the sun; Allah will send from there a people from Khurasan ⁷ and its surroundings, and those who dwell in the direction of the east wind; they will come responding with the talbiyah in multitudes, numerous as dust, and like the potter who treads clay with his feet, meaning that among them are foot-weary travelers, and it may also mean the hastening ⁸ when they circumambulate the House. [And he said concerning the mention of the Black Stone ⁹] Isaiah said: "The Lord God said: Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion ¹⁰, which is the House of Allah, a stone that I will make beautiful in a precious corner; whoever believes should not be hasty, and I will make justice like the plumb line and truth like the balance, and those who fall into falsehood will perish." The stone, as Allah Almighty mentioned, is in the corner of the House, and the honor is to kiss and touch it. [And Isaiah said concerning the mention of Mecca] "Be glad and rejoice, O barren one who has not given birth; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor; for the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who has a husband," meaning by "her who has a husband" the people of Jerusalem ¹¹ from the Children of Israel, and he meant that the people of Mecca will be more numerous due to those who come to them as pilgrims and residents than the people of Jerusalem. So he likened Mecca to a barren woman who has not given birth, because before the Prophet there was only Ishmael alone there, and no book was revealed there, and it is not permissible that he meant by "barren" Jerusalem, because it is the house of prophets and the descent of revelation, so it cannot be likened to a barren woman. Also in Isaiah concerning the mention of Mecca: "I have sworn by Myself; as in the days of Noah, that I will never again flood the earth with a deluge, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you nor forsake you; and though the mountains depart and the hills be removed, My kindness shall not depart from you." Then he said: "O afflicted one, tossed with tempest, behold, I will set your stones in fair colors, and lay your foundations with sapphires; I will make your pinnacles of rubies, your gates of crystal, and all your walls of precious stones. You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you. No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn." Then he said: "And Allah will call you by a new name," meaning it was named the Sacred Mosque ¹², whereas before it was called the Kaaba ¹³: "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of Allah has risen upon you. Lift up your eyes all around, and see: they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on the hip. Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. All the flocks of Qedar shall be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth ¹⁴ shall minister to you." Nebaioth is the son of Ishmael, and Qedar is the father of the Prophet, and he is the brother of Nebaioth. Then he said: "Your gates shall be open continually; day and night they shall not be shut, and they shall make you a qiblah ¹⁵, and you shall be called the City of Eliya ¹⁶," meaning the House of Allah Almighty. [In another place in Isaiah] "Lift up your eyes all around and see; they all gather together, they come to you. Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praises of Allah. All the flocks of Qedar shall be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you," meaning the custodians of the House, that they are from the descendants of Nebaioth son of Ishmael. [The mention of the way to Mecca in Isaiah] And in Isaiah, from Allah: "I will give glory to the desert, and to it the Carmel ¹⁷," ... and Carmel and Lebanon ¹⁸ are Syria and Jerusalem, meaning: I will give the glory that was there through revelation and the appearance of prophets to the desert through the pilgrimage and through the Prophet - peace be upon him. Then he said: "And waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; and there shall be a highway, and the way of the sacred ¹⁹ shall not be passed by the unclean nations, and ignorance shall not reach there, nor shall there be lions or beasts; and there shall be a path for the redeemed." And in the book of Ezekiel, he mentioned the sins of the Children of Israel and likened them to a vine that he nourished, saying: "That vine was plucked up in fury, cast down to the ground, and its fruit was burned by heaven; then a throne was planted in the desert, in the thirsty and desolate land, and from its excellent branches a fire came out and devoured its fruit, so that no strong rod or scepter was found in it."

Ahmad : One of the names of the Prophet Muhammad, mentioned in the Qur'an (61:6) as prophesied by Jesus.
Eliyahu : Hebrew form of Elijah; the text suggests a distortion of 'Ahmad' into 'Eliyahu'.
El : A Semitic word for God, used in Hebrew and Arabic; here referring to Allah.
Qedar : A son of Ishmael (Genesis 25:13), considered the ancestor of the Arabs.
east (al-Ṣabā) : The east wind; here interpreted as the direction of Khurasan, from which helpers of Islam would come.
talbiyah : The chant 'Labbayk Allahumma labbayk' recited by pilgrims during Hajj.
Khurasan : A historical region in Central Asia, often associated with the coming of supporters of Islam.
hastening (al-harwalah) : A brisk pace or jogging performed during certain parts of the Hajj rituals.
Black Stone (al-Ḥajar al-Aswad) : The sacred stone set into the eastern corner of the Kaaba, kissed or touched by pilgrims.
Zion : A hill in Jerusalem; here interpreted as the site of the Kaaba in Mecca.
Jerusalem (Bayt al-Maqdis) : The Holy House in Jerusalem, referring to the Temple or the city itself.
Sacred Mosque (al-Masjid al-Ḥarām) : The mosque surrounding the Kaaba in Mecca.
Kaaba : The cube-shaped building in Mecca, the holiest site in Islam.
Nebaioth : The firstborn son of Ishmael (Genesis 25:13), considered an ancestor of the Arabs.
qiblah : The direction of prayer for Muslims, facing the Kaaba in Mecca.
City of Eliya : Interpreted as 'City of Allah' (Eliya from El + Yah), referring to Mecca.
Carmel (al-Karmal) : A mountain range in Israel; here interpreted as a symbol of fertility and glory.
Lebanon (Lubnān) : A region in the Levant; here associated with Syria and Jerusalem.
sacred (al-Ḥarām) : The sacred territory of Mecca, where certain restrictions apply.

The mention of the Companions of the Prophet and the mention of the Day of Badr in Isaiah…

The mention of the Companions of the Prophet and the mention of the Day of Badr in Isaiah [1].

He mentioned the Sanctuary in the book of Isaiah, saying: "The wolf and the lamb shall graze together therein, and likewise all beasts of prey shall not harm nor corrupt in any of My holy mountain; then you shall see that when the wild beasts leave the Sanctuary, they return to fear and flee from the predators, and the beast of prey is in pursuit and eager for hunting, as it was before entering the Sanctuary." He mentioned the Companions of the Prophet and the day of Badr in Isaiah. He said: Isaiah, mentioning the story of the Arabs and the day of Badr: "They shall trample the nations as the threshing sledge tramples the grain pile," and calamity shall descend upon the polytheists of the Arabs and they shall be defeated. Then he said: "They shall be routed before drawn swords and bent bows, due to the intensity of the battle." This is what is found in the earlier books of God that remain in the hands of the People of the Book, concerning the mention of our Prophet, his attributes, and his signs. The People of the Book recite it and do not deny its apparent meaning, except for the name of our Prophet, for they do not allow themselves to acknowledge it explicitly. But that will not avail them, because the name of the Prophet is Mushaffah, and Mushaffah is undoubtedly Muhammad. The proof is that they say "Shafha" for "praise" when they intend to say "Praise be to God." So if "praise" is "Shafha," then "Mushaffah" is Muhammad. And because the attributes they acknowledge are in agreement with his circumstances, his time, his place of emergence, his mission, and his law. So let them point out to us anyone who possesses these attributes, before whom nations have fallen and submitted to his obedience, responded to his call, and who is the owner of the camel by which Babylon and its idols perished. And where is this nation from the descendants of Qedar son of Ishmael, those who call out from the mountaintops with the talbiyah and the adhan, those who have honored him and spread his glorification on land and sea? Far be it that they find this except in Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his nation. Even if I had not brought these reports and stories from their books, would not that which God has entrusted to reason suffice as a proof and evidence of what He has placed in them of His mention? And their abandonment, denial, and rejection of that, while he confronts them with it, is evidence of their acknowledgment of him. For God Almighty says: "Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered prophet, whom they find written in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel, who enjoins upon them what is right and forbids them what is wrong" [Quran 7:157]. And He says concerning the Messiah: "Indeed, I am the messenger of God to you, confirming what came before me of the Torah and bringing good tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name is Ahmad" [Quran 61:6]. And He says: "O People of the Book, why do you disbelieve in the verses of God while you witness [them]? O People of the Book, why do you confuse the truth with falsehood and conceal the truth while you know?" [Quran 3:70-71]. And He said: "Those to whom We have given the Book recognize him as they recognize their own sons" [Quran 6:20]. And He said: "Say, 'Sufficient is God as witness between me and you, and whoever has knowledge of the Book'" [Quran 13:43]. The Messenger of God used to call them to follow him and believe in him. So how could it be permissible for him to argue against them with false arguments, then refer to what is in their possession, and say, "One of the signs of my prophethood and truthfulness is that you find me written with you," while they do not find him as mentioned? Would that not increase their aversion to him? Or would it not increase their blindness and distance from him? He was in no need to call them with what would repel them, nor to attract them with what would alienate them. Why then did some of their scholars, such as Abdullah ibn Salam, Tamim al-Dari, and Ka'b, embrace Islam, having encountered such claims that were not valid in their view, especially since he used them as proof against Quraysh and recited to them: "And has it not been a sign to them that the learned of the Children of Israel know it?" [Quran 26:197]. In the hadith, the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) called the Jews and said: "How is Abdullah ibn Salam among you?" They said: "He is our scholar and the son of our scholar, our master and the son of our master." He said: "What do you think if he becomes Muslim, will you become Muslim?" They said: "Yes." Then Abdullah ibn Salam came out to them and testified to the truth and argued for it. When they heard that, they said: "The old man has become senile." It is said that he is the one meant by God's saying: "And whoever has knowledge of the Book" [Quran 13:43]. Our argument against those who deny the messengers based on what is in God's books is not because we see them believing in them, for whoever does not believe in the messenger who conveys the Book does not believe in the Book. Rather, we see that the argument is binding upon them through the reports of Moses about Jesus, and the reports of Jesus about Muhammad, and he is the one reporting and the one reported about over many centuries and ages. This is only permissible for those who believe in the messengers, because they report from God about that. If they claim that the books in the hands of the People of the Book are fabricated, made by their leaders to lead the people to their own authority and to demand obedience from the common people, and that what is in them of the mention of one prophet by another is rare, and that there is no Abraham, David, Moses, or Jesus, then they have departed from every innate disposition and invalidated all knowledge except what is perceived by the eyes. Sufficient is that as ignorance and confusion! If the argument could only be established by the opponent's admission or silence, then nothing would ever be established except what is sensory, because speech is vast and the tongue is moist. I have seen people who do not fall silent even when the truth silences them, and do not stop even when the argument cuts them off. Often, silence is more eloquent than speech, and stopping is better than speaking. All you need from speech is to bring your opponent out of what people know and what they are naturally disposed to. When you reach this point, stop and do not add more, for adding to what cannot be added to is to expose oneself to error after correctness, and to equal the opponents in the evil of abuse and bad manners after victory. It is not permissible to lie about the reports coming from Moses and Jesus and their signs, because they are reports transmitted from generation to generation among different nations and religions. If it were possible for such reports to be false, then it would be possible for them to say the same about our Prophet, and about those who came after him, and for someone born in the time of al-Mu'tasim to doubt al-Mansur, and for someone who witnessed the caliphate of the Abbasids to doubt the caliphate of the Umayyads. This and similar matters that preceded us make the listener feel estranged due to the long passage of time, and there is no difference between them and the earlier nations, because they are all reports transmitted from generation to generation, except that the number of generations is small in one and large in another. As for their saying that what is in the books concerning the mention of a previous prophet about a later one is an addition, who are the ones who added? The People of the Book are the ones who added, and this is impossible because the Jews are enemies of the Christians and deny the prophethood of the Messiah, and the Christians are enemies of the Muslims and deny the prophethood of Muhammad. So how could they add to their books the mention of prophets they deny? They would be more likely to delete the mention and some of the praise and commendation, if they could find a way to do so. Or the Muslims—and this is even more impossible—because if the Muslims wanted to add to their books, they would only add to argue against them. So how could they secretly add without their knowledge? If they say that the prophets were practitioners of sorcery and trickery, then the attribution is invalid by its very name. Have they ever heard of sorcery involving knowledge of the unseen, splitting the sea for six hundred thousand people so they crossed, and closing it over more than that so they drowned, or reviving the dead, or creating birds from clay? Is it possible for a trickster to bring birds from the sea, flying in flocks with stones of baked clay, to destroy a nation and support another? How could a newborn at that time have done such a thing? Or how? The matter of the Elephant is recent, witnessed by many people who lived in the time of the Messenger of God, so it is like direct observation for us. In the year of the Elephant, he was born—may my father and mother be sacrificed for him—and we will mention it later, God willing. Traditions that agree with what is in the earlier books concerning the mention of the Prophet, his description, and the description of his nation: Ibn Qutayba said: Muhammad ibn Ubayd narrated to us, Yazid ibn Harun narrated to us, Abd al-Aziz ibn Abi Salama informed us, from Hilal ibn Abi Hilal, from Ata ibn Yasar, from Abdullah ibn Salam or Abdullah ibn Amr, who said: "I find in the Torah: 'O Prophet, indeed We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of good tidings, and a warner, and a refuge for the unlettered. You are My servant and My messenger; I have named you al-Mutawakkil. You are not harsh, nor coarse, nor clamorous in the markets, nor do you repay evil with evil, but you pardon and forgive. I will not take you until I have straightened through you the crooked religion, and through you I give life to blind eyes, deaf ears, and sealed hearts, so that they say: 'There is no god but God.''' And Muhammad ibn Ubayd narrated to me, Muawiya ibn Amr informed us, from Abu Ishaq, from al-Ala ibn al-Musayyab, from his father, from Abu Salih, from Ka'b, who said: "I find in the Torah: 'Ahmad is My chosen servant, not harsh, nor coarse, nor clamorous in the markets, nor does he repay evil with evil, but he pardons and forgives. His birthplace is Baka, his emigration is Taba, his kingdom is in Syria, and his nation are the praisers, who praise God on every hill, glorify Him in every place, wash their extremities, wear their waist-wrappers around their waists, and are shepherds of the sun, its light in the sky. Their rows in prayer are like their rows in battle, monks by night, lions by day. They have a humming like the humming of bees. They pray the prayer wherever it overtakes them, even on a dunghill.'" Abu Muhammad said: His saying "they pray the prayer wherever it overtakes them" means that some of the People of the Book used to pray only in their churches and synagogues, but God made it easy for the Muslims and commanded them to pray wherever the prayer overtakes them, and He revealed: "And set your faces at every place of worship" [Quran 7:29]. This speech and the previous one are attributed to the Torah, but they are in other books of God, because the People of the Book include many of God's books, such as the Psalms and the books of Isaiah, under the Torah. Sahl ibn Muhammad narrated to me, al-Asma'i informed us, Ibn Abi al-Zinad informed us, who said: Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Harith informed us, from Umar ibn Hafs, who said: Abd al-Rahman—who was among the best, and he is Abu Hafs, either as a nickname—said: My father and my grandfather had a book that they inherited from Waraqa before Islam, in which was written: "In the name of God, and His word is truth, and the word of the wrongdoers is in ruin. This is a reminder for a nation that will come in the latter days, who wear their waist-wrappers around their waists, wash their extremities, cross the seas to their enemies, and have a prayer that, if it were among the people of Noah, they would not have perished in the flood, and among the people of Thamud, they would not have been destroyed by the blast." He said: He told me that they brought it to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him), and he read it to them and they informed him of its content, and he commanded them to place it among the leaves of the Quran.

Abd al-Rahman narrated to me, from Abd al-Mun'im, from his father, from Wahb: "Allah revealed to Adam: 'I am Allah, the Lord of Bakka ¹. Its people are My beloved, its visitors are My delegates, My guests, and under My protection. I populate it with the inhabitants of heaven and earth. They come in throngs, disheveled and dusty, crying out with the takbir ² loudly, and raising their voices with the talbiya ³ fervently, and pouring forth with tears abundantly. Whoever intends it, desiring none other, has indeed visited Me, been My guest, come as a delegate to Me, and lodged with Me. It is incumbent upon Me to honor him with My generosity. I will make this House, its remembrance, its honor, its glory, and its radiance for a prophet from your descendants, called Ibrahim. I will raise its foundations, accomplish its construction through his hands, entrust him with its watering, bequeath to him its halal and haram ⁴, and teach him its rites. Then nations and generations will populate it until it reaches a prophet from your descendants.'"

Bakka : An ancient name for Mecca, often associated with the Kaaba and the place of the first sanctuary.
takbir : The phrase 'Allahu Akbar' (God is the Greatest), used in Islamic worship and rituals.
talbiya : The chant recited by pilgrims during the Hajj and Umrah, beginning with 'Labbayk Allahumma labbayk' (Here I am, O Allah, here I am).
halal and haram : Halal refers to what is permissible, and haram to what is forbidden in Islamic law; here it refers to the sacred precincts of Mecca.

The Messenger of God mentioned in the accounts of the Persians [1]

He is called Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets. Make him among its inhabitants, its governors, its guardians, and its cupbearers. Whoever asks about me on that day, I am with the disheveled and dusty ones who fulfill their vows and turn to their Lord." [The mention of the Messenger of God in the reports of the Persians] This is a lengthy hadith which I have summarized. I read in the book of Mājisnīs al-Ziyādī—he was an elder among the ancient Persians who lived in the time of Ziyād ibn Abī Sufyān. Ziyād asked him to narrate traditions about the kings of the Persians, their viziers, and their histories, so he narrated seventy excellent traditions. These were translated, and the elder was attributed to Ziyād, so he was called al-Ziyādī. The book is well-known and available among people. Mājisnīs said: "Abrawīz ibn Hurmuz, known as Kisrā ¹—he was the father of Shīrūyah—was traveling by night. He dozed off while on his mount, and this lasted until he fell into a deep sleep. He leaned over, and those behind him among his commanders feared he would fall. One of them came and woke him. He awoke terrified because of a dream he had seen, which was interrupted by the one who woke him. He said: 'I saw a speaker saying to me: "You have changed, so what you had was changed, and the kingdom has been transferred to Aḥmad."' This or similar words. I saw in another book: 'He was presented before God Almighty, and He said to him: "Hand over what you possess to the owner of the staff."' Then they continued to expect an event to occur until al-Nuʿmān ibn al-Mundhir wrote about the appearance of the Messenger of God and what he called to. I saw in some of their books that the letter of al-Nuʿmān ibn al-Mundhir arrived on a day when Kisrā had secluded himself for pleasure and amusement, and he had ordered that no news that would sadden him be brought to him, nor any letter from any of his officials be delivered to him, so that he could be secure from his troubles. They said: While he was in this state, he heard the sound of the postal courier. He asked about it, and it was said: 'A letter from the governor of the Sawād ².' His heart became attached to it, and he said: 'I think that my heart has become attached to what you have brought until I know it; it is greater for me than what is in it.' So they brought the letter to him, and he read it. It was the letter of the governor informing him that the Euphrates had brought a flood the likes of which they had never heard, and it had overflowed, drowning people's crops and homes, and ruining their fruits. He was grieved by the harm to the subjects' property and what had befallen his troops due to the loss of the land tax ³ that was collected from the Sawād for them. His viziers made it easy for him, attributing funds to the troops from many sources, and he returned to his amusement. Then he heard the sound of another postal courier. He asked about it, and they said: 'A letter from the governor of the frontier of Armenia.' His heart became attached to it, and he ordered the letter to be opened. In it, it said that the troops had mutinied against their governor, killed him, plundered the wealth before him, and openly rebelled. He also took note of this, then his viziers made it easy for him, guaranteeing to reform the region without moving an army until the troops returned to obedience. He returned to his amusement. Then he heard the sound of another postal courier. He ordered his letter to be taken and read it. It was the letter of al-Nuʿmān informing him that an outsider had emerged in Tihāmah ⁴, claiming to be the Messenger of the God of heaven and earth to all the people of the earth. He was cut off by this and considered it great, and he knew that this was what he had been expecting and seeing in his dreams. And Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz narrated to me, from ʿAlī ibn Ḥarb, from Abū Ayyūb Yaʿlā ibn ʿImrān al-Bajalī from the family of Jarīr ibn ʿAbd Allāh, who said: Makhzūm ibn Hāniʾ al-Makhzūmī narrated to me, from his father—who had lived one hundred and fifty years—who said: "On the night when the Messenger of God was born—or he said: was sent—the arch of Kisrā shook, and fourteen of its battlements fell; the fire of Persia was extinguished, which had not been extinguished for a thousand years before; and the lake of Sāwah dried up. This frightened Kisrā, and he bore it patiently. When his patience was exhausted, he decided to ask his viziers and marzbāns ⁵ about it. He put on his crown, sat on his throne, gathered them, and informed them. The mōbadhān ⁶ said: 'May God preserve the king! I saw on this night camels with thick necks and Arab horses crossing the Tigris and spreading throughout our land.' He said: 'What is this, O mōbadhān?'—and he was the most knowledgeable among them about themselves—he said: 'An event will occur from the direction of the Arabs.' So he wrote to al-Nuʿmān ibn al-Mundhir: 'To proceed: Send me a learned man whom I may ask about what I desire.' So he sent to him ʿAbd al-Masīḥ ibn ʿAmr ibn Buqaylah al-Ghassānī. When he came to him, he informed him. He said: 'O king, knowledge of that is with an uncle of mine who lives in the highlands of Syria, called Saṭīḥ.' He said: 'Go to him and ask him about what I have told you, then bring me his answer.' So ʿAbd al-Masīḥ rode his mount until he came to Saṭīḥ, who was on the verge of death. He greeted him and hailed him, but Saṭīḥ did not respond. So ʿAbd al-Masīḥ recited: "Is the Ghitrif of Yemen deaf or does he hear? ... Or has he succeeded, and the race of the swift has passed him by?" in verses. When Saṭīḥ heard his poetry, he raised his head and said: "ʿAbd al-Masīḥ on a camel traveling, to Saṭīḥ, who has come near the grave. The king of the sons of Sāsān sent you because of the shaking of the arch, the extinguishing of the fires, and the dream of the mōbadhān," and he mentioned it. Then he said: "O ʿAbd al-Masīḥ, when recitation becomes abundant, and the owner of the staff is sent, and the valley of al-Samāwah overflows, and the lake of Sāwah dries up, and the fire of Persia is extinguished, then Syria is not Syria for Saṭīḥ. Kings will rule over them according to the number of the battlements, and everything that is coming is coming." So ʿAbd al-Masīḥ jumped to his mount, saying: "Prepare yourself, for you are a determined and resolute one ... Let not separation and change frighten you. If the kingdom of the sons of Sāsān has become excessive for them ... Then indeed, time has varying vicissitudes. Perhaps one day they will be in a position ... Where the fierce lions fear their assault. Among them is the lord of the palace, Bahrām, and his brothers ... And Hurmuzān, Sābūr, and Sābūr. People are children of different mothers; those who are known ... To have little are despised and forsaken. They are sons of the same mother; if they see wealth ... That is by the unseen preserved and aided. Good and evil are paired together ... Good is followed, and evil is avoided." When ʿAbd al-Masīḥ came to Kisrā, he informed him of Saṭīḥ's words. Kisrā said: "Until fourteen kings from among us rule, there will be events."

Kisrā : Title of the Sasanian kings of Persia, equivalent to 'Chosroes'.
Sawād : The fertile agricultural region of Iraq, also known as the 'black land'.
Kharāj : Land tax imposed on non-Muslim subjects in Islamic territories.
Tihāmah : The coastal region of western Arabia, including Mecca and the surrounding area.
Marzbān : A military governor or margrave in the Sasanian Empire.
Mōbadhān : A Zoroastrian high priest or chief priest in the Sasanian period.

The chronicle of the kings of Yemen [1]

Abū Muḥammad said: I have examined the history of the kings of Persia, and I found that from Abrawīz ¹ to the last king among them there were ten kings, including two women. In the hadith ² there are fourteen turrets, and they will rule according to the number of turrets. Someone who does not know or does not place things in their proper context might think that the saying of Saṭīḥ ³ pertains to knowledge of the unseen and liken it to the reports of prophets about what will be. But the report of a soothsayer is never except about something that has already occurred, or for which a cause has occurred that indicates it—like the dream that the king saw, and the dream that the Mōbadhān ⁴ saw, which Saṭīḥ interpreted and knew through the transmission of the jinn to him. God Almighty says: {And indeed the devils inspire their allies} [Al-Anʿām 6:121]. The report of a prophet concerns something for which there is no cause or indication—such as a prophet who will be sent a thousand years later, or an event that will occur in time. [Account of the Kings of Yemen] I read in the accounts of the kings of Yemen and their histories, as related by ʿUbayd ibn Shariyah al-Jurhumī to Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān—may God have mercy on him—and this ʿUbayd was elderly, a genealogist, and knowledgeable about the histories of nations: that Tubbaʿ al-Aṣghar ⁵, namely Tubbaʿ ibn Ḥassān ibn Tubbaʿ, marched to Yathrib ⁶ and encamped at the foot of Mount Uḥud. He sent for the Jews and killed three hundred and fifty of them in cold blood, intending to destroy the city. But a Jew who had lived two hundred and fifty years stood up and said to him: "O king, one like you should not kill in anger, nor accept falsehood. Your command is too great to be carried away by rashness or to be hastened by a bridle. You cannot destroy this town." He asked: "Why?" The Jew replied: "Because it is the place of emigration of a prophet from the descendants of Ishmael, who will emerge from this mountain pass"—meaning the Sacred House. So Tubbaʿ desisted and proceeded toward Mecca, accompanied by this Jew and another learned Jew—the two rabbis who had judged by fire those who opposed Judaism. He draped the House [the Kaaba] and fed the people. He is the one who said:

Abrawīz : Khosrow II Parviz, a Sasanian king of Persia (r. 590–628 CE).
hadith : A prophetic tradition; here referring to a specific report about the number of rulers.
Saṭīḥ : A famous pre-Islamic soothsayer (kāhin) from Yemen.
Mōbadhān : Zoroastrian high priest or chief magus in the Sasanian Empire.
Tubbaʿ al-Aṣghar : The 'Younger Tubbaʿ,' a title for Himyarite kings of Yemen; here Tubbaʿ ibn Ḥassān.
Yathrib : Pre-Islamic name of Medina.

The dissolution of the kingdoms of nations through his sending and his birth - peace be…

The dissolution of the kingdoms of nations through his sending and his birth - peace be upon him -

And We clothed the House which Allah has made sacred … with fine striped garments and robes. And he said: I bore witness that Ahmad is a messenger from Allah, the Creator of souls. If my life were extended to his lifetime, I would have been his vizier and cousin. It is said: Rather, the one who said this is Tubba‘ al-Awsat. [The collapse of the kingdoms of the nations at his mission and birth - peace be upon him] Among the signs of his mission—may my father and mother be sacrificed for him—was the collapse of the kingdoms of the nations at the time of his mission, except for the Romans, due to the prior supplication of Isaac son of Abraham—peace be upon him—and because Jacob son of Isaac, who is Israel, had preceded in the supplication of his father, so prophethood was placed in his offspring. Isaac supplicated for his son Esau for growth and multitude, so all the Romans are from his offspring. Thus the Romans were spared by Isaac’s supplication for them, while the other kingdoms collapsed. This has been mentioned earlier in the vision that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, saw, and Daniel interpreted for them, and that is found in the books of the People of the Book. Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar—when he asked him about a vision he had seen without recounting it to him: “You saw, O king, a terrifying vision and a dreadful sight: you saw a statue of striking beauty, alive, standing before you. Its head was of pure gold, its arms and chest of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, and part of its feet of iron and part of clay. And you saw a stone cut out without hands, which struck the feet of the statue and crushed them completely. Then the iron, bronze, silver, and gold were all crushed together and became like chaff on the threshing floor in summer; the wind carried them away, and no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. This is your vision, O king.” Then he interpreted it for him, saying: “You, O king, are the head of gold that you saw. After you will arise another kingdom inferior to you, and a third kingdom of bronze that will rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom will be strong as iron, for iron crushes everything. And as for the feet that were partly iron and partly clay, that kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. And in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people; it will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it will stand forever.” [Among the kingdoms that collapsed at his mission—peace be upon him—was the Persian Empire] Its king was the mightiest and most powerful of the kings of the earth. The first sign of collapse was when Shiruyah son of Abruwayz killed his father. Then a plague appeared in his kingdom, and he perished from it; his reign lasted seven months. Then his son Ardashir, who was seven years old, reigned for five months. Then a man not of the royal family, named Khuzman, reigned, but Buran daughter of Kisra killed him; his reign lasted twenty-two days. Then after him reigned a man from the descendants of Hurmuz, named Kisra son of Qubadh, born in the land of the Turks; his reign lasted three months. Then Buran daughter of Kisra reigned for a year and six months, and the Messenger of Allah—peace be upon him—received news of her. Zayd ibn Akhzam al-Ta’i narrated to me: Abu Qutayba narrated to us: Abu al-Minhāl informed us from ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Abi Bakra, from his father, who said: When Kisra died, that was mentioned to the Prophet, and he asked: “Whom did they appoint as his successor?” They said: “His daughter Buran.” He said: “A people who entrust their affairs to a woman will never succeed.” Then Ardamiyāhat daughter of Kisra reigned, but she was poisoned and died; her reign lasted four months. Then after her a man reigned for a month and was killed. When the Persians saw the state of disintegration they were in, they sought a grandson of Kisra, named Yazdajird son of Shahriyar, and made him their king when he was fifteen years old. He remained in al-Mada’in in a state of division for eight years. This is what Daniel mentioned in Nebuchadnezzar’s vision: that his entire kingdom would be scattered. Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas arrived with his fierce troops; he ordered that his wealth and treasures be transported to China, and he stayed in Nahawand with a small number of soldiers and scant resources. He left behind in al-Mada’in a brother of Rustam, and sent Rustam to fight Sa‘d. Rustam camped at al-Qadisiyya and remained there until he was killed. When this reached Yazdajird, he realized that their time had come to an end, so he set out for Fars, then fled from there to Marw via Sijistan, and was killed there. This account is mentioned in their books. [Among the kingdoms that collapsed at his mission and birth—peace be upon him—was the kingdom of the people of Yemen] The first of that was the Abyssinian domination over Yemen, then the expedition of Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan against them as a king appointed by Kisra. The Abyssinians fought him until they expelled him from Yemen, so he settled there and corresponded with Kisra about what the Abyssinians had done, which reached Yemen and killed him, and the matter ended. They did not appoint anyone over them; rather, the people of each region appointed a man from Himyar as their king, and they were the kings of Ta’if until Islam came. [Among the kingdoms that collapsed at his mission was the kingdom of al-Hira] After al-Nu‘man ibn al-Mundhir, kingship passed from the family of al-Mundhir after him. Kisra appointed Iyas ibn Qabisa over them, and he remained there for months. Then the family of Kisra fell into turmoil and became preoccupied with themselves. Allah brought Islam, and Iyas died at ‘Ayn al-Tamr. Concerning him, Zayd al-Khayl said: If the lord of al-‘Ayn has left his place, then every blessing is inevitably fleeting. [Among the kingdoms that collapsed at his mission was the kingdom of the family of Jafna in Syria] Concerning them, Hassan ibn Thabit said: Whoever is deceived by time or feels secure from it—after the killing of ‘Amr and Hujr?

The inference of his prophethood from his name [1] - peace be upon him.

A king from the Snow Mountain to … the two sides of Ayla, from slave and free. Meaning: 'Amr ibn al-Nu'man ibn al-Harith al-Asghar ibn al-Harith al-Awsat, who is al-A'raj ibn al-Harith al-Akbar, and Hujr ibn al-Nu'man his brother. The last of them to rule was Jabala ibn al-Ayham, who became Christian after his Islam and joined the land of the Byzantines during the caliphate of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab - may Allah be pleased with him. [Evidence for his prophethood through his name - peace be upon him] Among his signs is that no one before him was named with his name, as a safeguard from Allah for His name, just as He did for Yahya ibn Zakariyya, for whom He made no namesake before him. This is because He named him in the earlier scriptures and His prophets gave glad tidings of him. If the name had been shared, trickery would have been possible, claims would have spread, and doubt would have befallen some of the weak people, except for four individuals who were named with this name due to the glad tidings of a man from the People of the Book about our Prophet - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - and the proximity of his time. Yazid ibn 'Amr narrated to me, from al-'Ala' ibn al-Fadl, from my father, from his father, 'Abd al-Malik ibn Abi Suwayya, from Abu Suwayya, from his father, Khalifa ibn 'Abda al-Minqari, who said: I asked Muhammad ibn 'Adi ibn Suwa'a ibn Jusham ibn Sa'd: How did your father name you Muhammad? He said: Indeed, I asked my father about what you asked me, and he said: I set out as the fourth of four from Banu Tamim - I was one of them, along with Sufyan ibn Mujashi' ibn Darim, Yazid ibn 'Amr ibn Rabi'a ibn Kayyiba ibn Harqus, and Usama ibn Malik ibn Jundab ibn al-'Anbar - heading to Ibn Jabala al-Ghassani. When we arrived in Syria, we camped by a pool with some shrubs, and near it was a monk standing [at his monastery]. He looked down at us and said: This language is not of the people of this land. We said: Yes, we are a people from Mudar. He said: Which of the Mudar tribes? We said: From Khindif. He said: Indeed, a prophet will soon be sent among you; hasten to him and take your share of him to be guided, for he is the seal of the prophets, and his name is Muhammad. When we returned from Ibn Jafna and came to our families, each of us had a son born, and he named him Muhammad. Some people place instead of Muhammad ibn Yazid ibn 'Amr: Muhammad ibn Uhayha ibn al-Jallah, who is the maternal brother of 'Abd al-Muttalib. These people, when they learned that there was no one named Muhammad among the people, and the monk gave them glad tidings of the prophet and informed them of the proximity of his time, each of them named his son Muhammad, hoping that his son would be that sent prophet. If they claim that several were named with this name, besides the individuals who were named because of him, then these genealogies are between us and them, for they encompass the names, and these reports and earlier scriptures [are evidence]; let them bring something from them about one named with it.

The Elephant [1]

Among the signs ¹ before his mission was the affair of the Elephant ², and his birth occurred in that year by consensus of the people. The affair of the Elephant was a recent and well-known event, witnessed by many who lived until his mission and his death, and who lived long thereafter, such as Hakim ibn Hizam, Huwaytib ibn Abd al-Uzza, Hassan ibn Thabit—all of these lived sixty years in the Jahiliyya ³ and sixty years in Islam. As for those who witnessed it and died before the Messenger of Allah or shortly after him, they are too numerous to be counted or enumerated. The poets spoke of it from direct observation and witnessing. Among that is the saying of Nufayl ibn Habib, who was a Jahili; the Abyssinians had captured him on their way to Mecca that night, and he contrived to escape from them, saying: "Oh, return our mounts, return us; we have favored you over abandonment with an eye. For if you had seen—and you will not see—what we saw by the side of the Muhassab ⁴, I praised Allah when I saw birds and pebbles of stones thrown upon us. And all of them ask about Nufayl, as if I owe a debt to the Abyssinians." And Tufayl, who was a Jahili, said: "They graze in the watering places of a rain-fed valley that obeyed them, in the hollow where the Elephant disobeyed its masters." And Abu al-Salt Umayya ibn Abi al-Salt, who was a Jahili, said: "Indeed, the signs of our Lord are clear; none disputes them except the disbeliever. He restrained the Elephant at al-Mughammas ⁵ until it remained hobbling as if crippled." And Abraha, the king of Abyssinia, said: "Where is the escape, while the God is the Seeker, and al-Ashram ⁶ is the vanquished, not the victor?" Some of those who were struck from the Sudan ⁷ remained; Aisha saw them and said: "I saw the Elephant's driver and its keeper in Mecca, blind and crippled, begging from people." In the affair of the Elephant, since they witnessed it, it is a proof for those who deny Allah, and a proof for those who deny the messengers; for it is not permissible in the natural disposition of intellects that birds come from Yemen with stones of baked clay ⁸, carrying them with their legs and beaks, until they destroy a nation thereby, except by subjugation and sending. So let them point us to the One capable of this great matter and the subjugation of these birds. Since none other than Him, Mighty and Majestic, is capable of such a thing, it is not hidden from anyone that He did this to support a people against their enemies, and that the support was for those He approved, and the destruction was for those He was wrathful with. And because that support and approval had a cause. So what was the cause that necessitated it at that time for Quraysh, while they worshipped idols, and among them were heretics who said: 'It is but time,' as Allah related about them: {And nothing destroys us except time} [45:24], and dualists who said there are two gods, as Allah said: {Do not take two gods; indeed, He is only One God} [16:51], and among them were those who worshipped angels and said they are daughters of Allah. And what was the cause that necessitated wrath and destruction for the Abyssinians, while they were People of the Book? That is indicated to you by Abd al-Muttalib on the day of the Elephant, when he supplicated against the Abyssinians: "O Allah, a man protects his mount and his sacred things, so protect Your sacred things. Let not their cross and their cunning prevail tomorrow over Your cunning." And Abraha, their king, said on that day when he saw what he saw: "Where is the escape, while the God is the Seeker, and al-Ashram is the vanquished, not the victor?" Both parties are equal in knowledge of Allah, in supplication to Him, in fear, and in the consequences of injustice. Yet with that knowledge, they were disbelievers, except that the Sudanese were People of the Book, while Quraysh at that time had no Book, and they [the Abyssinians] were united upon Christianity while Quraysh were divided. The Sudanese were impelled by injustice because of what was done to their church in Yemen, so they came seeking victory, while Quraysh were the aggressors. Is it hidden from one of insight and intellect that the intended meaning of that is Muhammad, peace be upon him, and what Allah prefigured through him and through his nation guided by him? If they say that the affair of the Elephant is false and fabricated, and there was no elephant nor birds, and it is not mentioned among them with any basis, then we turn away from the previous reports entirely and from the ancient poetry, and refer them to the Book of Allah and its indication. For He says: {Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the companions of the Elephant? Did He not make their plot go astray?} [105:1-2] to the end of the sura, meaning: 'Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with them?' And the intent by saying 'Have you not known' is to the polytheists, not to the Prophet; for the Prophet, peace be upon him, already knew, was guided, and took heed, while the polytheists are the ones in need of admonition, reminder, and confirmation of what they witnessed and knew of Allah's power, grace, and favor upon them in repelling His enemy from them. Is it permissible in his view that the Prophet addresses them with speech from Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and affirms to them something they know, while they do not know it? Would they not have said to him: 'We did not know, nor did we know this that you mention, nor did we see it, nor did our fathers see it'? And the Muslim would have apostatized, the one coming forward would have turned away, and the doubter would have seen clearly in his matter.

a'lām : Signs or portents; here referring to miraculous events preceding the prophethood of Muhammad.
al-Fīl : The Elephant; refers to the Year of the Elephant (c. 570 CE) when Abraha al-Ashram, the Abyssinian governor of Yemen, marched on Mecca with war elephants to destroy the Kaaba, but was miraculously repelled by birds dropping stones.
Jāhiliyya : The pre-Islamic period of ignorance, before the revelation of Islam.
al-Muḥaṣṣab : A place near Mecca, between Mina and Mecca, where pilgrims camp; also known as al-Abtah.
al-Mughammas : A valley near Mecca where Abraha's army was halted before the attack on the Kaaba.
al-Ashram : Abraha's epithet, meaning 'the one with a split lip' or 'disfigured'; he was the Abyssinian viceroy of Yemen.
al-Sūdān : Literally 'the blacks'; here referring to the Abyssinian (Ethiopian) army.
sijjīl : Baked clay stones; mentioned in the Quran (105:4) as the missiles used by the birds against the Abyssinian army.

His signs after his death - peace be upon him [1]

If they say: He said: {Have those who disbelieved not considered that the heavens and the earth were a joined entity, and We separated them and made from water every living thing? Then will they not believe?} [Al-Anbiya: 30], and the disbelievers did not see that nor know it; we say: In His saying: {Have those who disbelieved not considered}, He means the People of the Book: {that the heavens and the earth were a joined entity, and We separated them}, i.e., they did not know that from what We revealed to them in the books that are in their hands, and others know it through their report about it, and knowledge can be through report just as it can be through direct sight. If they say: Indeed, Allah defended the House and prevented from it; I say: Then who calls to its pilgrimage and visitation, performing its rites, and venerating its symbols, with the inspiration of all nations from the farthest lands until they came to it hastening, as He said: "Disheveled and dusty"? And every sign in the Sanctuary is clear; like the wild animals that are safe in it until they come out with predators and dogs, and are frightened when they leave it, and like the birds that land on the roofs of the Mosque, Zamzam, and the water station, and do not know the roof of the House, and like the Station of Abraham - peace be upon him - in the Hijr, it is a sign for him and his forefathers; since they were the founders of that, and through it wisdom spread and the call reached. [His Signs after His Death - peace be upon him] Among his manifest signs after his death: Umar's prayer for rain through his uncle al-Abbas, and they were given rain until they rolled up their garments and clung to their sandals, and the people began to wipe the corners of al-Abbas, saying: "Congratulations to you, waterer of the two Sanctuaries." This is well-known and mentioned in poetry, and the Banu Abbas boast of it, repeating it over and over, and lying about something like this is not permissible. Among his manifest signs after him: Their bringing out martyrs fresh and supple, after fifty years. Muhammad ibn Ubayd narrated to us, Ibn Uyayna informed us, from Abu al-Zubayr, from Jabir, who said: Muawiya wanted to run the spring he had dug - Sufyan said: it is called the Spring of Abu Ziyad - they called out in Medina: Whoever has a slain relative, let him come to his slain. Jabir said: "We came to them and brought them out fresh and supple, bending; the shovel struck the foot of one of them and it bled." Abu Said al-Khudri said: "After this, no evil can ever be denied." This is a true matter that the people of Medina saw, from that group of transferred martyrs, and it is not permissible for Jabir to claim such a great matter in Medina while they had not seen it nor known it. Likewise, the story of Talha ibn Ubayd Allah when his daughter Aisha saw him in a dream, and he said to her: O my daughter, move me from this place, for the moisture has harmed me. So she brought him out after thirty years or so; she moved him from that damp ground, and he was fresh with nothing changed, and he was buried in al-Hujariyyayn in Basra, and his exhumation was undertaken by Abd al-Rahman ibn Salama al-Taymi. I heard Ishaq ibn Rahawayh mention it. Among his Companions is Abu Ayyub al-Ansari Khalid ibn Zayd, who campaigned with Yazid ibn Muawiya and died in Constantinople, and was buried by the city wall, and was wept over, and when they suffered drought, they would uncover his grave and receive rain. Among the Followers is Salman ibn Rabia, who was killed in Balanjar during the caliphate of Uthman - may Allah be pleased with him - and the people of that region placed his bones in a coffin, and when rain was withheld from them, they brought it out and prayed for rain through it, and they were given rain. Ibn Jumana al-Bahili said: Indeed, we have two graves: a grave in Balanjar And a grave in upper China - what a grave! This one in China, its conquests were widespread, And this one in Turkey, through it rain is sought. So the grave in China is the grave of Qutayba ibn Muslim, and the one in Turkey is the grave of Salman ibn Rabia al-Bahili. Among that is what Allah has left in His Companions of empowerment, victory, and might, for the enemy could not stand against them in battle for the space of a milking interval.

Among his signs [1] - peace be upon him - is the Quran [2].

Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, used to say to those who came to him: "Does the enemy stand firm against you?" If they said: "Yes," he said: "You have been treacherous ¹." When the defeated Romans came to Heraclius in Antioch, he said to them: "Woe to you, tell me about these people you fight: are they not humans like you?" They said: "Yes." He said: "Then you are many times more numerous in every encounter, so why are you defeated whenever you meet them?" An elder among them said: "Because they pray at night, fast during the day, fulfill their covenants, enjoin good and forbid evil, and deal justly with one another. And because we drink wine, commit fornication, engage in forbidden acts, break covenants, seize property unjustly, oppress, command what displeases Allah, forbid what pleases Allah, and spread corruption on earth." He said: "You have told me the truth." [And among his signs, peace be upon him, is the Qur'an] Which, even if mankind and jinn gathered to produce something like it, and they were helpers of one another, they could not. Allah revealed it to him in an age of poetry, eloquence, oratory, and rhetoric, and made it his miracle, just as He made the miracle of every prophet from among the things most similar to the age in which he was sent. Thus, Moses, peace be upon him, had the splitting of the sea, the staff, the gushing of water from the rock in the wilderness, and the like, in an age of sorcery. Jesus, peace be upon him, had the reviving of the dead, the creation of birds from clay, the healing of the blind and the leper, and the like, in an age of medicine. And He challenged them, peace be upon him, time after time to produce a sura like it, even a single sura, and recited to them: {And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our Servant, then produce a sura the like thereof and call upon your witnesses other than Allah, if you should be truthful} [Al-Baqara: 23]. Then He said: {But if you do not—and you will never be able—then fear the Fire whose fuel is people and stones} [Al-Baqara: 24], meaning: use your inability as evidence of his truthfulness, and fear the Fire which He has promised you in the Hereafter. They claimed they were able to do that without producing anything, and Allah reported that from them, saying: {And when Our verses are recited to them, they say, "We have heard; if we wished, we could say the like of this. This is not but legends of the former peoples"} [Al-Anfal: 31]. And He said: {And who is more unjust than one who invents a lie about Allah or says, "It has been inspired to me," while nothing has been inspired to him, and one who says, "I will reveal the like of what Allah has revealed"} [Al-An'am: 93]. So they did not produce a sura like it, if what they claimed—that it was possible—was true. They could have discouraged people from following him, divided his followers, scattered the groups, and spared themselves the war that expends wealth and homes, and saved themselves with the least effort. Among the evidence of their examination of the Qur'an and their amazement at its brilliant expressions and subtle meanings is their likening it to sorcery. Allah says: {Those who disbelieve say of the truth when it has come to them, "This is evident sorcery"} [Al-Ahqaf: 7]. Just as the earlier peoples said of the Messiah when he brought them miraculous signs—reviving the dead, healing the blind—"This is evident sorcery." For this reason, Allah said to strengthen him: {Nothing is said to you except what was already said to the messengers before you} [Fussilat: 43]. The Arabs use "sorcery" metaphorically for something subtle and fine that captivates hearts, achieves a goal, magnifies the small, and diminishes the great. Thus they said: "Indeed, there is sorcery in eloquence." And they said: "So-and-so bewitched me with his speech," meaning he deceived me. "So-and-so is nothing but a sorcerer." If they had been able to produce something like it, they would not have likened it to sorcery, just as physicians, if they could produce miracles like those of Jesus, would not have likened them to sorcery. In this, their statement contradicts their other claim: "If we wished, we could say the like of this; this is nothing but legends of the former peoples." And we say: Some people of deviation and heresy, who were given a measure of eloquence and a share of rhetoric, might attempt to produce something close to it, like a sura. But when they found it as distant as the star from the hand of the one who tries to grasp it, they turned to the short suras: like Surat al-Kawthar, Surat al-Fath, and the like, to cast doubt on the ignorant regarding the fewness of its letters. For inability is only apparent in composition and connection; when the composition is short, doubt arises. Among their sayings: "What is in this?" The naturally eloquent Arabs compared it to the short suras. Musaylima said: "O frog, croak, how you croak! You neither muddy the water nor prevent the drink." When Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, heard this, he said: "This is speech that did not come from a covenant ²." Another said: "Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the pregnant woman? He brought forth from her belly a breathing soul, from between the ribs and entrails." Another said: "The elephant, and what is the elephant? And what will make you know what the elephant is? It has a thick tail and a long trunk, and that, from the creation of our Lord, is but little." This speech, despite its few letters, is so absurd that it is obvious to anyone who does not know, let alone to one who knows. Where are these opponents of the Book of Allah, who try to imitate it with examples and comparisons, from Surat an-Nahl, Surat al-Kahf, then Hud and Ta-Ha? We do not single these out because we consider them superior to other parts of the Qur'an, nor that anything else is inferior to them, but we wanted to mention something from it, and no part was more deserving of mention than another, and these suras came to mind. One day I recited to a man of the People of the Book Surat Bani Isra'il: {And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him, and to parents, good treatment} [Al-Isra: 23], until I reached: {The seven heavens and the earth and whatever is in them exalt Him. And there is not a thing except that it exalts [Allah] by His praise, but you do not understand their exaltation. Indeed, He is Ever-Forbearing, Oft-Forgiving} [Al-Isra: 44]. His skin shivered, his face turned yellow, and he inclined toward Islam. I thought—nay, I had no doubt—that what affected his heart was my intention, for when speech comes from the heart, it reaches the heart; when it comes from the tongue, it does not go beyond the ears. I do not know after that what became of him—whether he entered Islam or remained in disbelief. These people have attacked the Qur'an, following its ambiguous parts with dull understandings, weak eyesight, and defective knowledge of language. They have attributed to it, based on their imagination, grammatical errors, contradictions, impossibility, and poor composition. I have responded to them with arguments and clarified the ways out in my book "Ta'wil Mushkil al-Qur'an" and my book "Al-Mansub ila al-Masa'il." It would be too long to repeat that in this book, and I saw that it would take it out of its scope. So I have limited myself to a few brief points that will show you their error and poor understanding. I disliked that all of this should be hidden from you, lest your heart be attached until you have the opportunity to consult those two books. Arabic speech is revelation, allusion, and conciseness. Some of it is omitted for brevity, some is increased for emphasis, some is repeated for clarity, some is metaphorical and inverted. Some is general intended as specific, some specific intended as general. Some singular intended as plural, some plural intended as singular or dual. Some is a supplication not intended to occur, some is a recompense for an action using the same wording but with different meanings. Some past tense verbs refer to future time, some future tense verbs refer to past time. Some passive participles are in the form of active, some active in the form of passive. Two different words may have the same meaning, two identical words may have different meanings, two similar words may have different meanings. Some interrogative words are used for affirmation, some for wonder, some for rebuke. Some words in the form of a command are prohibitions, some in the form of a command are threats, some in the form of a statement are supplications, along with many other things too numerous to list. The Qur'an was revealed in all these ways, and therefore no translator can translate it into any other language as the previous scriptures were translated. Whoever examines it without knowledge of what Allah has specially given to this language will imagine what these attackers imagined. I will give an example of this, as I have informed you, so that you may understand, if Allah wills. Allah, exalted be He, says: {O Messenger, convey that which has been revealed to you from your Lord. And if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message} [Al-Ma'ida: 67]. One who looks at this without knowledge might liken it to someone saying: "O man, eat all this food; if you do not, you have not eaten it." This wording in that manner has no benefit. Rather, He, exalted be He, meant: "O Messenger, convey what has been revealed to you from your Lord openly, not fearing anyone; and if you do not do that, then you have not conveyed His message." So "openly, not fearing" is implied, because His saying: {And Allah will protect you from the people} [Al-Ma'ida: 67] indicates that. This is an example of omission indicated by the apparent wording. Allah, exalted be He, says: {O you who have believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be better than them; nor let women ridicule [other] women; perhaps they may be better than them} [Al-Hujurat: 11]. One who looks at this without knowledge might say: "Does not the phrase 'a people' suffice, without 'nor women'? For women are included in 'people.'" It is said: "These are the people of so-and-so," referring to the men and women of his clan. But "people" (qawm) specifically refers to men, not women. Then, when women are specified, it is said: "These are the people of so-and-so," but it is not permissible to say of specific women: "These are the people of so-and-so." Rather, one says: "Among his people are men and women." Men alone are called "qawm" because they stand (yaqumun) for the affairs with men and assist them in hardships and conduct affairs. The singular is qa'im, just as one says za'id and zawd, sa'im and sawm, na'im and nawm. Similarly, they say for a man's people: nafara, plural of nafir, because they flee (yanfurun) with him when he calls them. Imru' al-Qays said, mentioning an archer: "So his shot does not hit the mark; may he not be counted among his nafara." Meaning: if his people are counted, he is not counted with them, i.e., may Allah cause him to die, may Allah kill him. This and similar expressions are in the form of supplication but are not intended to occur. What indicates that qawm means men is the saying of Zuhayr: "I do not know—and I will soon think I know—whether the people of Al-Husn are men or women." Meaning: are they men or women?

And God Almighty said: {Those whose eyes were under a veil from My remembrance and they were unable to hear} [18:101]. One who looks at this without knowledge says: How can eyes be under a veil from remembrance? Rather, ears are under a veil from remembrance. But God meant the eyes of the hearts. This is indicated by people's saying: So-and-so's heart is blind, and so-and-so is blind of heart, when he does not understand. And God, glorified be His praise, says: {For indeed it is not the eyes that become blind, but it is the hearts within the breasts that become blind} [22:46]. He means that blindness of the eyes does not harm religion; as long as it is not harmful to religion nor a hindrance to guidance, it is not [true] blindness. But since blindness of the heart is harmful to religion and a hindrance to guidance, it is [true] blindness. And since it is permissible to say 'his heart is blind,' it is permissible to attribute an eye to the heart, since blindness is in the eye. Similar to this is His saying: {And We have placed upon their hearts covers [akinnah] lest they understand it} [6:25]. Al-akinnah means coverings. This is an example I have given you to make you aware of the ways in which this error occurs. As for the things with which the Quran has been attacked, I will mention ten of them, explaining their interpretation so that you may know them and judge what I have omitted by analogy with what I have presented to you. And I ask God to guide us and you. [An instance in Surah al-Hijr and similar instances in the Quran] They said concerning God's saying: {And say, 'Indeed I am the clear warner' (89) As We sent down upon the dividers [al-muqtaṣimīn] (90) Those who made the Quran into fragments} [15:89-91]: What is the meaning of 'as' [kamā] here? For 'as' comes to liken one thing to another, but there is nothing in the beginning of the speech to which the latter part is likened. They said similarly in Surah al-Anfāl, when mentioning the believers: {For them are degrees with their Lord and forgiveness and noble provision (4) As your Lord brought you out of your house with the truth} [8:4-5]. What does the first speech resemble in God's bringing him out? They also said similarly in Surah al-Baqarah: {And to complete My favor upon you and that you may be guided (150) As We sent among you a messenger from yourselves} [2:150-151]. The answer: As for God's saying: {Indeed I am the clear warner (89) As We sent down upon the dividers} [15:89-90], there is an omitted element indicated by the apparent meaning of the speech, as if He said: 'I am the clear warner of punishment or chastisement like what We sent down upon the dividers.' So He omitted 'punishment' or 'chastisement' since the warning indicates it, as He said in another place: {I warn you of a thunderbolt like the thunderbolt of 'Ād and Thamūd} [41:13]. If one wanted to liken this to that, he would say: 'I am the clear warner, as We sent down upon 'Ād and Thamūd,' meaning: 'I am the clear warner of a thunderbolt, as We sent down upon 'Ād and Thamūd.' Such omissions in Arabic speech are too numerous to be encompassed. As for His saying in Surah al-Anfāl: {As your Lord brought you out of your house with the truth}, the Muslims on the day of Badr differed over the spoils, argued with the Prophet and disputed, and many of them disliked what the Messenger of God had done regarding the spoils. So God revealed: {They ask you about the spoils. Say, 'The spoils are for God and the Messenger'} [8:1], making them for whom He wills: {So fear God and set things right between you} [8:1], i.e., distribute them equally among yourselves: {and obey God and His Messenger} [8:1] in the future: {if you are believers} [8:1]. Then He described the believers and said: {As your Lord brought you out of your house with the truth, while indeed a party of the believers were averse}. He means that their dislike of what he did regarding the spoils is like their dislike of going out with him, as if He said: 'This is from their dislike: as your Lord brought you out'—them while they were averse. As for His saying: {And to complete My favor upon you and that you may be guided (150) As We sent among you a messenger from yourselves}, He meant: 'And to complete My favor upon you, like My sending among you a messenger by which I favored you,' or 'like My favor upon you with a messenger I sent to clarify to you.' [An instance in Surah al-Ṭūr] They said concerning God's saying: {Or do you ask them for a reward, so they are burdened with debt? (40) Or do they have [knowledge of] the unseen, so they write [it]?} [52:40-41]. What is writing from knowledge of the unseen? Quraysh were illiterate, so how can they be made to write? But 'writing' here is not what they thought—manual work; rather, 'writing' here means 'judging.' That is: 'Do they have knowledge of the unseen so that they judge?' saying: 'We will overcome you, expel you, and the outcome will be ours against you.' This and similar instances. An example is the saying of al-Ju'dī: "And loyalty turned with affliction, so you turned, and that is not what God said when He writes [yak tubu]" meaning: 'God did not ordain that when He judges.' Another example is God's saying: {And We wrote [katabnā] upon them therein that the soul for the soul} [5:45], i.e., We decreed and prescribed. Similarly, His saying: 'God's writing [kitāba] upon you' [4:24], i.e., prescribed for you. Similarly, the Prophet's saying to the two litigants who came to him and said, 'Judge between us by God's book [kitāb]:' "By Him in whose hand is my soul, I will surely judge between you by God's book [kitāb]," then he judged by stoning and exile. There is no mention of these in the Quran; he meant: 'I will judge between you by God's decree.' [An instance in Surah al-Ḥadīd] They said concerning God's saying: {Know that the life of this world is but play and amusement and adornment and boasting among you and competition in wealth and children—like the example of a rain whose vegetation pleases the disbelievers [al-kuffār]} [57:20]. How does this vegetation please the disbelievers but not the believers? Good vegetation may please both disbelievers and believers, and it does not diminish the believers if it pleases them. But He did not mean by 'disbelievers' what they thought; rather, He meant by 'al-kuffār' the farmers, each of whom is a kāfir. He is called kāfir because when he sows the seed in the ground, he covers it [kafara], i.e., buries it. Everything you cover, you have 'kafara' it. Hence, night is called kāfir because it covers everything with its darkness. The poet said: "... in a night whose clouds covered [kafara] the stars" meaning: covered them. This is like His saying in another place: {pleases the sowers [al-zurrā']} [48:29]. [An instance in Surah Maryam] They said concerning God's saying: {Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds—the Most Merciful will appoint for them affection [wudd]} [19:96]. Is it permissible to say: 'So-and-so appoints for you love'? Or is 'wudd' [affection] something that is appointed when He loves you? But He did not mean what they thought; rather, He meant: He will place for them in the hearts of the servants affection and love. You see the sincere, diligent person beloved to both the pious and the wicked, held in awe, mentioned with good. Similar to this is His saying concerning Moses: {And I cast upon you love from Me} [20:39]. He did not mean in this place that I loved you, though He does love him; rather, He meant that He made him beloved to hearts, so that Pharaoh spared him in the year when he was killing the infants, and so on. Similar is the saying of 'Ubayd ibn 'Umayr about faith: 'It is hayūb [awe-inspiring],' meaning it is held in awe. He used the pattern fa'ūl in the place of maf'ūl, just as one says 'rakūb al-qawm' for what they ride, and 'ḥalūb al-qawm' for what they milk, i.e., their milked animal and their riding animal. [An instance in Surah al-An'ām] They said concerning God's saying: {And when Abraham said to his father Āzar} [6:74]. In the Torah and all previous scriptures and genealogical records, his name is Tāraḥ. So why is he called Āzar in the Quran? We know that his name in the Torah is Tāraḥ, and we do not know his description in other scriptures. It is not unlikely that he was also Tāraḥ. A man may have two names, two kunyas ³, or a name and a description, and he may be called by the description if it predominates, leaving aside the name. This is Idrīs (peace be upon him); his name in the Torah is Khanūkh. Jacob's name is Israel. Jesus is called the Messiah. The Messenger of God said: 'I have five names: I am Muhammad, Aḥmad, al-Māḥī [the eraser], al-'Āqib [the successor], and al-Ḥāshir [the gatherer].' A man may have two kunyas, just as he may have two names. Ḥamza ibn 'Abd al-Muṭṭalib was called Abū Ya'lā and Abū 'Umāra. 'Abd al-'Uzzā ibn 'Abd al-Muṭṭalib was called Abū Lahab and Abū 'Utba. Ṣakhr ibn Ḥarb, Abū Mu'āwiya, was called Abū Sufyān and Abū Ḥanẓala. 'Uthmān ibn 'Affān (may God be pleased with him) was called Abū 'Abdillāh, Abū 'Amr, and Abū Laylā. So what is to prevent Abraham's father from having two names, so that whichever you call him by, you are truthful? Or a name and a description, so you call him by the description sometimes and by the name sometimes, as I said about Jesus and the Messiah, Khanūkh and Idrīs, Israel and Jacob. Some reciters used to recite {And when Abraham said to his father Āzar} with Āzar in the nominative, intending a call, as if he said: 'O Āzar, do you take idols as gods?' According to this recitation, it is possible that he called him by a description, as if he said: 'O weak one' or 'O ignorant one,' or something similar, if he was blaming him. The Messiah called himself 'the Lamb of God,' and Simon was called 'the Rock,' and he called his nation 'the sheep.' [An instance in Surah Barā'a] They said concerning God's saying: {And the Jews say, 'Ezra is the son of God,' and the Christians say, 'The Messiah is the son of God'} [9:30]. No Jew says this today; it is only the Christians' saying about the Messiah. They are correct in saying that no Jew today says this. Rather, it is an earlier saying of a group of Jews. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem, exiled the Children of Israel, took their children captive, and tore the Torah until no trace remained. Among his captives were Daniel and Ezra. As for Daniel, he interpreted his dream and attained a high position with him. As for Ezra, he reestablished the Torah for them exactly, so that when he returned to Syria, they recognized it. Then a group of Jews said: 'He is the son of God.' Not all Jews said this. This is a specific statement expressed in general terms, just as God said: {Those to whom the people said, 'Indeed the people have gathered against you'} [3:173], though not all people said that. And as He said: {And the poets—the deviators follow them} [26:224], though He did not mean all poets by that, because He excluded the believers among them. [An instance in Surah Maryam]

They said concerning the saying of God Almighty: {O sister of Aaron, your father was not a man of evil, nor was your mother unchaste} [Maryam: 28], yet she had no brother named Aaron. We say that it does not mean brotherhood by lineage; rather, He meant: O you who resemble Aaron, O you who are like Aaron in righteousness. There was a righteous man among the Children of Israel named Aaron. A man may say to another, 'O my brother,' not intending brotherhood by lineage, but rather brotherhood in friendship or religion. God Almighty said: {The believers are but brothers} [Al-Hujurat: 10]. The Messenger of God ⁴ also established brotherhood among his companions. A man may say, 'This thing is the brother of this,' if it is similar and resembling it. God Almighty said: {And We do not show them a sign except that it is greater than its sister} [Az-Zukhruf: 48], meaning greater than the first sign that resembles it. [A point in Surah As-Saffat] They said concerning the saying of God Almighty, mentioning Jonah: {Then We cast him onto the barren shore while he was ill} [As-Saffat: 145], and in another place: {Had it not been that a favor from his Lord overtook him, he would have been cast onto the barren shore while he was blameworthy} [Al-Qalam: 49]. This contradicts the first, because in the first statement it says he was cast onto the barren shore while ill, and in the second statement it says: {Had it not been that a favor from his Lord overtook him, he would have been cast onto the barren shore while he was blameworthy}, which indicates that he was not cast onto the barren shore. But the matter is not as they imagined, nor is there any difference between the two statements as they claimed; because He meant: Had We not turned to him in mercy and had mercy on him, when We cast him onto the barren shore blameworthy, i.e., in his original state, then He turned to him in forgiveness. This is indicated by His subsequent words: {blameworthy}, {Then his Lord chose him and made him among the righteous} [Al-Qalam: 50], i.e., He forgave him. [A point in Surah Al-Fath] They said concerning the saying of God Almighty: {You will surely enter the Sacred Mosque, if God wills, in security} [Al-Fath: 27]. The exception with 'if' indicates doubt, and God does not doubt, and {You will surely enter} is a certainty; so how can there be doubt after a certainty from God? The explanation of this is that 'in' ⁵ often takes the place of 'idh' ⁶ in many places, as in His saying: {Fear God and give up what remains of usury, if you are believers} [Al-Baqarah: 278], and His saying: {So do not weaken and call for peace while you are superior} [Muhammad: 35], meaning: when you are believers. So it is as if He said: You will surely enter the Sacred Mosque, if God wills your entry into it, in security. An example of this is the saying of the Messenger of God about the people of the graves: 'And we, if God wills, will surely join you.' It is not permissible that he doubted joining them; rather, he meant: We, when God wills, will join you. [A point in Surah Al-Kahf] [148/b] They said concerning the saying of God Almighty: {And they remained in their cave for three hundred years and added nine} [Al-Kahf: 25]. Then He said: {Say: God knows best how long they remained. To Him belongs the unseen of the heavens and the earth. How well He sees and hears! They have no protector besides Him, and He shares His rule with no one} [Al-Kahf: 26]. So He informed us of the duration of their stay, then He said: {Knows best how long they remained}, yet we already know what He informed us. The explanation of this is that they differed about the duration of their stay in the cave, just as they differed about their number. So God Almighty informed us that they remained three hundred, and they said: years, or

ghalaltum : Literally 'you have betrayed' or 'you have acted treacherously'; here it implies that the defeat is due to betrayal of trust or disobedience to God.
ill : A covenant or pact; Abu Bakr means that Musaylima's speech did not come from a divine covenant, i.e., it is not from God.
kunyah : A teknonym, an honorific name derived from one's child, e.g., Abū (father of) or Umm (mother of).
Rasul Allah : Messenger of God, referring to the Prophet Muhammad.
in : Arabic particle 'in' meaning 'if', used here as a conditional particle.
idh : Arabic particle 'idh' meaning 'when' or 'since', used to indicate a past time or condition.

The Prophet's [1] signs from the news of the Quran.

Months or days, then Allah revealed: {Years}, and thus He clarified what was after three hundred, then He said: {And they increased by nine}, and I know best what they stayed among those who differed. This is a summary of the objections of the atheists against the Book of Allah, and behind it are many other objections, which they are unable to resolve due to the deficiency of knowledge, poor reasoning, and ignorance of the subtleties of language. If you wish to see this compiled in a large volume, you may find it in the two books I mentioned earlier. [Signs of the Prophet - peace be upon him - from the News of the Qur'an] Among these is the saying of Allah Almighty in Surah: {The Hour has drawn near and the moon has split} [54:1], which is Meccan. {The multitude will be defeated and they will turn their backs} [54:45], meaning the polytheists on the day of Badr. Allah defeated them on the day of Badr, after they had weapons, wealth, and heroic men. Their number was between nine hundred and a thousand, while the number of Muslims was three hundred and thirteen men, sharing one camel among several, and they had no horses that day except a horse of al-Miqdad and a horse of al-Zubayr. He enabled [the Muslims] to overcome their champions and brave warriors, so fifty of them were killed, and about the same number were taken captive. They returned fearful and afflicted. He had shown them the places where the [enemy] leaders would fall before the encounter, and said: "O enemies of Allah, it is as if you are being killed at this red hill." Then he threw a handful of pebbles at them and said: "May their faces be disfigured." After that, there was nothing but the defeat of the people. Allah Almighty says: {And you did not throw when you threw, but Allah threw} [8:17], meaning: He directed your throw. So Allah fulfilled His promise of victory, and confirmed what was mentioned in previous scriptures about this battle on the tongue of Isaiah, which is his saying: "Calamity will befall the Arab polytheists, and they will be defeated before drawn swords and taut bows, due to the severity of the battle." This is a statement that no one can manipulate or interpret away, because of His saying: {The multitude will be defeated} with the letter "seen" which is in the sense of "sawfa" [future tense]. This "seen" and "sawfa" are only used for something that has not yet occurred. Do you not see that you say: "I will do this tomorrow" and "I will do it after a month," and it is not permissible to say: "I will do it yesterday" or "I will do it the day before yesterday"? What increases its clarity is His saying: {And Allah certainly fulfilled His promise to you when you were killing them by His permission} [3:152], meaning: you were slaying them. [Another report from the Book] Among these is that the Prophet promised the Muslims from Allah that He would grant them one of the two groups. One of them was a group with wealth, goods, leather, and money, with only a few men; the other group was strong, with men and numbers. The Muslims inclined by their desires to the group with spoils, and disliked the other. But Allah willed the strong group, and revealed - Mighty and Majestic: {And [remember] when Allah promised you one of the two groups that it would be yours, and you wished that the unarmed one would be yours. But Allah intended to establish the truth by His words and to cut off the root of the disbelievers (7) That He might establish the truth and abolish falsehood, even if the criminals disliked it} [8:7-8]. This decree cannot be repelled by any trick or interpretation, because Allah's promise to them of one of the two groups could only be before the encounter, and it is not permissible for Him to promise them something that has already occurred. [Another report from the Book] Among these is the saying of Allah Almighty: {Say to those who remained behind of the Bedouins, "You will be called to a people of great might; you will fight them or they will submit. So if you obey, Allah will give you a good reward; but if you turn away as you turned away before, He will punish you with a painful punishment"} [48:16]. People have differed concerning the people of great might. Some said: They are Banu Hanifa, and the one who called to fight them was Abu Bakr - may Allah be pleased with him. Others said: They are the people of Persia, and the one who called to fight them was 'Umar - may Allah be pleased with him. This verse indicates the caliphate and imamate of the one who called them, since He promised the obedient reward and threatened the disobedient with punishment. If they say: Perhaps the one who called them was the Prophet, we say: Allah has made clear to us in the Book that the caller was other than him, because He said: {Those who remained behind will say, when you set out toward the spoils to take them, "Let us follow you." They wish to change the words of Allah. Say, "You will not follow us; thus Allah has said before." Then they will say, "Rather, you envy us." But they have not understood except a little} [48:15]. What Allah - Exalted is His mention - said before, and they wished to change, is His saying: {If Allah returns you to a group of them and they ask your permission to go out, say, "You will never go out with me, nor will you fight with me an enemy. Indeed, you were satisfied with sitting [at home] the first time, so sit with those who stay behind"} [9:83]. So how could it be permissible for him to call them, when Allah had commanded him never to call them nor to fight an enemy with them, since they were satisfied with sitting [at home] the first time? [Another report from the Book] Among these is the saying of Allah - Exalted is His mention: {Alif, Lam, Meem (1) The Romans have been defeated (2) In the nearest land. But they, after their defeat, will overcome (3) Within a few years. To Allah belongs the command before and after. And on that day the believers will rejoice} [30:1-4]. The Persians had defeated the Romans in the land of al-Hira, which is the nearest land of the Romans to the Persian dominion. The polytheists of Quraysh rejoiced at that, while the Muslims loved that the Romans would prevail over the Persians, because the Romans were People of the Book and the Persians were Magians. It grieved them that they had defeated them in some of their lands. So Allah revealed: {But they, after their defeat, will overcome}, meaning the Romans after being defeated: {will overcome} the Persians, {within a few years}. "Bid'" [a few] is what is above three and below ten. So the Romans defeated the Persians and expelled them from their lands on the day of al-Hudaybiyya, after seven years. Then Allah Almighty said: {To Allah belongs the command before and after. And on that day the believers will rejoice} [30:4], meaning: His is the decree of victory for whom He wills before and after. "On that day" means: on the day the Romans defeat the Persians, the believers will rejoice at Allah's victory for the People of the Book over the Magians, and at Allah's confirmation of what He had promised. So understand the saying of Allah Almighty: {within a few years} and His specification of the time. He did not say: "But they, after their defeat, will overcome" indefinitely. Then He said, emphasizing what He promised and confirming it: {[It is] the promise of Allah. Allah does not fail in His promise, but most people do not know} [30:6]. Ubayy ibn Khalaf had said: "By Allah, the Romans will not defeat the Persians, nor will they expel them from their land." Abu Bakr said to him: "If you wish, I will make a bet with you that they will defeat them within this term that Allah has mentioned." So they made a bet of seven camels for three years. Then Abu Bakr came to the Messenger of Allah and told him the news. The Messenger of Allah said: "It is seven years. Increase the wager and extend the term." So Abu Bakr went to Ubayy and asked him to cancel the bet, and he did, saying: "I know that what your companion brings is false." Then Abu Bakr renewed the bet with him, adding four years to the term and increasing the wager by one hundred camels. When the Messenger of Allah was about to leave Mecca, Ubayy held Abu Bakr - may Allah be pleased with him - to the bet, until 'Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr guaranteed the camels, and a son of Ubayy guaranteed for his father. Then the Romans expelled the Persians from their land on the day of al-Hudaybiyya, and 'Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr took the camels from the son of Ubayy ibn Khalaf. [Another report from the Book] Among their objections is regarding the saying of Allah Almighty: {We will show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth} [41:53]. The signs in the horizons are the conquest of towns, and within themselves is the conquest of Mecca. If they say: It is something else, I say to them: Make it whatever you wish, as long as it is something that was not and then came to be. So take heed from it in the far reaches of the earth and within themselves, until it becomes clear to them that what the Messenger of Allah brought is the truth. [Another point from the Book] Among these is His saying to His Messenger: {Indeed, He who imposed upon you the Qur'an will surely return you to a place of return} [28:85]. A man's "ma'ad" [place of return] is his homeland, so called because he travels through the land and then returns to it. Similarly, a man's "mathab" [place of resort] is his home, because he resorts to it. From this is the saying of Allah Almighty: {And [remember] when We made the House a place of resort for the people and [a place of] security} [2:125], meaning: they resort to it every year and return. This verse was revealed to the Messenger of Allah when he left Mecca heading for Medina. He had left it saddened by the separation from his homeland, so Allah gave him glad tidings of victory and conquest, and informed him that he would return to Mecca. If someone interprets these verses differently and takes them to mean the Day of Resurrection, there would be no benefit in the speech, because He had already informed him and the people through what He revealed to him that they would be resurrected and gathered. The evidence for our interpretation is His saying: {You will surely enter the Sacred Mosque, if Allah wills, in safety, with your heads shaved and [hair] shortened} [48:27], as indeed happened. [Another point from the Book] Among these is the saying of Allah Almighty: {It is He who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to manifest it over all religion, although the polytheists dislike it} [9:33; 61:9]. This is a matter clear to the eye, known to the wise and the ignorant and the disbeliever, because Islam has prevailed over every religion, and its people are exalted above the nations. [Another point from the Book]

Among that is His saying, the Exalted: {Allah has promised those who have believed among you and done righteous deeds that He will surely grant them succession [to authority] upon the earth just as He granted it to those before them, and that He will surely establish for them their religion which He has approved for them, and that He will surely substitute for them, after their fear, security [in exchange]} [al-Nur 24:55]. The intended referent of this statement is the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, as indicated by His saying {among you} and His saying {and that He will surely substitute for them, after their fear, security}. They were the fearful ones in the early days of Islam before the Hijra ¹, and the ones who were hidden and oppressed. They indeed found all that He promised them just as He promised them. This is also a testimony to the caliphate of Abu Bakr ² - may Allah be pleased with him - because it is not permissible that someone other than him be made successor and be empowered, while that successor and empowered one is subdued and abandoned. [Another letter from the book] Among that is His saying in the story of Badr: {When He overwhelmed you with drowsiness [as] security from Him and sent down upon you from the sky water by which to purify you and remove from you the evil [suggestions] of Satan and to make steadfast your hearts and plant firmly thereby your feet} [al-Anfal 8:11]. It will not be hidden from anyone that one who is in the thick of battle and combat is not overcome by drowsiness, especially when he is few in number and weak in condition, while their enemies are many in number and strong in condition, as I have previously described. [Another letter from the book] Among that is His saying, the Exalted: {O you who are Jews, if you claim that you are allies of Allah, excluding the [other] people} [al-Jumu'ah 62:6], meaning the Muslims, {then wish for death, if you should be truthful} [al-Jumu'ah 62:6]. He means: call for death upon yourselves if you are truthful. Then He said: {But they will never wish for it, because of what their hands have put forth} [al-Jumu'ah 62:7]. Is there not in his challenging them with this statement and their refusal to supplicate for it upon themselves a proof of his knowledge and their knowledge that if they had supplicated for it, they would have been answered? And if he had not known that, he would have feared that they might answer him to what he called them to, and no harm would befall them afterwards, so that his statement would appear false and his enemies would attack him with slander. And if they had not known what would befall them if they supplicated for it upon themselves, they would have hastened to belie him and avoid him. Likewise is the matter in his calling them to Mubahala ³ and their refusal. [Another letter from the book] Among that is His saying, the Exalted, concerning the Jews: {They have been put under humiliation [by Allah] wherever they are overtaken, except for a covenant from Allah and a covenant from the people, and they have drawn upon themselves anger from Allah, and poverty has been put upon them} [Al 'Imran 3:112]. The confirmation of this among the Jews is evident in every age and every land; for they are the most humiliated of disbelievers in soul, the most fragile in dignity, the filthiest in clothing, the dirtiest in garments, the foulest in odor. You do not see them in any nation except that upon them in that nation is abasement, disgrace, and tribute. It is fitting for one who pastures in the curse of Allah and spends the night in His wrath to be thus.

Hijra : The emigration of the Prophet Muhammad and his Companions from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE.
Abu Bakr : The first Caliph after the Prophet Muhammad, known for his close companionship and leadership.
Mubahala : A form of mutual imprecation or prayer for curse upon the liar, used in religious disputations.

The Prophet's informing of what will occur without [1].

Yet, despite this, they are the most ignorant of all nations in every science, and the most devoid of every form of culture and fortune. You will hardly find among them a ruler, a scribe, an orator, a poet, a grammarian, or a physician, unless you find him as an exception, and even then you find him neglected and rejected. The Christians are not like this, because they are a mixture: among them are Yemeni Arabs, Nizari Arabs, and non-Arabs from the Children of Israel and others. And Allah, exalted be He, has likened the Jews to a donkey carrying books ¹. If they say that the curse had already been pronounced upon the Jews by Allah, and its mention had preceded in His books before the Qur'an, we say: It had preceded as you say, but the humiliation of the Jews did not become apparent, nor was the jizya ² taken from them except in Islam. Before Islam, they used to kill the prophets; they killed Zechariah, and claimed to have killed the Messiah. A group of them in Yathrib ³ were mighty and prosperous, until the Messenger of Allah dealt with them and expelled them from their homes. [The Prophet's - peace be upon him - informing of what will happen from the non-Scriptural] Among that is his saying: "The earth was folded for me, and I was shown its east and west, and the dominion of my community will reach what was folded for me of it." And we have found that the dominion of his community has penetrated the east and west of the earth in a way that no dominion has ever reached. If someone objects with what the dominion of his community has not reached in the east and west, such as China, Rome, India, and Abyssinia, we say to him: We did not mean by his saying, "And the dominion of my community will reach," all the east and all the west. Rather, he meant that Allah folded for him, i.e., gathered for him from the east and west what the dominion of his community would reach. And from speech, there is general intended as specific, as they say: "I toured the lands," while he only toured some of them; "I ruled the people," while he only ruled some of them; "I drank the water of the sea," while he only drank a gulp of it; "The people came to me," while only a group of them came to him. And what indicates that he did not mean all is his saying: "And the dominion of my community will reach what was folded for me of it," i.e., its dominion will reach the folded part of the earth for me, not other than it. [Another report] Among that is his saying to 'Adi ibn Hatim: "How will it be with you when a woman traveling in a litter ⁴ goes out from the farthest castles of Yemen to the castles of al-Hira ⁵, fearing none but Allah?" 'Adi said: I said, O Messenger of Allah, what about Tayy ⁶ and its war bands? He said: "Allah will suffice against Tayy and others." And we have found that as he mentioned, after it was impossible for anyone to pass through that region due to scarcity of water and the raids of Bedouins. And the books of Allah, exalted be He, have preceded with similar statements. Isaiah said: "And waters shall break out in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water. And there shall be a highway, and a way of holiness, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it, and the wayfaring man, though a fool, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, but the redeemed shall walk there." [And in another chapter of Isaiah] "Let the wilderness and the thirsty land be glad; let the desert rejoice and blossom like the rose. For it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon; they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God." [Another report] Among that is his saying - may Allah be pleased with him - to Abu 'Amr al-Nakha'i, when he narrated a dream he saw, including: "I saw a fire that came out of the earth and came between me and a son of mine named 'Amr, and I saw it saying: 'Laza ⁷ Laza, seeing and blind, feed me, I will eat all of you, your family and your wealth.'" The Messenger of Allah said: "That is a tribulation that will occur at the end of time." Abu 'Amr said: "And what is the tribulation, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "The people will kill their imam ⁸, then they will clash like the clashing of the plates of the head; the wrongdoer will think he is doing right, and the blood of a believer will be more permissible to a believer than drinking water." And we have seen the confirmation of that, such as the killing of al-Mutawakkil ⁹, Ja'far ibn al-Mu'tasim. What indicates this is his saying: "A tribulation that will occur at the end of time," [and before it was the beginning of the tribulation, and we are at the end of time]. [Another report] Among that is that he announced the death of al-Najashi ¹⁰ and informed his companions of his death and prayed over him, and reports came successively from every direction that he died on that day. [Another report] Among that is his saying to 'Ammar: "The rebellious party will kill you." And he was killed on the day of Siffin ¹¹ with 'Ali ibn Abi Talib - may Allah have mercy on him. And 'Amr ibn al-'As mentioned to Mu'awiya - may Allah be pleased with him - what his son 'Abdullah narrated from the Prophet's saying to 'Ammar: "The rebellious party will kill you." Mu'awiya said: "You keep bringing us these absurdities to stir up trouble? Did we kill him? It was the one who brought him who killed him." If the matter had not been true in Mu'awiya's view, he would have said to him: "Your son lied." And he would not have needed this weak trick and far-fetched interpretation. [Another report] Among that is his saying to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib: "The most wretched of people is the one who hamstrung the she-camel ¹², and the one who will dye this from here," meaning: the one who will strike you on your head and dye your beard with the blood of your head. And he was struck on his head when he was killed - may Allah be pleased with him. [Another report] Among that is his saying - peace be upon him: "Follow the two after me: Abu Bakr and 'Umar." So he informed us by this saying that the caliph after him would be Abu Bakr, and that the caliph after Abu Bakr would be 'Umar. [Another report] Among that is his saying in the hadith of Safina ¹³; and the interpretation of his dream: "The caliphate of prophethood will be thirty years, then Allah will give the kingdom to whom He wills." And during this period was the caliphate of Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, and 'Ali - may Allah be pleased with them all. [Another report] Among that is his saying - peace be upon him: "I passed by the caravan of the sons of so-and-so, and I found the people asleep, and they had a vessel with water, and they had covered it. So I uncovered its cover and drank what was in it, then I replaced the cover as it was. The sign of that is that their caravan is now descending from such-and-such a place, led by a gray camel carrying two saddlebags, one black and the other speckled." So the people rushed to the mountain pass, and they found what he described, and they asked about the vessel and the water, and they found the matter as he said. [Another report] Among that is that his she-camel was lost, and he began asking people about it. The hypocrites said: "This Muhammad tells you news from heaven, yet he does not know where his she-camel is." So he came and ascended the pulpit, praised Allah and thanked Him, then he said - and he recounted their words - then he said: "And I do not know except what my Lord has taught me. And He has informed me that she is in such-and-such a valley, with her halter caught on a tree." So the people rushed and found her as such. [Another report] Among that is his saying to Khalid ibn al-Walid when he sent him to Ukaydir ¹⁴ of Dumat al-Jandal: "You will come to him and find him hunting wild cows." And they found him as such. [Another report] Among that is his saying - peace be upon him - to al-'Abbas, his uncle, when he was captured: "Ransom yourself and your two nephews."

al-himār yaḥmilu asfāran : Reference to Quran 62:5, likening those who carry the Torah but do not act upon it to a donkey carrying books.
jizya : A tax levied on non-Muslims in Islamic states, in exchange for protection and exemption from military service.
Yathrib : The pre-Islamic name of Medina, the city where the Prophet Muhammad migrated and established the first Muslim community.
al-ẓaʿīnah : A covered litter or howdah used by women for travel, often carried by a camel.
al-Ḥīrah : An ancient city in Mesopotamia, capital of the Lakhmid kingdom, located near modern-day Najaf in Iraq.
Ṭayyiʾ : A prominent Arab tribe, known for its warriors and poets, to which 'Adi ibn Hatim belonged.
Laẓā : One of the names of Hellfire in Islamic tradition, meaning 'blazing flame'.
imām : Here, the leader of the Muslim community; the caliph.
al-Mutawakkil : The tenth Abbasid caliph, who was assassinated in 861 CE, marking a period of political instability.
al-Najāshī : The title of the Negus, the ruler of the Kingdom of Aksum (Ethiopia), who gave refuge to early Muslims and later embraced Islam.
Ṣiffīn : The site of a major battle in 657 CE between the forces of Caliph 'Ali and Mu'awiya, leading to arbitration.
ʿāqir al-nāqah : Reference to the story of the she-camel of Prophet Salih, which was hamstrung by a wicked man, leading to divine punishment.
Safīnah : A companion of the Prophet, known for his long hadith about the caliphate lasting thirty years.
Ukaydir : The Christian ruler of Dumat al-Jandal, who was captured by Khalid ibn al-Walid and later accepted Islam.

And from his answered supplication [1]

He meant: ‘Aqīl ibn Abī Ṭālib and Nawfal ibn al-Ḥārith. “For you are a man of wealth.” He said: “I have no wealth.” He said: “Where is the wealth you deposited in Mecca with Umm al-Faḍl, with no one else present, and you said: ‘If I am killed on my journey, then for al-Faḍl such-and-such, for ‘Abd Allāh such-and-such, and for so-and-so such-and-such’?” So al-‘Abbās said: “By Him Who sent you with the truth, no one knew of this but me, and you are indeed the Messenger of Allāh.” And he and ‘Aqīl embraced Islam. [And from His Answered Supplications] Among his signs is his supplication against Muḍar when they harmed him and denied him. He said: “O Allāh, make Your punishment severe upon Muḍar, and send upon them years like the years of Joseph.” So rain was withheld from them until plants and trees withered, livestock died, they roasted leather, and they ate ‘al-‘ilhiz (a mixture of blood and hair/fur). Then Ḥājib ibn Zurārah went to Kisrā (the Persian king), complaining of what had befallen them, and asked him to permit them to graze in the Sawād (fertile lands of Iraq), pawning his bow. Concerning this, the verse was revealed: {On the Day when the sky brings a manifest smoke (10) covering the people; this is a painful punishment} [Sūrat al-Dukhān: 10-11]. The “smoke” refers to drought; it was called smoke because dust rises in a year of drought, appearing like smoke. For this reason, a year of drought is called “ghabrā’” (dusty) due to the rising dust. It is not permissible to say this has not yet occurred, because He said: {covering the people; this is a painful punishment (11) “Our Lord, remove from us the punishment; indeed we are believers”} [Sūrat al-Dukhān: 11-12]. Then He said: {How can there be remembrance for them when a clear Messenger has come to them? (13) Then they turned away from him and said: “Taught by others, possessed.”} [Sūrat al-Dukhān: 13-14]. Then He said: {Indeed, We will remove the punishment a little; indeed you will return [to disbelief]} [Sūrat al-Dukhān: 15]. Then He said: {On the Day We seize with the greatest seizure; indeed We will exact retribution} [Sūrat al-Dukhān: 16], meaning the Day of Badr. All this indicates that the “smoke” has passed and that he supplicated for it; and the removal of punishment from them was also by his supplication—may my father and mother be his ransom—so rain came to them, and it was so abundant that it destroyed their houses. They spoke to him about it, and he said: “O Allāh, around us and not upon us; O Allāh, upon the hills, the mountains, and the valleys’ interiors.” Among that is his supplication against Kisrā when he tore up his letter and sent him dirt. He said: “O Allāh, tear apart his kingdom completely.” And he said to his companions: “He tore my letter; indeed his kingdom and his nation will be torn apart. And he sent me dirt; indeed you will possess his land.” So Allāh tore apart his kingdom, scattered his assembly, and made them masters of his land. Among his supplications—peace be upon him—was his supplication against ‘Utbah ibn Abī Lahab. He said: “O Allāh, set upon him a dog from among Your dogs.” So a lion devoured him during one of his travels. This, along with many other things, have been recorded in the ḥadīth and accepted by the Muslims, just as the People of the Book received the accounts of their prophets from their companions, such as: the wolf speaking, and the one spoken to was Uhbān al-Aslamī, and his descendants are still called Banī Mukallim al-Dhi’b (Sons of the Wolf-Speaker). Concerning this, the poet Di‘bil ibn ‘Alī said: “You boast over us that the wolf spoke to you… By my life, your father spoke to the wolf!” And the speaking of the gazelle, the complaint of the camel, the walking of the tree to him, the gushing of water from between his fingers, his feeding of his companions—who were very many—from a small amount of food, and a barren goat in a small ḥays (a mixture of dates and clarified butter) until it overflowed for them with abundance, along with his manifest signs during the digging of the trench and his journey to Tabūk, which are not hidden from the people of knowledge. Enumerating them would make the book lengthy, and some of what we have mentioned suffices as evidence for what we intend. If someone objects to these signs we have enumerated, citing the words of Allāh in His Book: {And nothing prevented Us from sending signs except that the former peoples denied them} [Sūrat al-Isrā’: 59], saying this indicates that He did not send signs as were sent to previous prophets, I would say to him: He only meant by the signs He did not send him, the signs that the polytheists specified for him, such as their saying: {We will not believe you until you cause a spring to gush forth from the earth for us (90) or you have a garden of palm trees and grapes and cause rivers to gush forth within it abundantly (91) or you cause the sky to fall upon us in pieces as you have claimed} [Sūrat al-Isrā’: 90-92], and similar things. He says: “And nothing prevented Us from bringing them these signs which they asked to be brought to them, except that the former peoples asked their prophets for similar things, then denied them, so We destroyed them.” This is indicated by the saying of the Messiah—peace be upon him: {O Allāh, our Lord, send down upon us a table from heaven, to be for us a festival for the first of us and the last of us, and a sign from You. And provide for us, and You are the best of providers (114) Allāh said: “Indeed, I will send it down upon you, but whoever disbelieves afterwards from among you—then indeed I will punish him with a punishment I do not punish anyone among the worlds.”} [Sūrat al-Mā’idah: 114-115]. Similarly, His saying: {And they said: “Why was an angel not sent down to him?” And if We had sent down an angel, the matter would have been decided, then they would not be reprieved} [Sūrat al-An‘ām: 8], meaning: If We had sent down an angel and they denied after the angel’s descent, the matter would have been decided, i.e., We would have destroyed them and not reprieved them. Similarly, His narration about the people of Ṣāliḥ: {You are only a human like us, so bring a sign if you are of the truthful (154) He said: “This is a she-camel; she has a share of water, and you have a share of water on a known day (155) And do not touch her with harm, lest the punishment of a great day seize you (156) But they hamstrung her, and then they became regretful (157) So the punishment seized them} [Sūrat al-Shu‘arā’: 154-158]. This is a mercy from Allāh for this nation, a respite and a delay. If the Prophet—peace be upon him—had not brought signs indicating his prophethood as they claimed, then the people’s submission to him, their following him, their sacrificing their lives and wealth for him, their leaving their homelands, their emigration time after time to the land of Abyssinia and to Medina, and their enduring all kinds of harm in supporting and obeying him—while he had no wealth, no worldly possessions—until he conquered nations, subdued necks, his call prevailed, his word rose high, and it reached the east and west of the earth, its islands and mountains—this would be the greatest of signs and the clearest of proofs that Allāh—Mighty and Majestic—facilitated for him what He did not facilitate for Moses—peace be upon him—such as the splitting of the sea, the hand, the staff, the rock, the lice, the blood, and the frogs, and what He did not facilitate for the Messiah—peace be upon him—such as reviving the dead and healing the blind and leprous. For the call of Moses was confined to the Children of Israel; yet they differed with him and harassed him with questions: {So they said: “Show us Allāh plainly”} [Sūrat al-Nisā’: 153], and {So go, you and your Lord, and fight} [Sūrat al-Mā’idah: 24], and {Make for us a god as they have gods} [Sūrat al-A‘rāf: 138]. Then they worshipped the calf after he had left them, despite having shown them great signs that were a clear trial. Similarly, the call of Jesus—despite his signs—was followed only by a few, then they sought to shed his blood, and they differed after him regarding the foundation of their religion, saying: He is God, he is the Son of God, he is the third of three. As for the Muslims, though they differ, their differences are in subsidiary matters; the fundamentals are sound. This alone suffices as a proof and evidence for the Prophet. Moreover, not every prophet was sent with a sign, nor did every prophet who was asked for a sign bring one, nor did every nation that followed a prophet follow him based on a sign. Thus, David had no sign in the Psalms; Ezekiel was approached by a group of the Children of Israel wanting to test him, and he answered them: “The Lord of lords says: ‘I have sworn an oath by My name: I am the Living One, and I will not give a reply to what they desire.’” And the Messiah was approached by a group of Jews asking him for a sign, and he rebuked them, answering: “An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah—peace be upon him.” And the Messiah passed by Simon Peter and his brother Andrew, the disciples, as they were fishing in the sea, and he said to them: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” So they left their nets and followed him immediately, without asking him for a sign, nor did they follow him based on one. Nothing is more astonishing to me than the Christians’ belief in the prophethood of Mary and John, both women, without a book, sign, or proof! And their disbelief in the prophethood of Muhammad. If we were to say to these heretics who deny the messengers: “Where did you gain certain knowledge, without doubt, that Allāh did not send a messenger to His creation, to guide them to His pleasure and obedience, to restrain them from what incurs His displeasure and disobedience, to direct them to what is good for their affairs, to preserve their blood, protect their sanctities, restrain their strong from their weak, and that wisdom was with you? The correct course would be to leave them aimless, warring against each other, shedding blood, fornicating like beasts, so that no son respects his father, no brother respects his brother, the many consume the few, and the mighty seize from the weak.” They would not return to any document, certainty, or proof in this; it is merely a preference for neglect, committing immoralities, abandoning obligations, and leaving legislation to whim. Were it not for Allāh’s repelling from them those who do not share their view, they would see clearly the evil of what they chose. The report is not like direct observation, nor is the one who hears of a matter like the one who experiences it. Similarly, if we were to say to the People of the Book: “Where did you gain certain knowledge, without doubt, that Muhammad is not described (as a prophet), despite these reports and this prominence? Is it from the saying of Moses, or David, or Isaiah: ‘A man will come to you claiming prophethood, called Muhammad; reject him and do not believe him’?” They would not return to any knowledge from any of these prophets or others. If this is not found, then is Muhammad not like a prophet among them? And if those people are presumptuous and doubtful, while we are certain with many proofs and evidences, how can our certainty be opposed by their doubt, and the clear proof by no proof? Every doubter in a matter admits ignorance of himself, because the truth cannot be free from being one of the two matters between which he stands, and he is not upon either of them. If the Christians say: “The Messiah informed us that there is no prophet after him,” we say: “He also informed you in the Gospel that he would go and that the Paraclete would come after him.” He said: “He will bear witness to me as I have borne witness to him. I come to you with parables, and he comes to you with interpretation.” And He informed you in another place that: “Elijah is about to come; whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.” Elijah, according to you, is a prophet mentioned in their books. It is reported from some of the disciples that after the Messiah, there would be prophets and scholars in Antioch, among them: Barnabas, Simon, ………, Lucius, Matthew, and Saul.

In another place: that prophets from Jerusalem came forward, and one of them, named Ignatius ¹, stood up and prophesied to them, saying that there would be a severe famine and drought in the land. This is what is in their books, and in them there is what has been rightly transmitted from the people of insight concerning the previous books of God, that George ² came after Christ, and he had met some of the disciples, and was sent to the king of Mosul, who was from Palestine. So how can Christ—peace be upon him—say: 'There is no prophet after me,' and then say: 'So-and-so and so-and-so will come after me'? How can you believe this statement from him and believe in prophets who came after him? Why did you not hesitate to believe in him as you did with those prophets? This statement that they attribute to Christ is not free from one of two things: either it is false, intended for arrogance, and as they did not use it to refute the prophethood of Muhammad, or it is true and has an interpretation that escaped you, which we have come to know through God's success and support; and that is that Christ, in our view, is alive with God, he was not killed—as you claim—nor was he crucified, and God will send him down at the end of time, and he will dwell on earth, kill the Antichrist, marry women, and then God will cause him to die, and there will be no prophet after him, i.e., after that death. If the word is interpreted in this way, all of Christ's statements become correct and none contradict each other. If they argue that they abandoned following him because he contradicted Moses and Jesus, then the laws are a means of subjugation from God to His servants and a knowledge of His obedience and disobedience. There is nothing in the law itself that inherently necessitates prohibition or permission, restriction or allowance. God tests His servants in every age and through the tongue of every messenger with what He wills, and He permits through the tongue of another what He forbade through the tongue of the first. The first is not inherently more entitled to that than the second. Moses—peace be upon him—was sent with the Sabbath and with circumcision on the seventh day, then Jesus came after him abrogating this and other laws of Moses, despite his saying to the disciples: 'Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law; I have not come to abolish but to fulfill. Truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter of the Law will become void. Whoever tries to abolish any of these commandments to teach people will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.' So why did you not object to Jesus' saying, 'I have not come to abolish or change anything,' and then he abolished and changed? If they argue that they abandoned following him because he unsheathed the sword and killed everyone who opposed him, and that Jesus was sent with mercy and said: 'If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.' And 'All creation belongs to God, and the command sends a prophet with mercy just as He is merciful, and sends a prophet with the sword just as He is severe in punishment.' God has already mentioned in their books what indicates that He sent him with the sword; among that is His saying in the Psalms describing his community: 'In their hands are double-edged swords, to take vengeance on the nations who do not worship God.' And in another Psalm: 'Gird your sword upon your thigh, O mighty one, for your law and statutes are accompanied by the awe of your Lord, and your arrows are sharpened, and nations fall under you.' And he was not an innovation among the messengers in jihad; Abraham fought the four kings who had marched to the land of the island to raid its people, and he fought them until he defeated them with his servants and his followers. And Joshua son of Nun killed a king of Syria with two spells, and destroyed its cities until no trace remained, nor any of its people to defend it, without calling them to a religion or demanding tribute. And David invaded lands of Syria, leaving no man or woman alive, and took the spoils. All this is found in their books. And this Jesus—peace be upon him—himself, sent with mercy, says in the Gospel to his disciples: 'When I sent you without purse or sandals, did you lack anything?' They said, 'No.' He said, 'But now, let the one who has no purse buy one, and the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy a sword.' He only commanded them to buy swords after having forbidden them to fight, because he knew that a prophet would be sent after him with swords, so he pointed to him and his times, and commanded those who would reach that time to follow him and fight alongside him. If they argue that they abandoned following him because of the mention in the Qur'an of eating, drinking, and marriage in Paradise, and iron and maces in Hellfire, then God has mentioned Paradise and His settling Adam and his wife there, their eating from the tree, and their covering themselves with fig leaves when they became naked in the Torah. If they claim that the Paradise in which Adam was settled was on earth, we will not argue with them about that, and we will refer them to Jesus' statement in the Gospel to his disciples when he drank with them: 'I will not drink of this vine until I drink it with you in the kingdom of heaven.' And Luke said about Jesus—peace be upon him: 'You will eat and drink at my Father's table.' And John said about him: 'In my Father's house are many rooms.' And in Isaiah: 'Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.' This is like God's saying in the Qur'an: {In it are rivers of water unaltered, rivers of milk whose taste never changes, rivers of wine delicious to drinkers} [Muhammad: 15]. And Jesus described the punishment in the Hereafter, saying: 'It is a fire that never goes out, and worms that never die.' And he said in another place: 'Hellfire with its fuel.' And he said to the disciples: 'Truly I tell you, many will come from the east and the west and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' And God said through David: 'I will spread them and raise them from between the fangs of beasts and from the depths of the seas.' And Daniel said: 'Many will rise from the graves, some to eternal gardens, and some to destruction.' If they argue that he was asked about things he did not know, such as the spirit and the time of the Hour, and he said: {They ask you about the Hour: when is its arrival? Say, 'Its knowledge is only with my Lord. None will reveal its time except Him. It weighs heavily upon the heavens and the earth. It will not come upon you except suddenly.' They ask you as if you are well-informed of it. Say, 'Its knowledge is only with God'} [Al-A'raf: 187]. And the prophets only know what God teaches them, and He only teaches them what He wills, not what they will, and He does not reveal His unseen except to whom He chooses. Jesus asked his disciples about the Hour, saying: 'That is a hidden matter from me; only God knows it.' Thus Jesus agreed with our Prophet—peace be upon him. If they argue that Jesus said to them in the Gospel: 'Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?' Then our Prophet told us similar to what Jesus told them, saying: 'Before the Hour, there will be thirty impostors, each claiming to be a prophet, all lying about God.' We have seen some of them in early Islam, like Musaylima and al-Aswad al-Ansi, and at its end. This statement of Jesus—peace be upon him—does not, in my view, resemble what I claim from his saying: 'There is no prophet after me'; because in his saying 'There is no prophet after me' there is an indication that everyone who claims prophethood after him is a liar, so what need was there for him to say 'Beware of false prophets'? Whoever tells you with knowledge and certainty that you will not see a thief today is in no need of saying: 'Beware of the thieves today.' This statement of Jesus should be their evidence, because deeds indicate the truthfulness or falsehood of their doers. So which deeds of the Messenger of God, and which of his qualities, contradict what Jesus mentioned that necessitates belief? Was he not the noblest of the noble, the most forbearing of the forbearing, the most generous of the generous, the most valiant of the valiant, the most ascetic of the ascetic? Did he not patch his clothes, mend his sandals, use his hand as a pillow, serve his family, eat on the ground, and say: 'I am only a servant; I eat as a servant eats, and I dress as a servant dresses'? He sat with the poor, walked in the markets, and was never seen laughing loudly, eating alone, or striking with his hand except in the way of God. He stood in prayer until his feet swelled, and his stomach could be heard rumbling like a boiling pot from weeping. He said: 'Hud and its sisters have made me gray.' Among his supplications was: 'O God, grant me two eyes that pour forth tears, watering me from fear of You before tears become blood and teeth become embers.' He sought justice for himself, and when he died, his armor was pawned for barley he had borrowed for his food. He did not leave an inheritance, saying: 'We prophets do not leave inheritance; what we leave is charity.' God praised him for his beautiful character, saying: {And indeed, you are of a great moral character} [Al-Qalam: 4]. So if any of you find these things far-fetched and doubt some of these reports, here is his chamber where he lived with his family, and in it is his grave; here is his cloak that he used to wear, which the caliphs wear on holidays; here is his cup from which he drank; here are his sandals; here are his letters to various rulers on pieces of leather. And despite all this, he was the most balanced in lineage, the most honorable in descent, the noblest in fatherhood. Through his grandfather Qusayy, God gathered Quraysh and settled them. The poet said: Your father Qusayy was called the gatherer, Through him God gathered the tribes from Fihr. He was the most eloquent of people in brevity, and the most steadfast in heart in times of battle. People fled from him on the day of Hunayn, though they were twelve thousand, while he stood firm with five men, one of whom was his uncle al-Abbas, holding the reins of his mule, calling out to the companions of the tree: 'O companions of the tree, O companions of Surat al-Baqara, come to me, for I am the Messenger of God.' Al-Abbas said: We supported the Messenger of God in battle, seven of us, While those who fled from him dispersed. And our eighth met his death by his sword, For what he endured for God, he did not complain. The defeat of the people that day was due to a word spoken by some of them: 'We will not be defeated today due to fewness,' so they were punished for that, and God revealed: {And on the day of Hunayn, when your multitude pleased you, but it availed you nothing, and the earth closed in on you despite its vastness, then you turned back fleeing. Then God sent down His tranquility upon His Messenger and upon the believers} [At-Tawbah: 25-26].

And these are his Companions, the best of mankind and the lamps of the people. Among them: Abu Bakr—may Allah be pleased with him—whose cloak was fastened with two pins ³, and he was the Caliph after him, so he was called 'the one with the two pins'. 'Umar, while he was the Commander of the Faithful, wore a woolen cloak patched with leather ⁴, and he would patrol the markets with a whip ⁵ on his shoulder, disciplining the people. He would pass by discarded rope and date pits ⁶, pick them up, and throw them into people's homes so they could benefit from them. 'Uthman ibn 'Affan—may Allah be pleased with him—would recite the entire Qur'an in a single rak'ah ⁷. 'Ali ibn Abi Talib—may Allah be pleased with him—while he was Caliph, bought a shirt for three dirhams and cut off the sleeves from the wrists, saying, 'Praise be to Allah, this is from His provision ⁸.' Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas: The Prophet prayed that his supplication be answered and his aim be true ⁹. He was put in charge of the people at al-Qadisiyyah ¹⁰; he was wounded and did not witness the Day of Conquest ¹¹. A man from Bajilah said: 'Do you not see that Allah has made His religion manifest, while Sa'd at the gate of al-Qadisiyyah is protected? So we returned, and many women have become widows, but the women of Sa'd are not widowed among them.' Sa'd said: 'O Allah, spare us his hand and his tongue.' So he was struck, his tongue became speechless, and his hand withered. Ibn 'Abbas: There were two lines on his cheeks from the traces of tears. This is regarding his Companions; and the Followers ¹² after them are too famous for us to prolong by enumerating them, and too numerous for us to encompass. And this is his call—the call of truth—to the word of piety ¹³, which is: 'There is no god but Allah, the One, the Unique, the Self-Sufficient ¹⁴, who has not begotten nor was begotten, and there is none comparable to Him.' Faith in His angels, His books, His messengers, His promise and His threat, loyalty to His friends and enmity to His enemies. And this is his law—the easiest of laws, the most pleasant, the purest, and the most virtuous. He permitted good things and forbade evil things, and commanded kindness to parents, maintaining family ties, contentment and forgiveness, enjoining good, turning away from the ignorant, avoiding backbiting, lying, slander, indecencies and abominations, drinking wine and gambling. He urged everything good and deterred from everything evil. He explained to the people what to take and what to leave in their obligations, rulings, alms, divorce, festivals, pilgrimage, transactions, and all other matters of their religion. Thus He made them independent of all nations and all people of the scriptures, and made their opponents in need of what they have. For example, the Christians use their inheritance laws in many cases, and use their rulings in transactions of sale and purchase. Likewise, the Jews have derived from the principles of their rulings in the Torah matters they do not know, so they resort to the judgment of Muslims in them. And no nation has a chain of transmission like theirs: man from man, trustworthy from trustworthy, until it reaches the Messenger of Allah and his Companions—peace be upon him—thus distinguishing the sound from the weak, the connected from the disconnected, the mudallas ¹⁵ and the sound. Let the one who reflects ponder what we say with consideration and thought, and approach it with fairness and sincerity, cutting off habit and custom. Let him combine the call of the Messenger of Allah and his law, and discard what the heretics have built. How can a Christian's soul be pleased after... [In what we have related there is sufficient for one who understands, a message for one who takes heed, and a cure for one who doubts. So what prevents one who has ears to hear, a heart to comprehend, and eyes to see, from returning to Allah Almighty and repenting to the truth before it is too late, by the sudden arrival of death? For there is no substitute for religion, no escape from Allah, no plea after death, and no abode but Paradise or Hellfire.]

إِغْيَانُوس : Ignatius, a Christian saint and martyr, traditionally identified as Ignatius of Antioch.
جَرْجِس : George, likely Saint George, a Christian saint venerated in various traditions.
khilalayn : Two pins or skewers used to fasten a cloak; Abu Bakr was known for this simple practice.
jubbah sawf marqu'ah bi-adam : A woolen cloak patched with leather, indicating extreme humility and simplicity.
dirrah : A whip or rod used for discipline, often carried by judges or rulers.
nakth wa nawa : Discarded rope and date pits; 'Umar would collect them for reuse.
rak'ah : A unit of prayer in Islam.
riyash : Provision or adornment; here meaning a garment from Allah's provision.
tusaddad ramiyatuh : His aim be true; a prayer for accuracy in archery or warfare.
al-Qadisiyyah : A famous battle in Islamic history (636 CE) between Muslims and Sassanid Persians.
yawm al-fath : The Day of Conquest, referring to the conquest of Mecca.
tabi'un : Followers; the generation after the Companions who learned from them.
kalimat al-taqwa : The word of piety; the declaration of faith (shahada).
al-samad : The Self-Sufficient, Eternal; a name of Allah meaning the one to whom all turn.
mudallas : A hadith with a hidden defect, often due to a narrator concealing a weak link.

Les signes éminents de la position élevée que Dieu a accordée à Son Messager (que la prière et la paix de Dieu soient sur lui) dans la Torah, l'Évangile, les Psaumes, le Coran et autres [Écritures], ainsi que les preuves de sa prophétie, issues des arguments lumineux et des signes évidents.100%