multiplying, while the wall had not yet been fully completed; I was even told that some people had begun to pray inside the structure, seeking blessing thereby, and if matters continue in this fashion….”

Once you are aware of this deleted passage it becomes clear that Abū Ghuddah is still twisting words from their proper places, just like those of whom Allah says, “They distort words from their [proper] usages and have forgotten a portion of that of which they were reminded” (Qur’an 5:13). By omitting the lines just quoted he has distorted the meaning I intended, for the demonstrative pronoun in my phrase “this is the beginning of evil” refers to what I saw of the hole in the window. After his deletion, however, it is made to refer instead to the previously mentioned wall that was built around the cemetery.

2 – His remark, “Their statement ends here, and in it is their assault …” contains two lies—indeed, three.

First: the statement did not end there. At its close I actually wrote, word for word: “May Allah keep its steps firm and guide it to apply the Law in full, caring not for the blame of any critic. He alone is the One whose help is sought.” His removal of this sentence is the clearest example of distortion; had he retained it, his slander would have been exposed to the readers at once. That is precisely why he deleted it—to mislead the readers and to calumniate the innocent. May Allah requite him as he deserves! This sentence is the strongest proof that with these words we are offering sincere counsel to the Saudi state and its rulers; we have no wish to denigrate or attack them, as this sinful fabricator wants people to believe.

Second: his phrase “their statement,” whereas the words are mine alone. The publisher bears no responsibility for them if they should contain an error, nor does anyone else. This too is part of the way he misleads the readers, as I have already explained.