the unseen—yet Allah, majestic and exalted, says: “Say, none in the heavens or on earth knows the unseen except Allah” (al-Naml 27:65). He also commanded him to proclaim to the people: “Had I possessed knowledge of the unseen, I would have amassed abundant good” (al-Aʿrāf 7:188). They even credited him with the power to harm and benefit, whereas Allah ordered him to announce: “Say, I hold no power to harm you or to guide you (21)” and He, exalted is He, said: “Say, no one can shield me from Allah, nor can I find any refuge apart from Him (22)” (both in al-Jinn 72).

The second group consists of atheists who rejected part of what he brought. The Jews denied our Messenger, claiming that the messenger foretold in the Torah to appear at the end of time would not come until after Jesus—and since, in their view, Jesus has not yet come, they consequently denied both Jesus and Muhammad, peace be upon them both. The Christians likewise belied our Messenger, maintaining that the one Jesus foretold has not yet arrived.

In these later times other factions have emerged that plot against the mission of Muhammad ﷺ and malign Islam by casting doubts upon it. Among them is Freemasonry, which alleges that Muhammad is a so-called prophet, that he brought nothing new, and that the Quran is merely an offshoot of the Torah, borrowing its rulings and teachings. Freemasonry is a vile and cunning movement whose subtle tactics of deception and guile mislead the simple-minded.

Also among them is the false, deviant sect of Qadiyanism and its offshoots, the Bābiyyah and the Bahāʼiyyah. Each of these sects claims to be an Islamic group, insists that prophethood did not end with Muhammad, and contends that its leader, Ghulām Ahmad al-Qadiyani, is a prophet who receives revelation.

The point is that these two blessed words—“the servant of Allah and His Messenger”—serve as a refutation and denial of all such extremist and negligent factions, and they are light and felicity for all who affirm them.