and an outrageous calumny—there is no god but Him; He has never taken a consort nor a child—whereupon the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to them:
“Do you not know that every child resembles his father?”
They replied, “Yes.”
He said, “Do you not know that our Lord is Ever-Living and never dies, whereas Jesus will one day perish?”
They said, “Indeed.”
He said, “Do you not know that our Lord sustains all things, watching over them, protecting them, and providing for them?”
They said, “Indeed.”
He said, “Does Jesus possess any portion of that authority?”
They said, “No.”
He said, “Do you not know that nothing in the earth or in the heaven is hidden from Allah?”
They said, “Indeed.”
He said, “Does Jesus have knowledge of any of that except what he has been taught?”
They said, “No.”
He said, “Our Lord fashioned Jesus in the womb as He willed. Tell me, do you not know that our Lord neither eats food, nor drinks, nor undergoes bodily functions?”
They said, “Indeed.”
He said, “Do you not know that Jesus was carried by his mother just as a woman carries (her child), that she delivered him as women give birth, that he was suckled like any infant, and that later he ate food, drank, and relieved himself?”
They said, “Indeed.”
He said, “How, then, can he be as you claim?”
They recognized the truth but still refused except to deny it, so Allah revealed:
Alif-Lām-Mīm. Allah—there is no deity but Him, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting (Āl ʿImrān 1–2).