there would have been no blame upon them.
Whoever takes issue with the prophets’ scriptures does so only because his understanding is corrupt and his knowledge deficient.
Instead, they coined statements and doctrines that no prophet—peace be upon them—ever taught, doctrines that contain blatant disbelief and obvious contradiction.
Even supposing they had intended a sound meaning by those words, nobody has the right to invent phrases unknown to any prophet—phrases that indicate contradictory unbelief at odds with both revelation and reason—and then plead, “I only meant something correct,” when the wording itself gives no such indication. How much worse, then, when the very meaning by which they explain their words is corrupt and self-contradictory, as has already been shown!
Thus, they fabricated objectionable expressions and supplied them with an objectionable interpretation, so the rebuttal reaches them on both counts. In this they resemble certain Muslim freethinkers who deify some members of the Prophet’s Household or certain shaykhs, and who attribute to God qualities never affirmed in any revealed Book; such people are regarded as heretics by the Muslims.
This stands in stark contrast to the believers—those who believe in God and His messengers—who accept what the prophets taught, refrain from inventing statements the prophets never delivered, and do not make such inventions the foundation of their religion.
Second, it may be said: What you have reported about the Muslims is a manifest lie against them. The formulation you have quoted is found neither in the Quran nor in any hadith,