of faith, beginning with belief in the Scriptures and the messengers. Then He—exalted be He—after opening the surah by describing mankind’s categories, who are three in number—believer, unbeliever, and hypocrite—went on to detail the attributes of the believers, followed by the attributes of the unbelievers, and then those of the hypocrites. Thereafter He laid down the foundations of faith: He commanded the worship of Allah, the Most High, and the remembrance of His signs and His favors; He affirmed the prophethood of His messengers; He mentioned the Last Day with its promise and threat; He spoke of the beginning of the universe and the creation of the heavens and the earth; then the creation of Adam, the angels’ prostration to him, his exit from Paradise, and his descent to earth.

After issuing a universal call to all creation, He singled out the People of the Scripture for specific address: He spoke first to the Jews—the Children of Israel—then to the Christians, and finally He addressed the believers, confirming for them the pillars of their religion. He cited the primordial creed of Abraham, his construction of the House and his supplication for the people of Mecca, and He emphatically commanded adherence to Abraham’s creed. He then referred to what pertains to the House: adopting it as the qiblah and venerating the rites of Allah located there, such as Safa and Marwa. Next He spoke of monotheism, the lawful and the unlawful, and dietary rulings for humanity at large, and then for those who believe in particular. He also set forth the rulings connected to killing—retribution—and those connected to death—bequests; then