—a catalogue whose description would be endless. Thus they still harbor a rejection of the prophets akin to that found in their wicked forefathers.

As for the Christians, despite their excessive veneration of the Messiah and his disciples, they belittle the other prophets. At times they place the disciples on the same level as Abraham and Moses—or even above them. At other times they say, just as the Jews did, “Solomon was never a prophet; indeed, he fell from prophethood.” Yet on other occasions they maintain that whatever Allah addressed to David and to the other prophets was intended solely for the Messiah, even though the wording itself gives no such indication; they interpret the books of Allah purely in accordance with their own desires. Sometimes they even claim, “If one of us obeys Allah in what we ourselves deem obedience, he becomes the equal of a prophet,” and they deem it permissible for such people to alter the laws of the prophets and to institute a religion of their own invention.

By contrast, Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and his community established the monotheism upon which Abraham, Moses, and all the other messengers had stood; they believed in every scripture Allah revealed and in every messenger He sent, and they upheld the religion of the Most Merciful in a way no other nation ever did.

Accordingly, most people on earth, with respect to Muhammad—peace and blessings be upon him—are: either they believe in him both inwardly and outwardly—such are the God-fearing friends of Allah, His successful party, His victorious army—or they submit to him outwardly alone, out of expedience and fear of his nation; these are the hypocrites.