by the prophets before him—concerning Allah’s names and attributes, His absolute oneness, His angels, His devoted servants (awliyāʾ) and His enemies—while knowing that these topics contain so many fine details that two people could never coincide in them unless they had first colluded. Yet neither Muhammad nor Moses—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon them—ever conspired, and in fact Muhammad—peace and blessings be upon him—did not collude with any of the earlier messengers, nor did they collude with him.

A false report can arise in only two ways: either the narrator knowingly lies, or he is mistaken. Two deliberate liars cannot possibly agree in lengthy narratives and elaborate particulars, and likewise two mistaken persons will not err in exactly the same fashion. Even when two ordinary people, with no prior arrangement, each describe the condition of a town and their accounts match, their agreement is taken as proof of truthfulness. How much more, then, when it comes to matters of the unseen that can be known only through Allah the Exalted! Such concord is therefore one of the evidences of the prophets’ prophethood—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon them all.

As for whatever they transmit from the prophets that contradicts what Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—brought, it falls into two categories. The first is those religious laws that have been abrogated; this poses no objection, but