there are also reports whose very wording is not soundly established—such as certain weak or fabricated hadiths—and, within the body of reports whose wording is authentic, there are texts whose meaning is not explicitly contradictory; indeed, they give no support to such a claim at all.

How many people interpret the Quran in ways that its own wording does not bear—interpretations that were never voiced by any of the Companions, nor even by the Followers after them!

One man, for instance, will say that the Prophet Shuʿayb was Moses’ father-in-law, while the Quran, the Sunnah, and the words of the Companions all testify to the very opposite.

Another will claim that the messengers sent to the town were disciples of the Messiah, yet the Quran and the reports transmitted from the Companions likewise point only to the contrary.

As for whatever is known that Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—has actually reported, conclusive and definitive proofs have established the truthfulness of both him and what he conveyed—proofs stronger than those that attest to anyone else and to what they have brought. Therefore, anything that clashes with it is known to be a falsehood attributed to the prophets, and no created being can ever produce a decisive proof for