undermine his prophethood. Possessing complete knowledge of his circumstances, had they known that he had acquired that information from any human being, they would certainly have seized upon it as grounds for criticism and would have broadcast it. Given how well they knew him, it is impossible that they would not have discovered such a thing had it occurred; and given their eagerness to discredit him, it is equally impossible that they would have kept silent about it or that it could have remained hidden.

Second:
It is mass-transmitted from his own people that they themselves used to say, “No one meets with him who could be teaching him these things.”

Third:
Had he learnt these varied narratives from the People of the Scripture—despite his enmity toward them—they would surely have reported and publicized the matter. Had they done so, the report would have been conveyed and become common knowledge, for this is precisely the sort of incident that people are most eager to spread.

Fourth:
When he was sent, humanity consisted only of polytheists and followers of earlier revelations, and not a single person was upon the religion to which he called. It is likewise known by mass transmission that the idolaters—whether of Quraysh or of other tribes—were unfamiliar with these stories. Even if, hypothetically, they had known them, they were the first whom he invited to his faith, yet they opposed and denied him; so if any one of them had taught him, or had known that he had learnt from someone else, he would surely have made it known.

Fifth:
If anything of this sort had actually happened, the more discerning people—at the very least—would necessarily have been aware of it, and among his Companions who believed in him there would have been some who knew of it, and that was