anyone among them that he ever advanced a claim whose falsity could escape detection; on the contrary, its mendacity was obvious to everyone.

It thus became evident that they were incapable of alleging that he had learned reports of the unseen from anyone at all.

Now this narrative—the story of Noah, especially as it appears in Sūrah Hūd, as noted earlier—can be known only to a prophet or to someone who received it from a prophet. Once it is established that he did not receive it from anyone, it follows that he himself is a prophet. For that reason the Exalted said at the close of the account:

“That is from the news of the unseen which We reveal to you. Neither you nor your people knew it before this, so be patient; indeed, the outcome belongs to the God-fearing.” (Hūd 49)

The same argument applies to all the other narratives. Thus He said in Sūrah Yūsuf:

“That is from the news of the unseen which We reveal to you; you were not with them when they resolved upon their affair while they were scheming.” (Yūsuf 102)

And He said in Sūrah Āl ʿImrān, after mentioning the story of Zachariah and Mary:

“That is from the news of the unseen which We reveal to you; you were not with them when they cast lots with their pens as to who should be Mary’s guardian, nor were you with them when they disputed.” (Āl ʿImrān 44)

And He said—concerning the story of Moses—