, and whoever follows the messengers attains happiness in this world and the Hereafter. It is only those who fall short in following the prophets—whether in knowledge or in practice—who slip into religious innovations.

When Allah sent Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, with guidance and the religion of truth, his Muslim ummah received that message directly from him. Every beneficial science and every righteous deed now upheld by the nation of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, has been taken from their Prophet—

alongside the obvious fact, clear to every rational person, that his community surpasses all other nations in every intellectual and practical virtue. It is well known that any perfection found in the learning branch must derive from the teaching root; this, therefore, means that he was the most perfect of humankind in knowledge and in religion.

These considerations make it necessarily certain that he was truthful when he proclaimed:

“Indeed, I am the Messenger of Allah to all of you.” (Qur’an 7:158)

He was no liar or fabricator, for a statement of this magnitude can be made only by one who is among the very best of people if he is truthful, or among the worst and most vile if he is lying. Yet everything that has been mentioned about the completeness of his knowledge and his religion is incompatible with evil, vileness, and ignorance; it follows, therefore, that he possessed the highest degree of perfection in knowledge and in faith. This, in turn, entails that he was truthful in his declaration:

“Indeed, I am the Messenger of Allah.” (Qur’an 7:158)