Section: The Christians’ Objections to the Prophet’s Mission and the Reply to Them
Now that this has been clarified, the very fact that these people rely on verses which they imagine restrict his prophethood to the Arabs only shows that they are not qualified to deduce anyone’s intent from his words. Concerning such people the Qur’an says, “What is the matter with these people that they can hardly comprehend a single statement?” (Qur’an 4:78).
Accordingly, they are in no position to cite the Torah, the Gospel, or the Psalms as evidence for the prophets’ aims, nor any other speech transmitted from the prophets—peace be upon them—let alone to appeal to the writings of physicians, philosophers, grammarians, or the sciences of mathematicians and astronomers to establish those authors’ intentions.
For all are agreed that Arabic is among the most eloquent and lucid of human languages, and all are agreed that the Qur’an stands at the pinnacle of clarity, rhetoric, and eloquence. Within the Qur’an there are countless indications—too many to enumerate without great effort—that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, repeatedly states that Allah Most High sent him to the People of the Book and to others besides them. Yet in spite of all this