—the reply is: Such a claim is baseless, and its falsity is evident even before one decides whether he was a prophet or not. Everyone who has studied his life, whether believing in him or denying him, knows that he was among the most intelligent, politically astute, and experienced of people; that his very purpose was to invite all created beings to obey and follow him; that he recited the Quran publicly to everyone and commanded that it be conveyed to every nation; and that if any unbeliever sought his protection so he might listen to the Quran, he was obliged to grant it—even if the seeker were a polytheist, let alone a member of the People of the Book. Allah the Exalted says:

“If one of the idolaters seeks your protection, then grant him protection until he has heard the words of Allah; then convey him to a place of safety—for they are a people who do not know.” (Surah al-Tawbah 9:6)

He openly declared that he had been sent to the People of the Book and to the rest of creation, that he was a messenger to both realms—the jinn and humankind. Given this, it is inconceivable that he would present anything suggesting he had not been sent to them; no one with the least intelligence would do something so contrary to his own aim. How, then, could such a thing be attributed to the very man whom the wise of every nation acknowledge to be the most intelligent of all people and the finest in governance and law?

Moreover, in that case his Companions and the fighters who stood with him would have distanced themselves from him, for they were in the habit of objecting to matters far less serious than this—yet none of them ever objected here. Even after all of that, were it hypothetically assumed that the Quran contained something indicating he had been sent only to