Those who have gone astray cite verses whose meanings appear ambiguous to them. They chase after their own interpretation, seeking only to stir up trouble and to follow the reading that suits their designs, even though they are not among the scholars firmly grounded in knowledge who truly understand such verses—despite the fact that these very passages are actually among the clearest.

The course they follow with the Qur’an mirrors exactly what they have done with the earlier scriptures and the words of the prophets—the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms, and the like. Those books contain an abundance of unequivocal texts affirming Allah’s oneness and the servitude of Christ—so many that tallying them would tax one’s strength—whereas the possibly confusing phrases are but a handful. Yet they cling to those few obscure, problematic statements in the former scriptures and abandon the plentiful, decisive, lucid ones. They have taken the same approach with the Qur’an; the difference is that they acknowledge the prophethood of the authors of those earlier books, while regarding Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—they hesitate and contradict themselves. Whatever position they adopt about him is exposed as false and their lie becomes evident the moment they refuse to believe in everything that has been revealed to him.

[Refutation of the Christians concerning their claim that the Messenger’s words are self-contradictory]

If they say, “His words contradict one another, and we merely quote what agrees with our view, for our aim is to show that he contradicts himself,” there are several answers to this:

First: In the earlier scriptures there is—according to those who suspect contradiction—far more that seems conflicting, and far closer to genuine inconsistency, than anything found in the Qur’an. Yet those very books are deemed harmonious and free of contradiction; only someone ignorant of their meanings and of what the messengers intended imagines them to be at odds, just as the saying goes: