and to Sennacherib, Genghis Khan, and other unbelieving kings—the reply is plain. None of those rulers ever claimed prophethood, nor did any of them say that Allah had commanded him to invite mankind to worship and obey Him, promising Paradise to those who follow and Hellfire to those who disobey. That stands in clear contrast to one who claims that Allah has sent him with such a summons: he must either be a truthful Messenger, whom Allah supports, strengthens, grants victory to along with his followers, and for whom He secures the ultimate outcome; or else he is a liar whom Allah punishes, cuts off completely, and whose supposed proofs are shown not to be the incontrovertible signs that brook no challenge, but rather the kind of tricks practiced by sorcerers, soothsayers, and impostors—tricks that can indeed be matched, thereby invalidating any claim they make.

One of the distinguishing features of prophetic miracles is precisely that no human or jinn is capable of countering them or producing their like; with other feats, however, a counter-challenge is possible, and once they are matched, their evidentiary value collapses.

As for al-Masīḥ al-Dajjāl (the Antichrist), he will claim divinity and will perform extraordinary deeds, yet the very claim to godhood is inherently impossible. Allah will send Jesus, son of Mary, to kill him and expose his falsehood. In addition, the Dajjāl himself will bear several unmistakable marks of deceit, among them:
• the word “Disbeliever” will be written between his eyes; and
• he will be one-eyed, whereas Allah is not one-eyed.