—unless he first learns it from them.

Moreover, the Arabs are the nation nearest to the descendants of Isaac—the Children of Israel and of Esau—for they are the offspring of Ishmael and their neighbors. The people of the Ḥijaz live next to al-Shām, and the Arabs have always made pilgrimage to Mecca. Yet since the time of the Messiah, peace be upon him, the Arabs have never possessed an Arabic Torah or Gospel; indeed, there was no Torah or Gospel in Mecca, whether in Arabic or in any other tongue. For this reason the Exalted said,

“so that you may warn a people to whom no warner has come before you” (Qur’an 28:46).

How, then, can anyone maintain that the disciples translated the Torah and the Gospel for every nation among all the children of Adam—east, west, south, and north—into a language each could understand? Such a claim could be voiced only by the most deceitful and ignorant of people.

Second response:
Translating speech from one language into another does not require an infallible person; it is something all nations know how to do. Anyone who masters the two languages can provide a translation, and reliable knowledge is obtained when the translators are many and work independently of one another.