the Disciples are, in our estimation, messengers of God—just like Abraham and Moses—and that the Messiah, as we see it, is God Himself, the One who sent these messengers to us. Consequently, they must have been commissioned in our own language and must have handed the Torah and the Gospel over to us in our tongue.

It may therefore be said to them: Grant that you make and hold this claim—even though we shall show, God willing, that it is baseless—but here you are alleging that this Book, the Qur’an brought by Muḥammad, peace and blessings be upon him, testifies on your behalf. This is an obvious falsehood against Muḥammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and against his Book. You have opened your work by asserting that his Scripture supports you, and we will expose your lies and fabrications against him, whether you acknowledge his prophethood or not.

For it is certain that he never testified that the Messiah is God; rather, he declared anyone who says so to be a disbeliever. Nor did he bear witness that the Disciples are messengers sent by God; he merely reported that the Disciples said, “We are believers, ones who submit,” and that they said, “We are the helpers of Allah.” In precisely the same way he affirmed of those who believed in him that they are believing Muslims who aid Allah and His Messenger—indeed, that they are superior to the Disciples because his community is the best of all communities, as the Exalted says:

“When Jesus sensed disbelief from them, he said, ‘Who are my supporters for the sake of Allah?’ The Disciples said, ‘We are the supporters of Allah; we believe in Allah, so bear witness that we have submitted.’” (Āl ʿImrān 3:52)