and to worship Him, just as you are a guide—that is, a caller—to those to whom you have been sent. Here the word “guide” means “caller, teacher, and conveyor,” not the one who implants guidance in hearts, as in His saying:

“Indeed, you surely guide to a straight path” (al-Shūrā 42:52) (52)

“the path of Allah, to whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth” (al-Shūrā 42:53),

and His saying,

“As for Thamūd, We showed them the way, but they preferred blindness over guidance” (Fuṣṣilat 41:17).

It is well-known that the Children of Israel had more prophets than any other nation: Moses was sent to them, and after him many prophets were sent—some reports say a thousand in number—all of whom commanded them to follow the Law of the Torah without altering anything. Then the Messiah came with another law, in which, by Allah’s command, he modified certain rulings of the Torah.

If the sending of Moses and the prophets after him to that community did not prevent the Messiah from being sent to them, how could it prevent Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—from being sent to the People of the Book, the Jews and the Christians, when no messenger from Allah had come to them since the time of the Messiah, as the Exalted says: