So how, then, when he praised only those who were following a religion that had never been altered? As for the people who corrupted the Messiah’s faith, he did not praise them; rather, he condemned them—as He, the Exalted, says:

“Among those who say, ‘We are Christians,’ We took their covenant, but they forgot a portion of what they were reminded of, so We stirred up enmity and hatred among them until the Day of Resurrection, and Allah will inform them of what they used to do.” ⦗al-Ma’idah: 14⦘

We have already established that the Christians fell into disbelief just as the Jews did: they disbelieved by altering what was in the first Book, and they disbelieved again by rejecting the second Book. By contrast, anyone who did not tamper with the Scripture, or who lived to encounter Muhammad—peace and blessings be upon him—and believed in him, is a true believer.

What clarifies this further is that the Messiah’s reverence for the Torah—his adherence to it and his practice of its laws—was greater than Muhammad’s, peace and blessings be upon him, reverence for the Gospel; yet that did not excuse the Jews from the obligation of following the Messiah. How, then, could Muhammad’s respect for the Gospel, peace and blessings be upon him, ever exempt the Christians from the duty of following him?