sharing meals with a menstruating woman, from sitting with her in the same house, and even from removing impurity. They were also forbidden the fat of the omentum and of the two kidneys, every animal with a claw, and other things besides.

The Messiah—peace be upon him—came and permitted them some of what had been forbidden. In reaction, the Christians went to the opposite extreme and said, “Nothing is prohibited—neither swine nor anything else. In fact, nothing is impure, not even urine or the like.” They related that one of their prominent leaders saw a sheet on which the images of animals were displayed, and he was told, “Eat whatever you feel inclined toward and leave whatever you dislike.” On the basis of that vision they considered all animals lawful and, with nothing more than this, annulled the law of the Torah. Thus, for them the lawful is whatever their souls desire, and the unlawful is whatever their souls detest.

Allah then guided those who believed to the truth about which they differed: He made wholesome things lawful for them and forbade them the vile, and He lifted from them the burdens and shackles that had weighed upon the Children of Israel—contrary to the Jews. At the same time He commanded them to observe purification, both from ritual impurities and from physical defilement—contrary to the Christians.

As for the Messiah—peace be upon him—the Jews branded him an illegitimate child, a liar, and a sorcerer, whereas the Christians proclaimed him to be God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Yet Allah guided those who believed to the truth about which they had differed, by His permission.