—namely the translators who shifted his words from one tongue to another—or the wording and its translation may both be accurate, while the error lies in understanding what that prophet intended by those words.

Indeed, whenever one seeks to argue from statements attributed to the prophets—whether to the prophets of the Children of Israel or to others who were sent in languages other than Arabic—three preliminary conditions are indispensable: one must ascertain the very wording that was uttered, ascertain its translation, and ascertain what the prophet meant by that wording.

Muslims and the People of the Book alike acknowledge that mistakes have occurred in explaining certain phrases, in determining the prophets’ intent behind them, and in translating some of them. You will find, for instance, several translated versions of the Torah that differ among themselves in ways that alter the meaning understood; the same is true of the Gospel and other scriptures.

This line of reply, then, is a general method available to everyone who believes in Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and testifies, both inwardly and outwardly, that he is the Messenger of Allah. By means of it he may address every Jew and Christian on the face of the earth, even if he is not versed in the contents of their scriptures. For no one on earth is able to set forth a sound proof for the prophethood of Moses and Jesus while invalidating the prophethood of Muhammad—peace and blessings be upon him; such a thing is inherently impossible. In fact, a person cannot establish a valid argument for the prophethood of either of them without that very argument, or an even stronger one, applying more appropriately to the prophethood of Muhammad—peace and blessings be upon him. At that point he will have prevented anyone from the people of