they crucified the Messiah himself or the one made to resemble him—and the supposed deliverance of mankind from Satan? For if the Devil actually did that to Adam’s offspring, he was a tyrant and an aggressor, while Allah—mighty and majestic—is perfectly able to stop him from oppressing them, and indeed to punish him if he refuses to desist.

Why, then, would He defer restraining Satan’s injustice until the time of the Messiah, when He—glorified be He—is the Protector, Helper, and Supporter of the believers? Those believers are His messengers, whom He aided against their opponents and even annihilated their foes, the very soldiers of Satan. How could He fail, after those messengers had died, to shield them from the Devil so that he could not wrong them or hurl their souls into Hell—granting, for argument’s sake, that Satan even possessed such power? And how could it ever be permissible that, after His prophets and chosen servants had passed away, the burden of obligation had been lifted from them, and they had become—by virtue of His promise and the dictates of His wisdom—deserving of His honor, His benevolence, and His Garden, yet He would still leave the Devil in command, able to imprison them in Hell?

If they claim, “The Lord—mighty and majestic—could not rescue them from Satan, despite knowing that he was a tyrant and an aggressor against them after death, except by resorting to a stratagem—namely, concealing Himself so that the Devil might seize Him,” as they allege—then, besides the flagrant unbelief this involves and their portrayal of the Lord—exalted be He—as powerless (just as they had earlier depicted Him as unjust), it contains a contradiction that exposes the depth of their ignorance, for it renders the Lord Himself ignorant. They maintain that He resorted to a ruse against Satan so that He might seize him justly, just as Satan had tricked Adam by means of the serpent, He thus concealed Himself from Satan so that Satan would not know that He was the human nature of God.