—making it contingent upon something that can never be known with certainty. Nor did ʿUmar—may Allah be pleased with him—declare unequivocally that its very wording had been tampered with, for he had not examined everything it contained.

Both the Qurʾan and the rigorously transmitted sunnah show that the Torah and Gospel available in the Prophet’s own lifetime—peace and blessings be upon him—still held portions of what Allah, mighty and majestic, had revealed. To assert categorically that every copy in the world has been altered is impossible; we neither need to make such a claim nor possess the knowledge to do so. Likewise, no member of the People of the Book can maintain that every manuscript of their Scriptures, in every language, is identical in wording. Such a matter is beyond what any human being can determine through inspection and testing. Only revelation can impart knowledge of this kind; without it, no one can know for sure.