—peace and blessings be upon him—the last of the messengers, was likewise instructed to say it, as in his words:

“Say, ‘I hold no power to harm you or to guide you aright.’” [al-Jinn 21] (21)

“Say, ‘No one can protect me from Allah, nor can I find any refuge apart from Him.’” [al-Jinn 22] (22)

“I can only deliver what comes from Allah and His messages. Whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger will have the fire of Hell, wherein they shall remain forever.” [al-Jinn 23] (23)

Statements such as these show his acknowledgement that he is Allah’s servant and a messenger from Him, that he never oversteps the limits of messengership, and that he lays no claim to a share in divinity—unlike the Christians, who made such a claim about the Messiah. For that reason the Exalted has said:

“The Messiah son of Mary is only a messenger; messengers passed away before him. His mother was a woman of truth; they both used to eat food.” [al-Mā’idah 75]

This makes it clear that he does not go beyond the boundary of prophethood, much like the Almighty’s saying:

“Muhammad is but a messenger; messengers passed away before him. If he should die or be killed, will you then turn back on your heels?” [Āl ʿImrān 144]

Accordingly, the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said, in the hadith whose authenticity is agreed upon:

“Do not overpraise me as the Christians overpraised Jesus son of Mary. I am only a servant, so say: ‘the servant of Allah and His Messenger.’”