the messenger’s mediation would be dispensable, and his conveyance of the message unnecessary.

Now, grant that the Noble Book follows the language of the Arabs and their customary use of metaphor and figurative expression. What, then, do they say about the Hebrew Scripture, which consists entirely of anthropomorphic descriptions from beginning to end?

No one may claim that this book has been corrupted in its entirety. For how could a book be wholly corrupted when it circulates among peoples too numerous to count, whose lands are far apart and whose conceptions differ—including Jews and Christians, two mutually hostile communities? All of this makes it clear that revealed teachings address the public in terms they understand, bringing what they do not understand within reach of their imaginations through analogies and comparisons. Were it otherwise, revealed teachings would serve no purpose whatsoever.

He said: “How, then, can the apparent meaning of revealed teachings constitute evidence in this matter?”—meaning the resurrection—“And if we were to suppose that the realities of the hereafter were spiritual rather than corporeal,