it, and must neither turn away from it nor oppose it. Whoever rejects it has not believed it, even if he says, “I believe the Messenger in general terms.” For he has not believed specifically in the very report conveyed by the Messenger which he has opposed with his reason and rejected. Even if a man believed the Messenger in general terms, but did not believe him specifically concerning what he knew the Messenger had reported, he would not be a believer in him. Even if he acknowledges its wording while disregarding the meaning the Messenger explained, or uses various forms of distortion to divert it to meanings not indicated by the course of the discourse—indeed, meanings the Messenger did not intend—this is not belief in reality; rather, it is closer to denial.

[The Twenty-Sixth Argument]

The argument is as follows: Allah censured the People of the Book for concealing what He had revealed, for lying about it, for distorting it, and for failing to understand it.

Allah Most High says:

“Do you then hope that they will believe you, when a group of them used to hear the words of Allah and then knowingly distort them after understanding them? When they meet those who believe, they say, ‘We believe’; but when they are alone with one another, they say, ‘Do you tell them what Allah has disclosed to you, so that they may use it to argue against you before your Lord? Will you not reason?’ Do they not know that Allah knows what they conceal and what they reveal? Among them are unlettered people who know nothing of the Scripture except