And it is well known that much of the Quran’s discourse—indeed, most of it—concerns this subject. For the Quran’s discourse concerning matters of knowledge is nobler in rank and character than its discourse concerning practical matters.

If, then, they derive no knowledge from this discourse, and the Messenger did not explain to them his intended meaning and purpose in it, but each person instead relies solely on his own judgment and subjective experience to understand the matters that the Messenger mentioned, described, and told them about—accepting the meaning and implications of the Messenger’s report if it agrees with what he already holds, and otherwise turning away from it, just as a Muslim turns away from Israelite traditions transmitted from the People of the Book—then the invalidity of this is self-evident from the religion of the Messenger.

Everyone who knows what the Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—called people to knows this, whether a believer or an unbeliever. For everyone whom the Messenger’s call has reached, and who knows what he called people to, knows that he did not call people to hold this belief about him.

The point, then, is that it is self-evident that these people contradict the Messenger’s call, and that everyone acquainted with the Messenger’s life and mission, whether a believer or an unbeliever, recognizes this. This position entails many forms of unbelief and heresy, as we shall point out, Allah willing.