They say, “We testify that Muhammad and Musaylima are both messengers of God.” Such people are numerous among those who have never grasped the difference between the truthful Prophet and the lying pretender. Many of them can be found among those who lay claim to fiqh and ḥadith, to Sufism, asceticism, and worship, and among kings, governors, ministers, chancery secretaries, judges, muftis, teachers—even among people whose prayers are answered and who are known for righteousness, renunciation, and devotion. The cause is their inadequate knowledge of the perfection of prophethood and messengership, and of the real import of the assertions made by those who in certain respects contradict that reality.
God, exalted be He, says:
“O you who believe, whoever of you turns back from his religion, God will soon bring forth a people whom He loves and who love Him: humble toward the believers, mighty against the disbelievers, striving in the way of God, and fearing not the reproach of any reproacher” (Qur’an 5:54).
Thus, whenever apostasy arises, there must appear those beloved ones who love God—just as Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, may God be pleased with him, and his brothers stood up to fight the apostates after the death of the Seal of the Messengers, quelling the turmoil that had erupted in the religion.
As for the hypocritical zindīq who understands how utterly irreconcilable the two claims are, he nevertheless feigns agreement and harmony, believing prophethood to be of the same order as the state claimed by such impostors. He cloaks his words in ambiguity before those who do not know the realities of things.
Among them, however, are others whose aim is neither heresy nor hypocrisy; they are simply unaware of the Prophet’s true station and the greatness of what he brought. They revere him only in a vague, general way, and, seeing that these people speak about prophethood and its nature, while they themselves are unable to perceive the truth of the matter, they imagine that this is indeed prophethood—and such individuals are many.