the two surahs of refuge. He replied, ‘I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he said, “I was told, so I said.” We therefore say what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said.’”

He then said: ‘Alī ibn ‘Abd Allāh narrated to us; Sufyān narrated to us; ‘Abdah ibn Abī Lubābah narrated to us, from Zirr ibn Hubaysh. ‘Āsim also narrated to us, from Zirr, who said: “I asked Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, saying, ‘Abū al-Mundhir, your brother Ibn Mas‘ūd says such-and-such.’ He replied, ‘I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he said, “I was told, so I said: ‘Say.’” We therefore say what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said.’”

I say: The content of “I was told” is left unstated. The implied wording is: “I was told, ‘Say,’” or “I was told these words, so I said what I was told.”

Underlying this is a subtle wisdom: the Prophet’s ﷺ role regarding the Quran is solely to convey it, not to compose it himself. Rather, he conveys it from Allah. Allah said to him:

“Say, ‘I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak.’”

Conveying it fully therefore required him to say, “Say, ‘I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak,’” just as Allah said it. This is the meaning to which the Prophet ﷺ alluded when he said, “I was told, so I said.” That is: I am not the originator; rather, I am a messenger conveying it. I say what I am told and convey my Lord’s words just as He revealed them to me.

May Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him. He indeed conveyed the message, discharged the trust, and said what he was told. He has thus given us a sufficient answer to the Mu‘tazilah, the Jahmiyyah, and their fellows who say: “This Arabic Quran and this wording are his own speech, which he himself originated.” This hadith contains the clearest refutation of that claim: he ﷺ conveyed the words he was commanded to convey in their exact form and wording. Indeed, when he was told, “Say,” he himself said, “Say,” because his role was purely to convey. The Messenger’s duty is only to convey the message.

Section Two
The One in Whom Refuge Is Sought

He is Allah alone: the Lord of daybreak, the Lord of mankind, the Sovereign of mankind, the God of mankind. Refuge must be sought in Him alone, and not in any of His creation. Rather, He is the One who grants refuge to those who seek it, protects them, and shields them from the evil of whatever