then neither believe them nor deny them. Rather, say: “We believe in Allah, in His Books, and in His messengers. If what they report is true you will not have denied it, and if it is false you will not have affirmed it.” Ahmad alone narrated this.
Imam Ahmad also related: Suraij ibn al-Nuʿmān narrated to us; Hushaym narrated to us; Mujālid informed us, from al-Shaʿbī, from Jābir ibn ʿAbdullāh, that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb came to the Prophet ﷺ with a document he had obtained from some of the People of the Scripture. He read it aloud to the Prophet ﷺ, who became angry and said, “Are you in doubt about this, O son of al-Khaṭṭāb? By Him in whose hand is my soul, I have brought it to you pure and radiant. Do not ask them about anything: they may tell you something true and you would reject it, or something false and you would accept it. By Him in whose hand is my soul, if Moses were alive he would have no choice but to follow me.” Ahmad alone transmitted it, and its chain meets Muslim’s criteria.
These ḥadīths show that they have altered the heavenly scriptures in their possession—omitting, reinterpreting, and placing passages where they do not belong, especially in matters of the unseen of which they have no real knowledge. They struggle to express such matters correctly even in their own language; how then could they render them accurately in another? Their Arabic translations therefore abound in major errors and numerous misconceptions, compounded by corrupt motives and feeble reasoning. Anyone who examines the books now in their hands will perceive the faulty phrasing and reprehensible distortions and changes they contain. Allah’s help is sought; He is the best Protector and the best Supporter.
The Torah they make public while concealing much of it is likewise riddled with distortion, substitution, alteration, and clumsy wording. Whoever studies it carefully—considering what they reveal and what they hide—will recognize expressions that are structurally flawed and invalid both in wording and meaning. Even Kaʿb al-Aḥbār, one of the most reliable to transmit from them, embraced Islam during ʿUmar’s caliphate and would recount certain reports from the People of the Scripture. ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with him, would approve some of what he conveyed because