“Say, ‘The truth has come, and falsehood can neither originate anything nor bring it back.’ Say, ‘If I go astray, I stray only to my own loss; but if I am guided, it is because of what my Lord reveals to me. He is indeed All-Hearing, Ever Near.’”

He therefore makes these proofs known to His servants and explains them to them. For this reason, He said: “Say, ‘The truth has come’”—that is, it has appeared and become manifest, as evident as the sun, and its ascendancy has prevailed. “And falsehood can neither originate anything nor bring it back”—that is, its cause has withered and come to nothing, and its dominion has vanished, so it can neither initiate nor restore anything.

Once the truth of the Messenger’s call had become clear, while those who denied him continued to accuse him of being astray, he informed them of the truth, made it clear to them, demonstrated their inability to withstand it, and told them that their accusation that he was astray could neither harm the truth in the slightest nor repel what he had brought.

Were he to go astray—far be it from him, but this was stated only as a concession for argument’s sake—he would stray only to his own loss. That is, his error would be confined to himself and would not extend to anyone else.

“But if I am guided,” that guidance does not come from myself or from any ability or strength of my own. Rather, I am guided through what “my Lord reveals to me.” It is the source of my guidance just as it is the source of guidance for others. Indeed, my Lord is “All-Hearing” of every word and every voice, and “Ever Near” to those who call upon Him, ask Him, and worship Him.