“When humanity is gathered, they will become their enemies”: each will curse the other and disavow the other. “And they will disavow their worship.” ⦗780⦘

(7–10) “When Our clear verses are recited to them, those who disbelieve say of the truth when it comes to them, ‘This is manifest magic.’ Or do they say, ‘He has fabricated it’? Say, ‘If I have fabricated it, you can do nothing to protect me from Allah. He knows best what you engage in concerning it. He is sufficient as a witness between me and you, and He is the All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.’ Say, ‘I am not unprecedented among the messengers, nor do I know what will be done with me or with you. I follow only what is revealed to me, and I am only a clear warner.’ Say, ‘Consider: if it is from Allah and you disbelieve in it, while a witness from the Children of Israel has testified to something like it and believed, yet you remain arrogant—indeed, Allah does not guide wrongdoing people.’”

That is, when “Our clear verses” are recited to the deniers in such a manner that there can be no doubt about their reality or truth, they bring them no good; rather, the proof is thereby established against them. In their mendacity and fabrication, they say of the truth when it comes to them, “This is manifest magic”—that is, obvious magic about which there can be no doubt. This is an inversion of realities that gains currency only among the feeble-minded. Otherwise, the contradiction and disparity between the truth brought by the Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and magic is greater than the distance between heaven and earth. How can the truth—which towers aloft above the celestial spheres, whose radiance and light outshine the sun, which is attested by the proofs in the horizons and within the human soul, and which people of insight and sound intellect acknowledge and submit to—be compared with the falsehood of magic, which proceeds only from an errant, unjust person whose soul and deeds are vile? It befits such a person and accords with his condition. Is this anything but sheer falsification?

“Or do they say, ‘He has fabricated it’?” That is, Muhammad fabricated this Quran himself, and it is not from Allah.

“Say” to them: “If I have fabricated it,” Allah has full power over me and knows what you engage in concerning it. Why, then, has He not punished me for the fabrication you allege?

Can you “do anything to protect me from Allah” if Allah intends harm for me or intends mercy for me? “He is sufficient as a witness between me and you.” Had I falsely attributed words to Him, He would have seized me by the right hand and punished me with a punishment visible to everyone, for this would have been the gravest kind of fabrication had I falsely spoken in His name. He then called them to repentance despite their obstinate opposition to the truth and their contention against it, saying, “And He is the All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” That is: repent to Him and desist from what you are doing; He will forgive your sins, have mercy upon you, grant you success in doing good, and reward you abundantly.

“Say, ‘I am not unprecedented among the messengers.’” That is, I am not the first messenger ever to come to you, such that you should find my mission strange and reject my call. Messengers and prophets came before me whose call accorded with mine. Why, then, do you reject my mission? “Nor do I know what will be done with me or with you.” That is, I am only a human being and have no control over anything. Allah Most High governs me and you and passes judgment upon me and you. I bring nothing of my own accord. “And I am only a clear warner.” If you accept my message and answer my call, that will be your good fortune and your share in this world and the Hereafter. If you reject it, your reckoning rests with Allah. I have warned you, and whoever gives warning has discharged his duty.

“Say, ‘Consider: if it is from Allah and you disbelieve in it, while a witness from the Children of Israel has testified to something like it and believed, yet you remain arrogant.’” That is: tell me, if this Quran is from Allah, and those among the People of the Scripture who have been granted success—who possess enough of the truth to recognize that it is indeed the truth—testify to its authenticity, believe in it, and are guided, so that the accounts of the prophets and their noble followers corroborate one another, while you, ignorant fools, remain arrogant—is this not the greatest wrongdoing and the most severe disbelief? “Indeed, Allah does not guide wrongdoing people.” Arrogantly rejecting the truth after having been given full opportunity to recognize it is itself a form of wrongdoing.