and His horses bore across the sea (1).

Ibn Qutaybah (2) states that some of the People of the Book have appended the words: “You will string noble lineages to your bows, and at your command, O Muhammad, the arrows will drink their fill.” This is an explicit mention of his name and qualities. If they claim the passage refers to someone else, then who is this Aḥmad whose praise has filled the earth, who came from the mountains of Fārān and brought the nations under his dominion?

Sixth Proof (3): In the ninth section of the first book of the Torah it says: “When Hagar left Sarah, the angel addressed her, saying: ‘O Hagar, whence have you come and whither are you going?’ After she explained her circumstances he said, ‘Return, for I shall multiply your descendants and your seed until they cannot be numbered. You will conceive and bear a son whose name shall be Ishmael, for God has heard your distress and humility. Your son will be a wild man; his hand will be over every hand and every hand against him, and he shall dwell (4) on the borders (5) of all his brothers.’” (6)

Those who extracted this glad tiding (7) remark: It is clear that before the sending of Muhammad—peace and blessings be upon him—the hand of the Children of Ishmael was not above the hands of the Children of Isaac; rather, prophecy and scripture were with the Children of Isaac. They entered Egypt in the days of Joseph together with Jacob, so