all that he transmitted, and they knew him to be the most knowledgeable of them in the scriptures of the prophets. The Companions used to test whatever he reported, weighing it against what they themselves (1) knew to be sound; they would then recognize his truthfulness and bore witness that he was the most reliable—or at least among the most reliable—of those who conveyed material from the People of the Book.

Today we stand in the place of ʿAbd Allah ibn Salam. We have produced (2) these very glad tidings for you from your own books; they testify for us against you. Your scriptures are in your own hands—so bring them and recite them, if you are truthful. Among you are those whom Allah has guided to Islam; they agree with you, confront you, and are ready to debate these proofs with you. If you refuse, then bear witness against yourselves to what Allah, His angels, His prophets, His messengers, and His believing servants have already borne witness: your disbelief, your denial, your rejection of the truth, and your enmity toward Allah and His Messenger.

Third Point: Even if ʿAbd Allah ibn Salam were to come to you with every manuscript containing the utmost (3) clarity and explicitness, your brazenness, obstinacy, and falsehood would still impel you to fend them off and distort them in every possible way. When he did present you with evidence beyond your power to answer, you said, “This is not the one; he has not yet come,” and you said, “We will not abandon the rule of the Torah, nor will we follow the Prophet of the unlettered.”

Yet your own forefathers who saw and personally encountered the Messenger of Allah ﷺ plainly declared that he is indeed a true Messenger, the very one foretold (4) and promised on the tongues of the earlier prophets.