Moreover, his closest adversaries (1) were the most eloquent people alive. They were the very masters of rhetoric, fluency, refined diction, poetry and prose, oratory, and every mode of speech. Yet not one of them dared utter a single word in opposition to him. They were the most eager of all people to brand him a liar and the most relentless in harming him—verbally, physically, and by turning others away from him by every possible means. Still, there is no report (2) that even one of them produced a single surah to challenge him, save Musaylima the Liar, who came up with such lines as:

“Yā ḍifdaʿu bintu ḍifdaʿayn, naqqī kam tanqqaʿīn, lā al-shāriba tamnaʿīn, wa-lā al-māʾa takaddirīn”
(“O frog, daughter of two frogs! Croak as you croak; you neither bar the drinker nor muddy the water”),

and:

“Wa-l-ṭāḥināti ṭaḥnan, wa-l-ʿājināti ʿajnan, fa-l-khābizāti khabzan, ihālatan wa-samnan”
(“By those that grind with grinding, by those that knead with kneading, then those that bake with baking, making gravy and fat”).

Such utterances resemble the babble of lunatics and simpletons far more than the speech of rational people.

Thus, the Muslims built the foundation of their religion and the signposts of what is lawful and unlawful upon the Book to which no greater book has ever been sent down from heaven. It contains clarification of everything, a detailed exposition of all matters, guidance, mercy, and a healing for the hearts. Through it Allah guided His Messenger and his community; it is therefore the cornerstone of their faith.

Second: Your statement that the Muslims based the foundations of their religion on the narrations of common Companions is one of the grossest slanders and most flagrant lies. Even if they had once been illiterate (3), from the moment Allah sent His Messenger among them He purified them, taught them the Book and wisdom, and raised them above all other nations in knowledge, practice, guidance, divine insights, and the beneficial sciences that perfect the soul, so that no nation whatsoever remains (4) that can approach them in