They also rallied behind the insurgent who rose up against the son of Solomon son of David: he set before them two golden rams, and their assembly devoted itself to worshipping them until war erupted between them and the believers who remained with Solomon’s son, and in a single battle multitudes—thousands upon thousands—fell.

Shall the worshippers of rams and cattle not blush to taunt the people of pure monotheism over their sins?

And do the descendants of the killers of the prophets feel no shame in reproaching those who strive against the enemies of Allah? How vast the gulf between a progeny whose fathers’ swords dripped (1) with the blood of prophets and a progeny whose swords drip with the blood of disbelievers and idolaters!

Should not the one who says in his prayer to his Lord, “Wake up! How long do You sleep, O Lord? Rouse Yourself from Your slumber!”—thus goading and provoking—be ashamed of disparaging the one who, in his prayer, recites:
“All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all peoples, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgment. It is You we worship, and You alone we ask for help.”

Even if the sins of the Muslims equalled the number of pebbles, grains of sand, specks of dust, and very breaths, they would still not match the crime of killing a single prophet, nor would they approach the statements of the brothers of apes (2): “Indeed, Allah is poor while we are rich” (Q 3:181); their saying, “Ezra is the son of Allah” (Q 9:30); or their claim, “We are the sons of Allah and His beloved ones” (Q 5:18).

Likewise is their assertion that Allah wept over the Flood until His eyes became sore with tears and the angels visited Him, their claim that He bit His fingers in regret, and their allegation that He repented of creating humankind and was distressed when He saw their sin and wrongdoing. Even more outrageous than that is—