what contradicted this. For they would twist their tongues when reciting Scripture so that you would think it was part of Scripture, though it was not. They would write scripture with their own hands and then say, “This is from Allah,” and they would lie in their speech and writing. For this reason, a translation is accepted only from someone trustworthy.

If one of them argues against the Quran by citing a report from the earlier messengers, such as the statement attributed to Moses:

“Observe the Sabbath as long as the heavens and the earth endure,”

we can say to them: “In which book is this? Bring it.” We know that this is not in their books; it is merely a fabricated lie. They possess the prophetic writings, numbering two hundred and twenty, and (the book al-Mathnawī, whose name means al-muthannāh (a secondary text). This is what Abd Allāh ibn Amr counted among the signs of the Hour that would arise among us, saying:

“The Hour will not come until al-muthannāh is read among them, with no one changing it.” He was asked, “What is al-muthannāh?” He replied, “What is commissioned to be written other than the Book of Allah.”)

Likewise, if they are asked about the mentions of Allah’s names and attributes in Scripture, so that the agreement of the earlier prophets with Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, may establish the proof against them and others, and they then distort words from their proper places, this can be detected, as explained above.

If they present a rational argument, it too can be understood in light of what is in the Quran by referring it back to the Quran. An example is their rejection of abrogation on rational grounds, to the point that they say: “What He has forbidden cannot be abrogated, nor can what He has commanded be prohibited.” Allah Most High said:

“The foolish among the people will say, ‘What has turned them away from the direction of prayer they used to face?’”