all other religions, both through victory and ascendancy and through proof and clarification. He made their scholars heirs to the prophets, standing in their place to convey the revealed Book, and established among them a victorious group who will continue to prevail upon the truth, unharmed by those who oppose or abandon them, until the time of reckoning.

He preserved for them the Reminder, which He sent down from the well-guarded Book, as He, the Most High, said:

“Indeed, We have sent down the Reminder, and We will surely preserve it.”

Thus their Book suffers none of the distortion and alteration that occurred at the hands of the followers of the Torah and the Gospel. He distinguished them by the transmission of reports and chains of narration, through which expert critics distinguish truth from falsehood. He entrusted this inheritance to the upright members of each successive generation—people of knowledge and religious devotion—who rid it of the distortions of extremists, the false attributions of those who promote falsehood, and the interpretations of the ignorant. Through them, His blessing upon the community endures, light emerges from darkness, and the religion of Allah with which He sent His Messenger is kept alive. Through them, Allah has made His path clear to mankind. The best of creation, therefore, are those who most closely follow this noble Prophet, described in His words, Most High:

“There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; he is deeply concerned for you, and kind and merciful to the believers.”

I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah alone, without any partner: the Lord of all worlds, the God of the messengers, and the King of the Day of Judgment. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, whom He sent to all mankind. He sent him when disbelief, ignorance, and misguidance had left people in the most abject loss and the worst condition. He—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—continued striving to convey the religion, guide mankind, and struggle against the disbelievers and hypocrites, until the sun of faith rose, the night of falsehood receded, the hosts of the Most Merciful prevailed, the party of Satan was humbled, the light of the Criterion shone forth, the recitation of the Quran became widespread, and the call to prayer was proclaimed,