and righteous deeds that He had distributed among the other prophets. Thus, the excellence with which Allah favored him came from Allah, through what He revealed and sent to him, not through a human intermediary.

This is unlike “Allah’s close friends.” Anyone whom the message of Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—has reached can be a close friend of Allah only by following Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Whatever guidance and true religion he attains comes through Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Likewise, anyone reached by the message of a messenger sent to him can be a close friend of Allah only by following that messenger.

Whoever claims that, among Allah’s close friends whom the message of Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—has reached, there are some who have a path to Allah on which they have no need of Muhammad is an unbeliever and a heretic. If he says:

“I need Muhammad for outward knowledge, but not inward knowledge, or for knowledge of the revealed law, but not knowledge of reality,”

then he is worse than those Jews and Christians who said:

“Muhammad is a messenger to the unlettered, but not to the People of the Book.”

For those people believed in part and disbelieved in part, and were unbelievers on that account. Likewise, someone who says that Muhammad was sent with outward knowledge but not inward knowledge believes in part of what he brought and disbelieves in part. He is therefore an unbeliever, and his unbelief is greater than theirs. For inward knowledge—the knowledge of the faith, understanding, and states of the heart—is knowledge of the inward realities of faith. This is nobler than knowledge merely of the outward acts of Islam.