one might say to someone who claimed that a man was a king, a wealthy man, or the like: “He is no more than a village chief or the owner of an orchard,” thus stating the utmost extent of his authority and wealth. Had the Messiah possessed a rank above messengership, or his mother a rank above that of consummate truthfulness, it would have been mentioned. Such exaggeration originated among the Christians. Extremists among the Sufis and the Shia, together with the philosophizing Sabians who have joined them, resemble them in some respects; hence they can all be refuted on the same basis.

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said concerning Abū Bakr and ʿUmar: “These two are the foremost of the mature men among the people of Paradise, from the earliest to the latest generations, except for the prophets and messengers.”

The explanation of this issue belongs elsewhere: everyone other than the prophets is beneath them.

The discussion here concerns only what they say about the Seal of