female, while being a believer…”—and the rest of the verse—and His words,

“And who is better in religion…”

indicate that there was a dispute over the relative merits of religions, not merely a denial of punishment after death.

Furthermore, the preceding and following passages address the believers and answer them. Thus, those addressed in this verse are the same as those addressed in the other verses.

If it is objected: “The verse explicitly rules out any religion better than the religion of this Muslim, but how does it establish that no religion is equal to it? There are three possibilities: another religion may be better than it, inferior to it, or equal to it. It has been established that none is better, but where does the verse establish that none is equal to it? A comparable example is His saying:

‘And who is better in speech than one who calls to Allah, does righteous deeds, and says, “Indeed, I am one of the Muslims”?’”

The answer is: Even if we said here that the verse only rules out anything better, this would not undermine the argument. Discourse varies according to its context. Sometimes it establishes the soundness of a religion when the person addressed claims or supposes it to be unsound. In another context, when the dispute concerns relative merit, it establishes that no other religion is better. Then, in a third context, it establishes that this religion is better than others.

Likewise, when discussing the Messenger, in one context we establish his truthfulness and the authenticity of his message. In another, we establish that no one else is better than him. In a third, we establish that he is the foremost of the children of