with. Hence He said in Surah Yūnus:

“Say, ‘O mankind, if you are in doubt about my religion, I do not worship those whom you worship besides Allah. Rather, I worship Allah, who causes you to die, and I have been commanded to be among the believers.’”

And He said:

“Say, ‘I have been commanded to be the first to submit.’”

There are other verses to this effect. Thus, two momentous matters concern him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

The first is establishing his prophethood and his truthfulness in what he conveyed from Allah. This is specific to him. The second is believing what he brought and affirming that what he brought from Allah is true and must be followed. This is obligatory upon him and upon everyone else.

Among those whom a created being sends, there may be someone who is believed concerning his message but does not himself follow it—either because he disparages the one who sent him or because he disobeys him, even though he was sent with something true. Kings often send a messenger bearing letters or other things. The messengers convey their message and are believed concerning it, yet a messenger may oppose the one who sent him more than do those to whom he was sent.

For this reason, a group, including al-Qādī Abū Bakr, thought that merely being a messenger of Allah does not necessarily entail praise. He then said, “This may be said of someone who accepts the message and conveys it, and of someone who does not accept it.”

But this is mistaken, for Allah never sends a messenger without having chosen him, and he conveys his Lord’s messages. And Allah’s messengers