the Prophet does not utter it; it may, however, occur in a supposition he expresses, some of it concerning date palms and the like. This accords with what we have stated.

Since tamannī must include spoken words, there are two views concerning it:

The first is that what Satan casts in reaches the listeners’ hearing, but the Messenger does not utter it. This is the view of those who interpret the verse as precluding the possibility of anything being cast into his speech.

The second—the prevailing view among the early generations and their followers—is that the casting occurs within the recitation itself, as the verse and its context indicate in several ways, and as numerous transmitted reports relate. There is nothing objectionable in this unless he is left uncorrected. But if Allah abolishes what Satan casts in and makes His verses firm, there is nothing objectionable in it. Nor does it constitute an error or mistake in conveying the message unless he is left uncorrected.

There is no doubt that, in conveying the message, he is protected from being left in error, as he said:

“When I tell you anything from Allah, accept it, for I will never lie about Allah.”

Otherwise, no binding proof could be established through him. His being Allah’s Messenger necessarily means that he is truthful in what he reports from Allah, and truthfulness excludes both lying and error in such reports. If he could err in what he reports from Allah and be left uncorrected, not everything he reported would be from Allah. Those who ruled out anything being cast into his conveyance of the message sought to avoid this and intended