and the polytheists.” It is well known that those who recognized his prophethood, acknowledged him, and spoke of him before he was sent were not all disbelievers. Rather, faith predominated among them.

This is clarified by the fact that, when Allah mentions the division of those who were given the Scripture after the clear evidence had come to them, He speaks of them generally, saying:

“And those who were given the Scripture did not become divided until after the clear evidence had come to them.”

He does not say:

“The disbelievers among the People of the Scripture were united upon the truth until the clear evidence came to them.”

Furthermore, this use of the expression “breaking away” is unknown; no attested example of it is known in the language. Describing division and disagreement as “breaking away” is not a recognized usage.

Moreover, He supplies no predicate for “breaking away,” as in the expressions “They had not ceased mentioning Muhammad,” “They continued to believe in him,” and the like. When this verb functions as one of the auxiliaries that behave like kāna (“to be”), one does not say mā kuntu munfakkan (“I had not ceased”); rather, one says mā infakaktu af‘alu kadhā (“I have not ceased doing such-and-such”). Thus, the verb immediately follows the negative particle mā.

Furthermore, nothing in the wording indicates that this breaking away relates specifically to the matter of Muhammad.

Moreover, this meaning is mentioned in His words:

“And those who were given