may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in Mecca, his migration to Medina, his bringing the Quran and the well-known religious laws, and the miracles he performed, considered collectively—such as multiplying food and drink and reporting unseen matters of the past and future that no human being could know unless Allah informed him—and other such things.

For this reason, Allah commanded His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to ask the People of the Book about matters established among them through widespread transmission, as in His words:

“We sent before you only men to whom We revealed. So ask the people of knowledge if you do not know.”

Some disbelievers denied that Allah could have a human messenger. Allah therefore stated that those He sent before Muhammad were human beings, and commanded those who did not know this to ask the People of the Book about it.

The same applies to asking them about the worship of Allah alone and other teachings brought by the prophets that the disbelievers rejected. Allah Most High says:

“Say, ‘Allah is sufficient as a witness between me and you, as are those who have knowledge of the Scripture.’”

Allah Most High also says:

“If you are in doubt about what We have revealed to you, then ask those who read the Scripture before you.”

And Allah Most High says:

“Say, ‘Have you considered: if it is from Allah and you disbelieve in it, while a witness from the Children of Israel testifies to its like and believes, yet you remain arrogant?’”

The same applies to the testimony of the People of the Book confirming his accounts of unseen matters that could be known only to a prophet or someone informed by a prophet. They knew that Muhammad had not learned