A Response to Three Questions of a Christian — Page 14
14 The first Rebuttal— اَل َّنَنْوُكَت — la tak u nanna is a form of naf i [negation] not of nahy [prohibition], and it is to lay emphasis that the ّ ن [ n u n with shadd ] has been added to its end to make it اَل َّنَنْوُكَت. The ّ ن cannot come in cases of the past or present. Thus, اَل َّنَنْوُكَت is a future tense. As such, based on this analysis, the meaning of this verse is: This is the truth from your Lord (because this truth has become established based on revelation and arguments) so you will never be from among those who doubt. The Second Rebuttal— I accept [for the sake of argument] that la tak u nanna is not a form of naf i , but rather, of nahy. However, I would like to point out that nahy is of two types: one which demands the abandoning of an action and the other which demands the non-existence of the action. The objection of the critic is based on the understanding that, here, nahy should be taken to mean the abandoning of an action; that is, the per- son addressed should abandon the action of doubting. However, I contend that, here, doubting is non-existent and the intent of nahy is that just as doubting is currently non-existent, it should remain so in the future as well. The Third Rebuttal— O critic! What indication is there in the verse اَلَف َّنَنْوُكَت to make us believe that اَل َّنَنْوُكَت is addressed to the Guide of Islam, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him? I can affirm on the basis of the above-mentioned proofs that the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, had full faith in his Messengership and there is no contradiction in the Noble Quran. Therefore, it is