Refutation of the Divinity of Christ — Page 50
50 Commentary: The followers of the Messiah, peace be upon him, are either the people of Islam or the Christians and from among those who disbelieved in him, those who are of the first rank are the Jews whose real land is Canaan and whose ka‘bah [the direc- tion they face during prayers] is Jerusalem. Of the second grade are the Zoroastrians—the fire-worshippers, and of the third grade are the Zoroastrians of India. The higher grade followers are gov- erning over the higher grade disbelievers and the lower grade followers are governing over the lower grade disbelievers. ‘Then as for those who disbelieve, I will punish them with a severe punishment in this world and in the next, and no ruling power shall help them; in fact, no one shall help them. And as for those who believe and do good works, He will pay them their full rewards. And Allah loves not the wrongdoers. ’ That is what We recite unto thee of the Signs of your Prophethood and the Reminder, full of wisdom. Now Allah gives the verdict regarding the difference between the followers which was promised. Surely, Jesus is like a human being. The human being was cre- ated by Allah the exalted from dust, then in his second, third birth selected him for a new life as a Prophet and he became such. This is the truth from thy Lord (the Messiah was nothing more than just a human being; miracles, wonders, excellent teachings—all these things are found among Prophets even though they are mortals), so be thou not, or become thou not, ever of those who doubt. And if some foolish one, despite this proof, even now disputes with thee, you should deal with such foolish ones by calling them to engage in a prayer duel and say, ‘Come, let us call our children and your children, and our women and your women, and our men