and brilliance, as a special distinction from Allah to him over the rest of His messengers (1)—those whom tyrants vanquished and wicked nations humiliated, so that after them their traces faded away and the nights and days obscured their memory—and over those of them who were sent to one nation to the exclusion of another, to a specific group rather than the general populace, and to a single community rather than all humanity.

So praise be to Allah, Who honored us by believing in him, ennobled us by following him, and made us among the people who affirm and have faith in him and in what he called to and brought, Peace and blessings of God be upon him, with the purest of His blessings, the most excellent of His peace, and the most complete of His greetings.

To proceed, (2) among the grand virtues with which Allah has uniquely favored the nation of our Prophet Muhammad, Peace and blessings of God be upon him, ennobling them above all other nations with elevated ranks, and bestowing upon them sublime honor, is His preservation of what He preserved for them—may His remembrance be glorified and His names be sanctified—of His revelation (waḥy) and divine text (tanzīl). He made it a proof of the truth of their Prophet's, Peace and blessings of God be upon him, prophethood, a clear sign of the honor He specifically granted him, and a conclusive argument, distinguishing him thereby from every liar and fabricator, separating them thereby from every denier and heretic, and setting them apart from every disbeliever and polytheist. If all those between its regions—jinn and humans, young and old—were to assemble to produce a surah like it, they could not produce the like of it, even if they were supporters of one another (3). Thus He made it for them, in the deep pitch of darkness, a radiant light; in the shadows of doubts, a brilliant meteor; (4) in the confusing tracks, a guiding proof; and toward the paths of salvation and truth, an inspiring driver: {Whereby Allah guides those who pursue His pleasure to the ways of peace and brings them out from darknesses into the light, by His permission, and guides them to a straight path} [Surah al-Māʾida: 16]. He guarded it with an eye