foretelling that the Arabian Peninsula would submit and all the Quraysh enter Islam and total security be established. And it all occurred exactly as predicted. [^4]

[^4]: Ibn Hishām, Sīrat al-Nabawiyya, v, 69; Ibn Sa’d, al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā, ii, 139, 146.

The Fourth

THE FOURTH

“He it is who sent His Messenger with guidance and the Religion of Truth, to proclaim it over all religion” predicts with complete certainty that the religion which the Noble Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) brought would triumph over all religions. However at that time Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism had hundreds of millions of adherents and were the official religions of such world-dominant states as Rome, China, and Persia, which had hundreds of millions of subjects, and Muhammad the Arabian was unable to subdue his own small tribe even. Yet it is foretelling that the religion he brought would triumph over all religions and be victorious over all states. And it does this most clearly and categorically. The future confirmed this prediction, with the sword of Islam extending from the Pacific Ocean in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west.

The Fifth

THE FIFTH

“Muhammad is the Messenger of God, and those who are with him are strong against unbelievers, [but] compassionate among each other. You will see them bow and prostrate themselves.” The beginning of this verse foretells explicitly the lofty qualities and virtues that made the Companions the most elevated of humankind after the prophets. And allusively it indicates the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, who would succeed to the Prophet’s (UWBP) position after his death through the institution of the Caliphate, and foretells the fine attributes [^5] which were what most distinguished each of them and marked them out. It is as follows:

[^5]: See, Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, Faḍā’il al-Ṣaḥāba, i, 434; Baghawī, Ma‘ālim al-Tanzīl, iv, 206.

“And those who are with him” alludes to Abu Bakr the Veracious, who was distinguished by being among the Prophet’s (UWBP) special followers and party to his conversation, and again being included among his special followers by being the first to die. While “are strong against the unbelievers” points to ‘Umar, who in the future would cause the countries of the globe to tremble at his conquests, and with his justice would descend on tyrants like a thunderbolt. And “compassionate among each other” gives news of ‘Uthman, who in the future when the most serious dissension was being fomented, would sacrifice his own life and spirit out of his perfect