19. They implied two things when they said these words. First, they meant that what Muhammad (peace be upon him) was presenting as divine revelation was really the product of his own mind but he was ascribing it to Allah merely to make his claim weighty. Secondly, they implied this: If you want to be the leader of your people, present something that may make them prosperous in the world and give up the doctrines of Tauhid and the Hereafter and the moral restrictions you are prescribing in your teaching. And if it is not possible, make some amendments in the Quran so that a compromise may be made between you and us on the principle of give and take so that there should be some scope for our shirk in your Tauhid and for our self worship and for our salvation in the Hereafter, irrespective of what we do in this world. You should also note it well that we cannot accept your absolute morality: therefore you should make an allowance for our prejudices, our rites and customs, our personal and national interests and our desires. We propose that with mutual agreement we should make a list of those religious demands which should be obligatory on us for the fulfillment of Allah’s rights, and beyond that we should be free to conduct our worldly affairs in any way we like. This compromise is necessary because we cannot accept your demand that human life in all its aspects should entirely be led in accordance with the implications of the doctrines of Tauhid and the Hereafter and the regulations of the Islamic code of life.
20. This is the answer to the two above mentioned demands: I have no authority of making any alterations in this Book for I am not its author but Allah is the One Who is sending it down to me. Therefore there is no question of any compromise about it. If you want to accept its way, you will have to accept it as it is; otherwise you are free to reject it.