35 Preface أَم يَقولونَ افتَراهُ ۖ قُل إِنِ افتَرَيتُهُ فَعَلَيَّ إِجرامي وَأَنا بَريءٌ مِمّا تُجرِمونَYusuf AliOr do they say, “He has forged it"? Say: “If I had forged it, on me were my sin! and I am free of the sins of which ye are guilty!1'The fine narrative of dramatic power is here interrupted by a verse which shows that the story of Noah is also a parable for the time and the ministry of Muḥammad, the Prophet. The wonderful force and aptness of the story cannot be denied. The enemy therefore turns and says, “Oh! but you invented it!” The answer is, “No! but it is God’s own truth! You may be accustomed to dealing in falsehoods, but I protest that I am free from such sins.” The place of this verse here corresponds to the place of verse 49 at the end of the next Section. While understanding this verse to refer to al Muṣṭafā, as most of the accepted Commentators understand it, it is possible also, I think, to read it into the story of Noah, for all Prophets have similar spiritual experiences.