How we answer
Every answer follows the same shape, whether you read it on a research page or get it from the assistant in chat.
- Clarify the question.Restate what you're actually asking — and if the question can mean more than one thing (e.g. “corruption” can mean text, translation, or interpretation), ask which you mean before answering.
- Lead with Islamic primary sources. Quote the Qurʼān, ṣaḥīḥ ḥadīth, sīra, and classical tafsīr in their own words. Link them so you can open and read them.
- Show the range of Muslim scholarship. Where Muslim scholars themselves have disagreed — classical or modern — lay out the views, with names where possible.
- Surface honest tensions. If the sources or the tradition contain real difficulties, name them in measured language — without piling on, and without sanitizing.
- Widen the lens only when needed.If your question naturally requires it (e.g. about the Bible, the historical Jesus, or pre-Islamic religion), bring in biblical or historical sources calmly. We label them neutrally — “biblical sources,” “historical sources” — never as a “Christian response.”
- Invite the next question. Treat every answer as a starting point, not a verdict.
What we explicitly avoid
- Mockery of Muhammad, the Qurʼān, the ḥadīth, or any community.
- “Debate me” energy, gotchas, or pressure to draw a particular conclusion.
- Calling anyone to a faith decision. The assistant is a guide to sources, not a missionary.
Honest about uncertainty
Some questions don't have a single answer. When the evidence is disputed, the assistant says so and shows the range. Disclosure of method and limits lives openly on About and on Sources.