Throughout this book we have reflected on different dimensions of Jadid al-Islam's polemical work and, through it, on the genre of dalāʾil alnubuwwa in the post-classical period more generally. Through considering the Sayf al-muʾminin as representative of broader developments in the later stages of the history of the genre, we cannot fail to notice a seemingly contradictory – although perhaps complementary – characteristic of early modern polemics. While these texts continuously resort to the same tropological repertoire that was used throughout the classical period, they are also malleable enough to draw from a wide variety of intertextual references in order to address debates that are more specific to a certain time and place. This latter aspect is what makes these works historically grounded, thus compensating for the shortage of biographical information on some of their authors, as in Jadid al-Islam's case. However, the persistence of classical motifs forces us to reexamine common assumptions about concepts such as ‘originality’ or ‘innovation’, to give a fairer appraisal of what the reproduction of these tropes implies. If we think of the writing of polemics primarily as an exercise in piety intended to strengthen the author's – and by extension, the community's – religious convictions, it is clear that the pursuit of novelty is subordinated to the need to provide the soundest arguments in favour of one's own faith. This urge is even more pronounced among converts like Jadid al-Islam, partly because of their need to prove their commitment to their new coreligionists, but also as an act of self-reassurance. This being the case, polemicists have had to revisit every single argument and provide all the evidence at their disposal – whether commonplace or novel – to make their cases. This explains the inclusion of old motifs alongside less commonly used sources, arguments and tropes.

Aside from this, the recourse to classical motifs in Jadid al-Islam's work – as in the works of other authors of dalāʾil – has the function of anchoring the text within a well-established, and therefore intellectually authoritative, tradition. What is crucial to emphasise here, however, is that this use of tropes is not purely formulaic or stagnant.