Challange in the Quran - "bring a Surah similar to it"

And if you are in doubt concerning what we reveal to our slave, then bring a Surah similar to it and call your witnesses and helpers from below Allah, if you are truthful. Quran 2: 23  -   http://tanzil.net/#trans/en.yusufali/2:23

This is a challenge that still stands today, as no one has met this challenge in the over one thousand four hundred (1,400) years since it was first made. This is a point upon which we ask the reader to ponder.

http://quran-tafsir.org/

In the previous ayahs we saw Allah (swt) establish without a doubt the concept of Tawhid. We were shown clear evidences that testify to the fact that Allah (swt) Exists, that He (swt) is One and Only, and that He (swt) has Power over all things. Now we know that the Kalimah, which are the words that are the foundation of our beliefs has two parts. The first part is that there is no illah except Allah (swt). The second part is that Muhammad (saw) is the Messenger of Allah (swt). The previous two ayahs that we have discussed prove the first part of the Kalimah and this ayah proves the second part. This ayah brings an undeniable proof for all mankind that Muhammad (saw) is indeed the Messenger of Allah (swt). Insha Allah our discussion of this ayah is rather long because here we try to discuss the Miracle of the Quran in some depth. We did this because we feel that this is an extremely important topic of Aqeedah that many Muslims and non-Muslims are ignorant of. May Allah (swt) strengthen our Iman through our knowledge of the Miracle of the Quran! May Allah (swt) allow us to say only what is correct!

Allah (swt) begins this ayah by bringing a condition. Allah (swt) says “ if you are in doubt concerning what we reveal to our servant”. So this part of the ayah is  ddressing those people who have some doubt concerning what Allah (swt) revealed to the Prophet (saw). Those people who are not sure that this Quran which the Prophet (saw) brought to us is really from the Creator. The scholars say that the Arabic word for doubt in this ayah is the kind of doubt that has no basis or foundation. It is the kind of doubt that is not based on anything. So Allah (swt) is

saying that you should not have doubt, but if you do then this ayah is addressed to you Thus before we even look to the Miracle of the Quran, if only we were to look at the one who brought the Quran to us, then we would realize that there is no reason for us to doubt at all. When anyone gets to know the Prophet (saw) then they would realize that any doubt they have concerning this Quran has no validity whatsoever. So there is no reason why anyone should doubt this Quran when one considers the one to whom it was revealed. If we study the life of the Prophet (saw) we can see a man who was known throughout his society for honesty and integrity. Throughout the first forty years of his (saw)’s life he (saw) never told a lie or spoke any kind of falsehood. So honest was he (saw) that he (saw) even earned the nickname of Al-Ameen, which means “the truthful”. We have with us today so many narrations about the life of the Prophet (saw) before he (saw) was given the Message, we even have the narrations of how he (saw) was perceived and known by the members of his community. Not one of those  narrations ever mentions the Prophet (saw) ever telling any kind of lie. In fact if you study the life of the Prophet (saw) in detail, even his life before he (saw) became the Messenger, you would see the kind of person that he (saw) was. If you see him (saw) in his times of difficulty and sorrow, if you see how he (saw) responded to the events in his society, you will see how he (saw) was a man with a sincere heart and a pure soul.

For example when the Prophet (saw) was a youth he (saw) never used to attend the parties that the youth who were his age used to attend. But when he (saw) saw that all of the youth were attending such parties, he (saw) thought might be there was something in these parties that was worth looking into. We have to remember that this happened before he (saw) became a Messenger and so before he (saw) knew that such social events were forbidden. But notice here the sincerity in his (saw)’s actions, he (saw) did not say to himself that, “I am on my path by not attending these parties and the youth are on their own path by going to these

parties”. He (saw) thought that maybe he (saw) was wrong in not attending those parties so he (saw) decided to go and see what happened in them. The first day that the Prophet (saw) decided to go, he (saw) was walking to the party and on the way he (saw) fell down  unconscious. He (saw) only woke up in the morning when the party was over. He (saw) tried to go again on the second day, and again the same thing happened to him (saw). He (saw) was on the way and he (saw) fell down unconscious before he (saw) reached his (saw)’s destination.

Then he (saw) decided that such parties were not for him (saw), and he (saw) knew that this was a sign from Allah (swt) for him (saw) not to go. Once again notice the sincerity in his (saw)’s actions. He (saw) was not set and stubborn on going after he (saw) had decided that he (saw) wanted to go, when he (saw) saw that Allah (swt) did not want him (saw) to go, he (saw) did not go.

Another narration from the youth of the Prophet (saw) was when the he (saw) was asked by his uncle Abu Talib to go and work for Khadija (raa) to support the family of Abu Talib. He (saw) did not hesitate to go and do this work to support the family of his uncle. We saw that even after he (saw) married Khadija (ra), we saw that the Prophet (saw) took his uncle’s son ‘Ali and raised him in his own house. Another example was when the Kabbah was being rebuilt and the various clans of Quraysh had a dispute as to who should be the one to place the sacred stone in it’s proper place. They called on the Prophet (saw) to resolve their dispute because they knew that he (saw) was the most honest and truthful man among them. The Prophet (saw) could have chosen a position in the dispute that favored his (saw)’s family but he (saw) did not. He (saw) came with an equitable solution that was fair for all parties. So even from these few narrations we see that the Prophet (saw) trying to help his family and his society in every way that he (saw) could. He (saw) had this love and this compassion for the people. Even when the angel Gibreel (as) first came to Prophet (saw) in the cave of Hira and he (saw) went back to his (saw)’s wife in a state of fear, he (saw) started to think that a devil or jinn had visited him in that cave.

How then did Khadija (ra) console the Prophet (saw) at this moment? She reminded him (saw) of all the good qualities that he (saw) had, and she (ra) was certain that because of his (saw)’s good qualities that Allah (swt) would never forsake him (saw). She knew that her husband (saw) was a good person and because of that she was certain that Allah (swt) would not let any demon or any harm come to him (saw). There are hundreds of narrations similar to this. Take the time to study them and you will see how special this blessed man was.

So we see from all of these narrations that the Prophet (saw) was a man of impeccable integrity and pure morals. Someone who was known throughout his society for his honesty and truthfulness. Can you then expect such a person to lie about Allah (swt)? How can anyone expect someone like the Prophet (saw), may Allah (swt) bless his noble face, to lie about something like this Message? Do you really think that the Prophet (saw) is capable of telling such

a lie and then living that lie for twenty three years? If you knew the Prophet (saw) then you would know that such is impossible. It is only in your ignorance of him (saw) that you entertain

the possibility.

Furthermore if the Prophet (saw) was known to be a liar do you think he (saw) would have had any followers at all? If the Prophet (saw) did have a reputation of lying do you think anyone would have followed him (saw)? Of course not. But not only did people follow him (saw) 

but they were willing to sacrifice their lives and wealth because of what he (saw) said. They were willing to go through all forms of torture and persecution based on what he (saw) said. Would anyone do this if they know him (saw) to be a liar or even if they thought him (saw) to be a liar?

So that is why Allah (swt) is only bringing the Challenge of the Quran for those who have doubts concerning the Truth of the Prophet (saw). Those who knew the Prophet (saw) did not have doubts to begin with. People like Abu Bakr (ra) and Khadija (ra) did not need the Quran to tell them that the Prophet (saw) was the Messenger of Allah (swt). They knew the Prophet (saw) more than anyone else and they knew that he (saw) was incapable of lying. It is only for those who have doubts that Allah (swt) brings this Challenge. Allah (swt) is telling us that such

doubts are unfounded and we should have no reason to doubt the Message of the Prophet (saw).

But if you doubt then you should answer this challenge. You should produce a Surah like the

Surahs of the Quran.

Not only was the Prophet (saw) not known to be a liar, but he (saw) was also not known to compose works of poetry. This fact also is a further proof that it was impossible for him

(saw) to have composed the Quran. If there was one thing that Arabs prided themselves on it

was their language and their poetry. They would send their children to live with the desert

Bedouins during their young age only so that they can learn the proper Arabic. They feared that

if their children lived in the cities their Arabic would be corrupted because foreigners who did not speak Arabic properly would visit the cities. They feared that their children might not pick up the proper Arabic if they heard these foreigners speak. Such was the care that they took in

protecting their language. They would also compose poetry for every single occasion. If someone hated someone else, he would write a poem against him. If someone loved someone, he would write a poem for her. If someone was wrong and some injustice was done to him, he would write a poem about it. If someone was proud of an accomplishment, he would write a poem about it. For the Arabs at the time of the Prophet (saw), their language and their poetry was their life. If you read the classical books of Seerah that tell us about the Prophet (saw)’s life you would see that they are filled with poems that the Arabs at the time of the Prophet (saw) had composed, even poems from the close family of the Prophet (saw) such as his uncle Abu Talib. But even though poetry was so prevalent in his society and even in his family, the Prophet (saw) himself never composed such poetry. So how could someone who had never composed a line of poetry in his whole life come with a Quran that the Arabs who were the best in the language and the masters of poetry were unable to match? Not only were they unable to match the Quran but also they themselves admitted with their own mouths that this Quran was the best Arabic that they had ever seen and that they were unable to produce anything like it. They themselves admitted that the Arabic of the Quran could not have been produced by a human being. So perfect and pure were the words that when they heard it, they knew that it could not have been produced by a human mind. They knew that it was far above anything that they had ever heard before oranything that they could reproduce.

This then was the Challenge of the Quran that Allah (swt) brought for the Arabs and

for all mankind. If they were in doubt as to the Truth of this Message, even though they had no

reason to be, then they should try to compose one single Surah like the Surahs of the Quran. The scholars have called this challenge the ijaza of the Quran. The best translation that we can find for the word ijaza is “miracle”, but really it gives a far deeper meaning. The word ijaza means something that renders the people completely incapable to produce something like it. The Quran rendered everyone who tried to produce something like it completely incapable. It was utterly impossible for them to produce anything like it. This was the Miracle that Allah (swt) gave to the Prophet (saw) to prove to the people that he (saw) is indeed the Messenger of Allah (swt).
It was not only the Prophet (saw) who came with such a Miracle. Every messenger that Allah (swt) sent was given a miracle to prove to the people that he was indeed a messenger from Allah (swt). The Miracle was always in the area that the people to whom the messenger was sent to were best in. For example the Egyptians were experts in magic so Musa (as) was given a miracle that used magic. Allah (swt) turned the sticks into snakes for Musa (as) to demonstrate to the Egyptians that he (as) was indeed a Messenger of Allah (swt). Similarly the

Children of Israil whom ‘Isa (as) was sent to were experts in the field of medicine and healing. So Allah (swt) allowed ‘Isa (as) to cure the blind and heal the lepers. Since the Arabs were experts in the Arabic language and masters of poetry, they were given the Quran. It came with an Arabic that they had never seen before and it completely surpassed all the works of poetry that were written prior to its revelation. The Quran consists of one and hundred and fourteen Surahs. The shortest among these Surahs consist of three short ayahs and the longest of them, which is this Surah consists of two hundred and eighty six ayahs. Each Surah is at the peak of the Arabic language. In terms of literary quality every single Surah completely surpassed anything that the Arabs had ever produced in the long history of their language. When the Arabs heard it they knew that there was nothing else like it because the level of the Arabic that it used was far higher to anything than they had ever written. In fact the Quraysh had taken the best poems that they had, ones that were composed by their ancestors and for which they had great

reverence for, and they framed these poems in gold and hung them inside the Kabbah. When the Quran came to the Prophet (saw), every Surah in the Quran completely destroyed the best of these poems. Every single Surah was on a level that was infinitely higher than each of these

poems. Not only was the Quran far superior to anything that the Arabs had produced throughout

their history, but it was also at a level that was so high that it had rendered all the efforts to

reproduce it in vain. Thus there was nothing that the Arabs at the time of the Prophet (saw)

could do to meet the Challenge of the Quran. They were completely incapacitated to produce

anything like it.

Now if the Quraysh chiefs who opposed the Prophet (saw)’s dawah had any doubt as to the Truth of this Message, they only had to produce a work that was similar to one of these short Surahs. They had to compose a work that was equal to the level of the Quran. They were the enemies of this Message and they knew that the best way to destroy this Message was to  respond to the Challenge. Now these Quraysh chiefs who opposed the Prophet (saw) were  masters of the Arabic language and experts in all the different forms of Arabic poetry and prose.

So if the Quran had been from anyone besides Allah (swt) then they would have been able to meet this Challenge. They would have exhausted all of their resources and used all of their

efforts to reach this goal. The dawah of the Prophet (saw) represented a threat to their entire

way of life. They wanted to stop it more than anything else. They wanted to destroy this Message more than anything else. They even offered to make the Prophet (saw) their king if only he (saw) would stop calling to this Message. Then they even tried to kill the Prophet (saw), one of their own tribesman which was unheard of in their society, only because he (saw) was calling to this Message. So if there was any way in which these masters of the Arabic language could have composed the Surah to meet the challenge they would have done so. They knew that meeting the Challenge of the Quran was the best way to destroy this Message. So they would have exhausted all of their efforts and resources towards this goal. But they could not and they knew that they could not. They even admitted with their own mouths that the Quran was not the speech of a human being. Al-Walid bin al-Mughira who was one of the enemies of this Message was also the best among the Quraysh when it came to language and poetry. However he himself admitted that he had never seen anything like this Quran in the history of the Arabs and he does not know how any human being could have composed such a work. These enemies of Islam hated this Message that Allah (swt) sent with their every fiber of their being. They knew that it came to completely destroy their way of life. They knew that if this Message gained supremacy in their land then they would no longer be able to follow their desires and they would no longer be able to exploit the people. They knew that this Message would make them equal in status to even the blacks and the slaves. This is why they hated this Message. This is why they would do anything to stop this Message. This is why they tortured and killed members of their own family who had become Muslim and who were working in the dawah to establish this Message. This is why they tried so many ways to bribe and make compromises with the Prophet (saw), such as offering him (saw) all of the wealth in Makkah, the most beautiful women in Makkah or even kingship over them. This is why they made an embargo against the family of the Prophet (saw) and prevented anyone from trading or interacting with them. They hated this Message and they wanted to destroy it at all costs. So if there was any way that they could have destroyed this Message they would have done it. If there was any way that they could have produced one Surah like it, they would have done it. But what we saw is that instead of producing a Surah like it they themselves admitted that it was the best Arabic that they had ever heard, and they themselves admitted that it completely annihilated all the works that preceded it’s revelation since the beginning of the Arabic language.

We know that because of their pride and because of their love for this world most of the Quraysh chiefs did not follow the Prophet (saw) even when they though they were certain that he (saw) was the Messenger of Allah (swt). They were certain that they could not meet the  Challenge of the Quran but they still persisted in their rebellion. But despite their opposition to it,

they were still captivated by the Quran nonetheless. The narrations tell us how they would come to the house of the Prophet (saw) at night to listen to the Quran being recited by the Prophet

(saw) as he (saw) prayed, they did this because they were so much in love with the sound of the Words of Allah (swt). Even though they hated the Message of the Quran, they were still

captivated by it. When they discovered each other listening they would be shocked and they

would make each other swear that they would not return to listen to the Quran again. But the next night they would return again to listen to this Quran. Another narration tells us how the

Prophet (saw) once recited the Quran in front of the Kabbah while the Quraysh chiefs were listening to it. They were listening so attentively and they were so captivated by it that when the

Prophet (saw) reached an ayah that told the people to prostrate before Allah (swt), the Quraysh

chiefs also prostrated without being aware of what they were doing. They were so captivated by

the Quran that they made prostration when it called on them to. So we see that the attitude towards the Quran by the enemies of this Message also shows that it could not have been from

anyone except Allah (swt).

This was the response towards the Quran by the enemies of this Message at the time of the Prophet (saw) but what about the enemies of this Message who came after them? Were they able to meet the Challenge of the Quran? We know that this challenge has existed for all mankind since the time of the Prophet (saw). If someone had any doubts whatsoever about the

Truth of this Message they only had to produce one small Surah like Surah ‘Asr or Surah Kawthar. Now we know that since the time of the Prophet (saw), this Message has had many

enemies. Even today these same enemies still exist. Just like at the time of the Prophet (saw),

there are many people today who would not like to see this Message gain supremacy in the land.

They knew that this Message represented a way of life that embodied complete worship and

servitude to Allah (swt). Thus they knew that if this Message came to power they would not be

able to exploit the people and follow their desires. They knew that they would have to give up

their wealth and power and submit completely to Allah (swt). So the enemies of this Message

have tried many ways to stop this dawah. They would attempt material attacks such as invading

the Islamic State, examples of this would the Crusades or the invasion of the State by the 

colonialists after the First World War. They would attempt intellectual attacks to make the

Muslims lose confidence in their Din. They would send missionaries and agents to try and take

Muslims away from Islam. They would make up lies about the Prophet (saw) and bring all kinds

of fabricated stories about him (saw). They would hire so called Muslim” scholars” and make

them preach a watered down version of Islam that was compatible with their way of life. They

would stop at nothing to destroy this Message because they knew that it represented a threat to

their entire way of life. Despite all of these plans and all of these plots that they have made

against this Din in the last fifteen hundred years, despite all of the money they spent and all the resources they wasted to destroy this Message, they know that if they can destroy the Aqeedah of the Muslims then they can destroy this Message completely and forever. Now we know that the foundation of our Aqeedah is to believe in the Oneness of Allah (swt) and to believe in the Prophet (saw) as the Messenger of Allah (swt). That is the Kalimah that we all know by heart. We know that they can never destroy the first part of the Aqeedah because it is impossible to prove that Allah (swt) does not exist and it is impossible to prove that He (swt) does not control the universe. But what about the second part of the Kalimah, could they ever destroy our belief that the Prophet (saw) is the Messenger of Allah (swt)? If the Quran was the word of a human being, they could easily destroy our Aqeedah by producing a Surah like it. If the Quran was from the mind of the Prophet (saw), then they could meet the Challenge of the Quran. Just one small Surah. That is all that we are asking for. No need for huge military invasions or elaborate propaganda or sending covert agents and missionaries. No need for all that they are trying to do today. All that they had to do was to produce one Surah. No one can claim that this is beyond their means because we know that there are many among them who are experts in Arabic. We know that with the abundant wealth that Allah (swt) had given them they had all the resources and capabilities to gather their best scholars of Arabic language to try and come up with that one small Surah. They had access to all the classical forms of Arabic poetry that were composed both before and after the Quran’s revelation. They had dictionaries with every single word in the Arabic language. They had every resource they could possibly need for such an endeavor. They also had time because the Challenge of the Quran had existed for the last fifteen hundred years.

So if the Quran was from any but Allah (swt) then they would have been able to produce that

one small Surah. But as Allah (swt) has told us in the Quran, even if all of the men and all of the

jinn came together and they pooled all of their resources for this effort they would not be able to reproduce this Quran. Thus simply the fact that no one has been able to meet this Challenge

despite it being present for the last fifteen hundred years and despite Islam having so many

powerful enemies is another clear evidence that this Quran can only be from Allah (swt). Do you

really think that the challenge could have gone unmet for this long if this Quran had been from

the mind of a human being? Even if the Prophet (saw) was a genius as they claim, he (saw) was still a human being. Could he (saw) really have been that good? We are all human being and to err is human and to make mistakes is human. How then could any human have produced a Book that to this Day all of mankind has not been able to match even a small portion of?

So how exactly is the Quran superior to all others works that have ever been produced? How exactly is the Quran the most perfect of speech? How does the Quran achieve its inimitability such that there is no way to produce anything like it? It is actually superior and it achieves inimitability on multiple levels. One is on the linguistic level and this is the way in which the Quran uses the Arabic language. The Quran uses the Arabic language in such a way that each word is the most perfect word to be used. The Quran uses the Arabic language in the best

way possible in order to convey the meanings that it wants to convey. Insha Allah we will

elaborate more on this soon.

In addition to the way in which it uses the Arabic language, there is also the content of the Quran itself which is also an evidence that is could only be from Allah (swt). The content

of the Quran also shows us that it could not be from any but Allah (swt). In addition to the

content there is also the effect that the Quran had upon the society onto which it was revealed.

The Quran completely transformed the people onto whom it was revealed from a backward and

barbaric people into the greatest civilization that mankind had ever witnessed. This also is a proof that it could only be from Allah (swt). Then there is also the way in which the Quran was  revealed. Often times the Quran would be revealed to respond to events that arose in the life of

the Prophet (saw) and the Islamic movement.
The Quran would directly address and comment on these events. All of these are different ways in which the Quran achieves its inimitability. Insha Allah let us look at each of these ways one by one. Now we know that many so-called critics of the Quran from the West would claim that the Quran is only superior by its beauty and they would claim that this is subjective. In other words they claim that the measure by which we are judging the Quran varies depending on who

is listening. They would claim that because of this fact the Challenge of the Quran is not valid because what is considered beautiful differs from one person to another. Such a claim as they

make only comes from ignorance. Insha Allah we will demonstrate here that in all of the ways in

which the Quran is superior, it is an objective measure that can be seen and measured by any

rational human being. Insha Allah let us look first at the literary miracle of the Quran. This is how it achieves its inimitability through its use of the Arabic language.

The first way that the Quran is superior to all other works of Arabic is in it’s Uslub. The Uslub is the “style” of the Quran. It is the coordinated arrangement of words to achieve a particular meaning. Any literary work is nothing but a collection of words arranged in a particular order so as to convey a meaning or an idea. So we would say that the Uslub of a particular work is the choice of words used in it, the arrangement of those words, and the meaning conveyed by

those words. The Uslub of the Quran is superior to all other works in three ways. The first way is in it’s wuduh, the second is in it’s quwahh and the third is in it’s jammal. These are all Arabic

terms that our scholars have used when discussing the Miracle of the Quran. Insha Allah we will

try our best to explain them in English and we ask Allah (swt) to help us.

The wuduh of a work is the number of words that are used to convey a meaning that is intended and the clarity of that meaning. The scholars of Arabic language say that the fewer

the words that are used and the clearer the meaning that these words give, the stronger the wuduh of a work is. So in order for what you write to have strong wuduh it must convey the clearest meaning while using the fewest amount of words. The wuduh of the Quran completely surpasses all other works of Arabic that have ever been written. Every ayah gives the clearest of

meaning using the least amount of words. There are no words that the Quran uses which are

unnecessary to the meaning that it is trying to give. Every single ayah gives the clearest meaning while using the fewest possible words. Each ayah is only as long as it needs to be and no longer.

There are no words that are superfluous, and there are no words that can be replaced with a better word for that particular meaning. In fact our scholars have shown that for every single ayah of the Quran, you cannot replace a single word and give that ayah a stronger meaning. It already uses the best and most concise words for the meaning that it wants to convey. So the wuduh is already at its peak, it cannot be improved upon by anyone. No scholar of the Arabic language can come today and replace one word in an ayah with another word and then give that ayah a better meaning. Each ayah is already at the peak. In other words for any one ayah of the Quran, it would be impossible for anyone to reduce the number of words or change the words or change the ordering of the words and still have the same clarity of meaning that Allah (swt) has given us in the Quran.

In the Arabic language, to express the clearest of meanings using the fewest of words is an accomplishment that many poets and writers strive for. But no one has ever reached anything close to the wuduh of the Quran. They cannot compose a poem or prose that achieves a clearer meaning using as few words as the Quran. This is what people who have attempted to meet the Challenge have tried to do. But they have always fallen short. They have found that in order to make the meaning clear they need to increase the number of words, and if they reduce the number of words then the meaning is not so clear.

The next component of the Uslub of the Quran that makes it superior to all other

works is it’s quwwah. The quwwah is the force or the effect on the listener. This force is achieved by having the deepest and strongest meaning possible using the fewest amount of words. It is similar to the wuduh in that once again the goal is to use the fewest of amount of words, but instead of clarity of meaning the quwwah is concerned with the power of that meaning, the effect that meaning has upon the listener. So for every ayah, the Quran always uses the strongest of words that give the deepest and most profound meaning possible. To have quwwah is also a goal which many Arab poets and orators strive to achieve with their works. They want to

have the deepest impact on their listeners while using the least amount of words. They want their listeners to be shocked and awed by their words. They want their listeners to be moved by what they hear. But there is no one that has written or composed any work that has had the same quwwah as the ayahs of the Quran. There is no literary work that affects people like the Quran affects them. The power of the meaning is so strong that there is no comparison.

The scholars have told us that one aspect of the quwwah of the Quran is even in the

sounds of the letters that Allah (swt) uses for different ayahs. If you look at the Quran you will see that whenever Allah (swt) describes something harsh and powerful, He (swt) will use harsh and powerful sounding letters. The sound that these letters make puts a sense of fear and dread into the ones who hear them. On the other hand when Allah (swt) describes something beautiful and gentle, He (swt) will use letters that are soft and easy on the ears. One can almost taste the

pleasure and tranquility in the sounds of these letters. Thus these letters have the greatest impact on the listener. Either making them longing for the pleasure that is being described or making them dread the punishment that is being described.

The final component of the Uslub of the Quran is the jammal. This is in reference to

the expressions that Allah (swt) uses in the Quran. The expressions that Allah (swt) uses in the Quran to convey a particular meaning are always the most fitting of expressions that can be used convey that meaning. For any meaning that you want to convey you could not have chosen a better expression than what Allah (swt) has used in Quran. For example Allah (swt) says in the Quran “ Often those who disbelieve wish that they were Muslims. Leave them to eat and enjoy,

and let them be preoccupied with false hopes. They will soon come to know” (Al-Hijr, 2-3). In this ayah Allah (swt) is conveying to us a description of those who do not believe in this Message. The expression that Allah (swt) uses to describe their situation is the most fitting of expressions because it most clearly describes the reality of their situation. With this expression Allah (swt) must accurately captures the reality of their situation and He (swt) conveys it to us in the most beautiful of ways. So the jammal of the Quran refers to it’s ability to use the best of expression to convey a particular meaning.

When you combine the wuduh, the quwwah, the jammal of the Quran, it makes the Uslub of the Quran. You will find that there is no work that has ever been produced which can compare to the Uslub of the Quran. We can clearly see that the Uslub of the Quran is an objective measure that can easily be compared with other works of Arabic. In order to perform this objective measure just take any ayah of the Quran and you compare it with any other Arabic work that has ever been written, poetry or prose, and see if that other work can equal the Uslub of the Quran. See if that other work can give a clearer meaning, and a deeper meaning and using better expressions while using the same amount of words or fewer words than what Allah

(swt) has given us in the Quran. You will not find any work that can do this; you will not find any work that matches the Uslub of the Quran. You will not find in any of the works that have been produced in the history of the Arabic language, and you will not find in any works that will be produced till the Day of Judgment anything that equals the Uslub of the Quran. You can look at the millions and millions of works of Arabic that have ever been written both before and after the Quran and you will not find a single work whose Uslub is equal to that of the Quran. To improve on the Uslub of the Quran is impossible because it is already at the peak. Any sincere scholar of Arabic language will testify to this fact. If any fool wants to meet the challenge of the Quran he only has to try and write a work with better Uslub than the Quran. Many have tried to do this but none have been successful. For the last fifteen hundred years there has been no human being that has ever been able to do  this. Do you think that anyone will do it in the next fifteen hundred years? What  then does this tell you?

But the Uslub is only one aspect of the literary Miracle of the Quran. Another aspect of the literary Miracle of the Quran is the way in which it does not conform to any of the established ways of writing poetry and prose that the Arabs knew about. Both Arabic poetry and Arabic prose come in a certain format. All works of poetry and prose have to conform to this format. Arabic poetry comes in sixteen Bihar, which literally means "The Seas" because of the way the poem moves according to its rhythmic patterns like waves in the sea. There are at-Tawîl, al-Bassit, al-Wâfir, al-Kamîl, ar-Rajs, al-Khafîf, al-Hazaj, al-Muttakarib, al-Munsarih, al-Muktatab, al-

Muktadarak, al-Madîd, al-Mujtath, al-Ramel, al-Khabab and as-Saria'. These are the sixteen ways of writing poetry in Arabic. Any poem that has ever been written in the Arabic language has used one of these Bihar. The Arabs do not know how to compose a poem that does not use one of these Bihar. Now the Quran does not conform to any of these Bihar so it cannot be a poem like how the Arabs knew poetry. It does not fit into any of these sixteen ways of composing poetry.

So although it was one of the most poetic of works that they had ever heard, they could not understand how it was composed. Its composition did not fit into any of the ways that they knew of. It was something the likes of which they had never seen before. Just like poetry, Arabic prose also comes in a set format. There is what you call rhymed prose where each sentence ends with a rhyme or every other sentence ends with a rhyme and there is also what you call mursal prose which is straight prose that does not rhyme. Just like the Quran does not fit into one of the sixteen Bihar of poetry, it is also does not fit into a prose that the Arabs knew of. It is not straight prose nor is it rhyming prose. It seemed to be a combination of both straight prose and rhyming prose. A combination that is unlike anything that

the Arabs had ever seen before.

Thus the composition of the Quran does not fit into any of the established ways of

writing poetry or prose. The Quran is neither poetry nor is it prose. When it was revealed the Arabs had never seen or heard anything like it, and since the time of it’s revelation nothing has been produced that is like it. Despite this fact the Quran is still in a plain Arabic language and its meanings are clear and comprehensible for all to understand. So the fact that the Quran does not conform to any of the established ways of writing poetry and prose is yet another component of the linguistic Miracle of the Quran. If any human were to have composed the Quran then he still would have had to conform to the rules of writing that the Arabic language has. How could anyone have composed a work without conforming to the rules of the language? In order to produce any work of Arabic you still need to do it on the based on the rules established for the language. You cannot do it without conforming to the rules. Such a thing would be like writing English without knowing anything about grammar or sentence structure.
This was only an introduction to the linguistic Miracle of the Quran. For a more

detailed discussion of this subject you can refer to books such as “ Ijaz al-Quran” by Qadi Abu Bakr Baqilliani and “ Al-Itqan” by Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti. These books discuss in detail how the Quran is far superior to any work that has been produced by the Arabs and how any attempt to reproduce it is in vain. They show how the Quran uses the Arabic language in such a way that it is impossible to reproduce it. These books cover the linguistic Miracle of the Quran in detail, something we have only given an introduction to. Today it is truly unfortunate that Orientalist and Christian opponents of the Quran would dismiss the Miracle of the Quran as something subjective without even studying these classical works. They just claim that the Challenge is based on something subjective and dismiss it without responding to all of these arguments that Muslim scholars have brought in support of the validity of the Challenge. So not only have these fools been unable to produce a Surah like

the Challenge has asked for, but they claim that the Challenge is invalid because it based on something subjective. They make this unfounded claim without even studying the real nature of the linguistic Miracle of the Quran or reading what the Muslim scholars have written. They claim that all there is to the superiority of the Quran is its beauty, like the beauty of a song. If they would only study the real nature of the linguistic Miracle of the Quran, they would see that this is the furthest from the truth. But we know that they would never do this. We know that they would never sincerely study the Miracle of the Quran. This is because they are not studying the

Quran to see whether or not it is the Truth. They have already made up their minds that they are going to reject this Message. They have already made up their minds so no matter how many signs they are shown they will not believe. They had already made up their minds that they were not going to believe even before they looked at the Quran. This is because they were slaves of their desires and they knew that the Quran came to take them away from their desires. They knew that the Quran came to take them away from the devils that they were worshipping. Thus they had no sincerity for the Truth, rather they only cared about their desires and their pride.

Now the only effort for which they are spending their energies is to come up with lame excuses as to why they have rejected this Message. They want to justify for themselves their rejection of this Message so they try to invent weaknesses in the Challenge of the Quran where no such weaknesses exist. They only want to console themselves for their rejection and they want to fool the simple minded among the Muslims who have not studied the Miracle of the Quran in detail. 

They also want to mislead their own people from being able to comprehend and realize this Miracle. They want to mislead their own people from knowing and serving their Creator. In addition to saying that the Challenge of the Quran is subjective, some of them claim that the reason the Challenge has not yet been met is because Muslims are afraid to take up the Challenge because doing so would be an act of kufr. There are two important points they forget to consider when they come with such a claim. One is that Muslims are already convinced that this Quran is the Word of Allah (swt) so there is no reason for us to take up the challenge. We as Muslims already know that it cannot be done. Also if Muslims are afraid to take up the Challenge as these Orientalists claim, then why do they not do it themselves? They know Arabic and they can write Arabic. Why do they not make that one small Surah if such a feat is accomplishable by humans? Another excuse that they bring is that the Challenge has already been met and a work has already been produced that is similar to a Surah in Quran. They claim that someone in history has actually done it. If that is true then where is such a work? Why do they not bring it to

the world and show everyone how it equals or surpasses the Quran? They do not do it because they know that it is not true. They know that the Challenge of the Quran can never be met. They know that this Quran is the Word of Allah (swt), and just like the enemies of this Message from before, they only reject it because of their pride or their desires. These are all excuses that they bring to justify their rejection and to mislead the people. If such is the condition of these people then let them read the next ayah of this Surah and let them fear that Fire. That Fire that Allah (swt) has promised for all those who reject the Miracle of the Quran once they are certain that it is the Truth. May Allah (swt) save us from it!

The Miracle of the Quran is not limited to the linguistic Miracle. In addition to being a  Miracle in the way that it uses the Arabic language, the Quran’s content itself is also a Miracle.

The actual content of the Quran also shows us how it could be from none but Allah (swt). ThisMiracle also has multiple aspects to it. One of the ways in which the Quran is a Miracle in terms of it’s content is that it has detailed narrations about the  vents of previous prophets and nations. These are accounts of events that no one at the time of the Prophet (saw) had ever witnessed or heard about. For example in the Quran Allah (swt) has told us about how the angel came to visit Maryam (as) when she was alone in the masjid and He (swt) has also told us about how the brothers of Yusuf (as) plotted together in secret against him (as). No one had witnessed these events so there was no one who knew about them and how they happened. Thus the fact that these events are narrated to us in the Quran also shows us that this Book is from Allah (swt). Who but Allah (swt) could have witnessed these events to tell us about it?

Now some people would claim that these stories could have been taken from the

books of Jews and Christians. Such people who make these claims are truly ignorant about the Quran, about the Prophet (saw), about the books of the Jews and Christians and about the situation in Makkah between the Arabs and the Jews and Christians. People who make such unfounded claims forget the fact that the Prophet (saw) was unlettered and so he (saw) could not have read the books of the Jews and Christians. Furthermore the Prophet (saw) was never known for interacting with the Jews and Christians. In fact there were hardly any Jews or Christians in Makkah to begin with, and Makkah was where more than half of the Quran was

revealed. Most of the Jews lived around Madinah and most of the Christians lived around Najran and in Yemen. So there was no way that the Prophet (saw) could ever have interacted with these people and learned these stories from them. Furthermore the descriptions that are in the Quran about the former prophets and nations are nothing like what is found in the books of the Jews and Christians. It is known that the Jews and Christians changed their books from what was originally revealed to their prophets. In their books you would find the prophets committing lewd and indecent sins, something that is completely unheard of in Quran. Even the events that are described in the Quran are often very different from what is found in their Books. Many a times you would find the Quran giving a certain account of what happened, and then the Books of the Jews and Christians giving a totally different account. So even if the Prophet (saw) could have somehow come into contact with some Jews or Christians in Makkah, how does this explain the

fact that there are such stark differences between what is in the Quran and what is in their books?  How could the Prophet (saw) have known about such stories? Another example of the Miracle of the Quran when it comes to it’s content is the impact that the Quran had on the society onto which it was revealed. When Allah (swt) first sent down this Quran to the Prophet (saw), he (saw) found himself in a society of kufr. The people worshipped idols and submitted to their lusts and desires. There was anarchy and chaos throughout the land. Wars were fought for no reason, women were oppressed and treated as sexual objects, young children were buried in the sand. The strong and the powerful oppressed and exploited the weak and the defenseless. The people even ate the meat of dead carcasses. It was simply the most backwater and barbaric society that you could ever possibly imagine. But then through the Quran the Prophet (saw) built an Islamic movement, a group of people that completely revolutionized the society in which they lived.
The Quran changed a people whose only concern was the life of this world into a people who lived and worked only to seek the Pleasure of Allah (swt). It took the people away from worshipping idols into worshipping Allah (swt) Alone. It changed the hearts of such people from being attached to the life of this world, to the hope and love of the Hereafter. It transformed a backward and barbaric society into the

greatest civilization in the history of mankind. It laid down an ideology, a way of life that brought complete harmony and tranquility for the people at both an individual and societal level. It organized the affairs of the people in such a perfect way like no system ever devised by a human being did. Mankind has never known progress and peace like it knew under Islam. Could any Book except one that was revealed from Allah (swt) do that?

Another aspect of the Miracle of the Quran when it comes to its content is the Message that it brought. This Book is basically a call to Allah (swt). A call to Tawhid or the absolute Oneness of Allah (swt). What greater message could any book bring other than this? What greater purpose could anything serve other than this? Is not Allah (swt), the Creator and Sustainer of this entire universe, the most central and pivotal? What could be more important than He (swt)? This Book calls to Allah (swt). To worship Him (swt) Alone and not to make any partners with Him (swt) in this worship. There is no other sacred text that does this. So just the fact that this Book calls to the Oneness of Allah (swt) is another aspect of its Miracle. Another aspect of the Miracle of the Quran when it comes to the Quran’s content is the relevance that the ayahs of the Quran have had on the life of this Ummah throughout the history of our nation. The Quran has been a Book of guidance for this Ummah from the day that it was revealed until today and will continue to be so till the Last Day.


Not one letter of the Quran has been changed since the time it was revealed and yet the Message of the Quran continues to be as relevant today for the Muslim Ummah as it was at the time of the Prophet (saw). No Muslim can sincerely look at the Quran today and say that it does not provide solutions for the Ummah for our situation in this world today. No Muslim can turn to the Quran today and not find the guidance within it. This Quran is a complete guidance for our Ummah for all time. This is true at

both the individual and societal level. As Imam Shafi (ra) said “there is no problem that the Muslim Ummah can face for which there is no solution in the Book of Allah”.

There is a solution in the Quran for each and every one of our problems, both as individuals and as a nation. Thus another aspect of the Miracle of the Quran is that this Book is every bit a guidance for us today as it was for the Muslims at the time of the Prophet (saw). The only difference between us and them is that they searched for the guidance in the Quran while we have neglected it.

Another aspect of the Miracle of the Quran is the way in which it was revealed. As we know the Quran was revealed in portions over a period of twenty-three years that made up the Prophet (saw)’s dawah. Through the Quran the Prophet (saw) launched a movement that helped him (saw) carry out this dawah. What is amazing is that often times the ayahs would be revealed to address the problems and situations that were faced by the Islamic movement in their work of dawah. The Quran was not a theoretical book that spoke of abstract concepts or philosophical discourses, but it was a practical Book that dealt with the issues that the dawah was facing.

Whenever the Prophet (saw) and the Muslims were facing some difficulty in their work or some trial befell them, Allah (swt) would reveal an ayah to help them or to comfort them in their efforts. This practicality of the Quran to the situations that arose in the Islamic movement is another aspect of its Miracle. How could a Book be so beautiful and yet so practical to its environment at the same time? Only Allah (swt) is capable of bring forth such a Book.

Yet another aspect of the Miracle of the Quran in terms of it’s content is that the style of the Quran does not resemble the speech of the Prophet (saw) in any way. Even the Orientalists agree that it was the Prophet (saw) who brought the Quran. None of them claim that the Quran came from any but him (saw). This is because there is so much evidence to show that the Quran only came from the mouth of the Prophet (saw). But instead of saying that it is revelation from Allah (swt) like they know that it is, these fools claim that the Prophet (saw)  composed it. In making such a claim what these fools fail to consider was that he (saw) was illiterate, and that he (saw) was not a poet or a writer, and that the words of the Quran do not

resemble his (saw)’s speech in any way. We have thousands and thousands of hadith from the Prophet (saw). If you compare the style of the speech of the Prophet (saw) in these hadith with the style of the Quran, you will see no similarity between them. Anyone who knows Arabic can clearly distinguish between an ayah of Quran and a hadith of the Prophet (saw). They can clearly see that the speaker in each of these is different. So the fact that none of the miraculous style of the Quran ever appeared in the Prophet (saw)’s own words is yet another clear evidence that the Quran could not be from him (saw). Another part of the Miracle of the Quran is that the quality of the Quran never increases or diminishes for the twenty-three years over which it was revealed. If you look at any work that has been written by any human writer, you will see improvements or you will see portions where the quality diminishes. This is part of what it means to be human. Most of the time your writing improves as you learn more and you gain more experience, but sometimes the quality of your writing will decrease because just like any human you can make mistakes. The Quran on the other hand never increases or decreases in terms of it’s quality, there is no one who can say that any one Surah in the Quran is better in terms of the quality of the language than any other Surah. Many Surahs are different from each other in their style, but they are all at their peak. None of them can be improved on. None of them ever diminish or improve. Every single Surah of the Quran, even every single ayah is at the peak of the Arabic language. This is

yet another evidence that the Quran could not have come from a human writer.

The bottom line is that most people who do not believe in this Message today falsely

think that the Prophet (saw) himself composed the Quran. Such a belief comes from utter ignorance both about the Quran and about the Prophet (saw). The Prophet (saw)’s own tribe never thought for one second that he (saw) could produce anything like the Quran. This was because they knew him (saw) well and they knew the Quran also. They knew that the Prophet (saw) was not a liar or a trickster, and moreover they knew that the Prophet (saw) could not produce this Quran even if he (saw) wanted to do because he (saw) was illiterate and he (saw) was not a poet. Someone like the Prophet (saw) was the last person they would ever think could

bring a Book like the Quran. Even when they made false propaganda against him (saw), they never claimed that he (saw) had produced the Quran himself but they accused him (saw) of having foreign slaves who would write this Quran for him (saw). Even when they made such claims they themselves knew that such claims were unfounded because those slaves were non-Arabs and the Quran is a pure Arabic Book. Just like they knew the Prophet (saw), they knew the Quran as well. They knew that such a work could not have been produced by a human mind.

Ultimately the Miracle of the Quran is a Miracle of knowledge. Any work of poetry or

prose that is produced by the human mind is based on knowledge which that human previously obtained. So the question to ask is that is it possible for any human to have had the knowledge required to produce the Quran? We already said how the Quran is neither poetry nor is it prose.

It does not fit into any of the sixteen Bihar of poetry nor is it rhymed prose or straight prose. We also said that the Uslub of the Quran is far superior to anything that the Arabs had ever produced in the history of the language. So much was the superiority of the Uslub of the Quran that even when the Arabs heard the Quran, they knew that this work could not have been produced by a human mind. To the Arab who was an expert in poetry when he heard the Quran, it was just like when the magicians of Firaun saw the stick turn into a live snake, they knew right away that this could only be from Allah (swt). The same was the case of the Arabs when they heard the Quran being recited to them. That was the level to which the Uslub of the Quran was superior to anything that they had produced. The moment they heard it they knew that they could not match it. They knew that it was impossible for anyone to match it. We also said that the Quran contains detailed stories of the previous nations and prophets, knowledge that no one among the Arabs had, knowledge that even the Jews and Christians did not have in the correct form. We

also said that the Quran contains the guidelines to raise a movement that will completely transform dar ul kufr (the land of disbelief) into dar ul Islam (the land of Islam). Once the Islamic State is established, the Quran also contains the framework to build a society of brotherhood where tranquility and peace is achieved both on the individual and collective level. The Quran can also make a Muslim completely give up this worldly life and his desire for the things of this world, and turn him into a complete servant of Allah (swt) who is willing to sacrifice everything for his Rabb. We also said that the Challenge of the Quran has existed for over fifteen hundred years, and not one person has been able to produce that one small Surah which Allah (swt) asked the doubters for. The enemies of this Message have tried every possible to destroy this Message but they have been unable to produce this Surah. Now the question to ask yourself is this. Think about this question. Is it possible for an illiterate merchant who had never written anything in his whole life to produce a Book such as this? Could he (saw) ever have had the knowledge to produce such a Book? After all he (saw) was a human being just like us. He (saw) was also born

without knowing anything just like we were. He (saw) never went to school or received in any kind of formal education. For most of his (saw)’s life he (saw) lived as a Shepard and a merchant.

So he (saw) never received the opportunity to learn much. Do you think then that he (saw) could have had the knowledge to produce a Book like this? We believe that this is not possible.

We believe that there is no way possible for the Prophet (saw) to have had the knowledge to produce a Book like this.

If there is anyone who thinks that the Prophet (saw) might have had the knowledge to produce such a Book, we can say there are only two possibilities for such a person to think in that way. One possibility is that they have some problem with their mind, and if that is the case then we ask Allah (swt) to forgive them for their doubts and He (swt) is the Most Forgiving and Most Merciful. The other possibility for them thinking in such a way is that they are just making excuses for themselves for rejecting this Message when they know that it is indeed the Truth.

They have already reached the conclusion that they do not want to accept this Message, and they are just finding excuses for themselves by saying that the Prophet (saw) could have produced such a Book. For such people we ask them to reconsider their stance. We ask them to consider what Allah (swt) says in the next ayah of this Surah.

In the next part of this ayah we see that Allah (swt) does not simply give mankind the Challenge of the Quran but He (swt) also allows them to call all of their witnesses and helpers besides Him (swt). Allah (swt) says “and call your witnesses and helpers from below Allah”. This shows that Allah (swt) is giving every human being the chance to help each other on this endeavor. They can each be helpers and witnesses for each other. They can help each other to write that one small Surah and they can be witnesses for each other that such a Surah is similar to the Surahs in the Book of Allah (swt). Just imagine, Allah (swt) is allowing all of mankind to come together and work together to try and answer this challenge. Even though they can help each other, they still have not been able to meet the Challenge. Many must have been the enemies of this Message who must have gathered together in their secret rooms to try and destroy this Message. Still they have been unable to do it. In the final part of this ayah Allah (swt) says, “If you are truthful”. This means that mankind should only take up this Challenge if they truly doubt that this Quran is from Allah (swt).

If they know that this Quran is from Allah (swt), which they do, then they should not even endeavor on such a Challenge. But if for whatever reason they have some doubt that this Quran is from Allah (swt), only then should they try to take up such a Challenge and see what is the result that they meet with. Furthermore if they were true and if they were sincere, then once

they realized that this Challenge cannot be met, then they should submit to the Truth that has come to them from their Creator.

[25. And if you cannot do it, and you will never do it, then have Taqwa from the Fire,

the one whose fuel is people and stones, prepared for the Kafireen.]

This ayah is a continuation of the previous ayah. In the previous ayah Allah (swt)

presented the Challenge of the Quran for all mankind if they had any doubt whatsoever that this Quran was from Him (swt). Allah (swt) told all of mankind that if they had any doubt whatsoever that this Quran was from Him (swt) then they only needed to produce one small Surah similar to the Surahs in His (swt)’s Book. To meet this challenge they could all call all of their helpers and witnesses and they could all assist one another and support one another. In this ayah Allah (swt) confirms that all of mankind will never be able to meet this Challenge. Allah (swt) is already telling us that we will never be able to do it so we should not even try. Simply look at the confidence with which Allah (swt) tells mankind that they will never be able to meet this Challenge. That is a Miracle in and of itself. Which human writer can have such absolute certainty that no one will be able to meet this Challenge?

More: 

http://www.quran-tafsir.org/baqarah.pdf#zoom=100