A Literary Challenge: “Bring Something Like It”

Many people misunderstand the Quran’s literary challenge to produce something like it.  Many people assume it simply means writing something as “good” as the Quran. Because of this, many skeptics point out – and rightly so – that literary value judgments are highly subjective.  If someone says that he thinks a certain selection of prose or poetry is better than the Quran, who can argue with him?  Isn’t it really a matter of personal judgment and taste?  Who is to be the arbiter? The Quran’s challenge, however, is not simply to write something of equal literary merit, but rather to produce something like the Quran. We can see this in all the verses of challenge.  God says: “Say (O Muhammad) if mankind and jinn were to come together to produce something like this Quran, they would not be able to do so, even if they were to help one another.” (Quran 17:88) God says: “Or they say: ‘He has forged it.’  Say: ‘Then bring ten forged chapters like it and If then they do not answer you, know that it is sent down with the Knowledge of God, besides Whom there is no other God.  Will you then be Muslims?” (Quran 11:13) God says: “Or do they say ‘He has forged it.’  Say: ‘Then bring a chapter like it and call whoever you can besides God if you are truthful’.” (Quran 10:38) God says:

The Challenge of the Quran

The Quran is not only unique in the way in which it presents its subject matter, but it is also unique in that it is a miracle itself.  By the term “miracle,” we mean the performance of a supernatural or extraordinary event which cannot be duplicated by humans.  It has been documented that Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, challenged the Arabs to produce a literary work of a similar caliber as the Quran, but they were unable to do so in spite of their well-known eloquence and literary powers.  The challenge to reproduce the Quran was presented to the Arabs and mankind in three stages: l.       The Whole Quran

The Authorship of the Quran (part 2 of 3): The Words of a Poet or a Teacher?

The Style of the Quran There is a world of difference between the style of the Quran and Muhammad’s own style as recorded in the books of Ahadeeth.  The differences between the two in every respect – style and contents – are immediately evident.  The sayings of Muhammad (Ahadeeth) are conversational, oratorical, and expository, of a kind the Arabs were already familiar with.  By contrast, the style of the Quran is authoritative: “We created the heavens and the earth…” (Quran 15:85, 44:38, 46:3, 50:38) Also, “Say!...”[1] Also, “… had it (the Quran) been from any other than God, they would have found therein much discrepancies.” (Quran 4:82) Also, “… Say then: ‘Bring a chapter like it and call, if you can, on other than God…’”(Quran 10:38) Also, “… then bring a chapter like unto it… and if you can not — for surely you cannot, then…” (Quran 2:23-24) Which fallible human being would write a book and challenge humanity to find discrepancies in it, as does the author of the Quran (Quran 4:82)?  Would any sensible student after writing an exam paper add a note to the lecturer saying “Read my answers with care and find any discrepancies or mistakes in it if you can!”?  The style of the Quran is simply that of the All-Knowing Creator. Furthermore, the Quran is a literary masterpiece of Arabic which was and remains unrivaled in its eloquence.  Its rhythmic style, rhyme, near-haunting depth of expression, majesty, and “inimitable symphony, the very sounds of which move men to tears and ecstasy”[2], shook the foundations of a society which had prided itself on its oratory skills.  Contests were held every year in Mecca for who could recite the longest and most eloquent pieces from memory.  When the Quran was revealed, all such contests were brought to a halt, as there was no more competition. Like the miracle of Moses’ stick turning into a real snake which outdid the ability of all the Pharaoh’s magicians at a time when the Egyptians were noted for their mastery of sorcery and magic, and the miracle of Jesus’ healing of the blind and bringing the dead back to life which outdid the ability of all the doctors at a time when the Jews were noted for their mastery of medicine, the Quran was the Prophet Muhammad’s own miracle.[3]  How could such magnificent and unrivaled expressions emanate from a man who, for 40 years, was never known for any such ability? Similarities and Discrepancies between the Quran and the Bible

The Authorship of the Quran (part 3 of 3): Was it the Words of Satan or God?

Quranic Teachings about Satan and about Morality Some claim that the Quran was the work of the devil.[1]  Let us examine how much sense (or non-sense) this allegation makes. If he authored or inspired the Quran, why would Satan curse himself and call himself the worst enemy of man (Q.35:6; 36:60)?  Why would Satan command that before reciting the Quran, one must first say: “…I seek refuge in God from Satan the accursed.” (Quran 16:98) How could Satan so vehemently condemn himself?  Is it really acceptable to common sense to hold the view that Satan would ask people to do good, to be moral and virtuous, to worship none but God, to not follow Satan or his whispers, and to avoid and struggle against evil? To hold such a view is clearly repugnant to reason, as Satan has only undermined himself through this means if he is the author.  Even the Bible attests: “And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.” (Mark 3:26)[2] This argument applies to any “Satanic forces”, be they “evil spirits”, “deceitful aliens”, etc. The Quran’s Factual Contents and Scientific Information

Preservation of the Quran (part 2 of 2): The Written Quran

The entire Quran was however also recorded in writing at the time of revelation from the Prophet’s dictation, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, by some of his literate companions, the most prominent of them being Zaid ibn Thabit.[1]  Others among his noble scribes were Ubayy ibn Ka’b, Ibn Mas’ud, Mu’awiyah ibn Abi-Sufyan, Khalid ibn Waleed and Zubayr ibn Awwam.[2]  The verses were recorded on leather, parchment, scapulae (shoulder bones of animals) and the stalks of date palms.[3] The codification of the Quran (i.e. into a ‘book form’) was done soon after the Battle of Yamamah (11AH/633CE), after the Prophet’s death, during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr.  Many companions became martyrs at that battle, and it was feared that unless a written copy of the entire revelation was produced, large parts of the Quran might be lost with the death of those who had memorized it.  Therefore, at the suggestion of Umar to collect the Quran in the form of writing, Zaid ibn Thabit was requested by Abu Bakr to head a committee which would gather together the scattered recordings of the Quran and prepare a mushaf - loose sheets which bore the entire revelation on them.[4]  To safeguard the compilation from errors, the committee accepted only material which had been written down in the presence of the Prophet himself, and which could be verified by at least two reliable witnesses who had actually heard the Prophet recite the passage in question[5].  Once completed and unanimously approved of by the Prophet’s Companions, these sheets were kept with the Caliph Abu Bakr (d. 13AH/634CE), then passed on to the Caliph Umar (13-23AH/634-644CE), and then Umar’s daughter and the Prophet’s widow, Hafsah[6].

Preservation of the Quran (part 1 of 2): Memorization

The Glorious Quran, the Muslims’ religious Scripture, was revealed in Arabic to the Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, through the angel Gabriel.  The revelation occurred piecemeal, over a period of twenty-three years, sometimes in brief verses and sometimes in longer chapters.[1] The Quran (lit. a “reading” or “recitation”) is distinct from the recorded sayings and deeds (Sunnah) of the Prophet Muhammad, which are instead preserved in a separate set of literature collectively called the “Ahadeeth” (lit. “news”; “report”; or “narration”). Upon receiving revelation, the Prophet engaged himself in the duty of conveying the message to his Companions through reciting the exact words he heard in their exact order.  This is evident in his inclusion of even the words of God which were directed specifically to him, for example: “Qul” (“Say [to the people, O Muhammad]”).  The Quran’s rhythmic style and eloquent expression make it easy to memorize.  Indeed, God describes this as one of its essential qualities for preservation and remembrance (Q. 44:58; 54:17, 22, 32, 40), particularly in an Arab society which prided itself on orations of lengthy pieces of poetry.  Michael Zwettler notes that: “in ancient times, when writing was scarcely used, memory and oral transmission was exercised and strengthened to a degree now almost unknown.”[2] Large portions of the revelation were thus easily memorized by a large number of people in the community of the Prophet.

90. The City (Al-Balad)

Revealed before the Hijrah. This chapter has 20 verses.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

1. Nay I do swear by this City;-
2. And thou art an inhabitant of this City;-
3. And the begetter and that he begot;-
4. Verily We have created man into toil and struggle.
5. Thinketh he, that none hath power over him?
6. He may say (boastfully): "Wealth have I squandered in abundance!"
7. Thinketh he that none beholdeth him?
8. Have We not made for him a pair of eyes?-
9. And a tongue, and a pair of lips?-
10. And shown him the two highways?
11. But he hath made no haste on the path that is steep.
12. And what will explain to thee the path that is steep?-
13. (It is:) freeing the bondman;
14. Or the giving of food in a day of privation
15. To the orphan with claims of relationship,
16. Or to the indigent (down) in the dust.
17. Then will he be of those who believe, and enjoin patience, (constancy, and self-restraint), and enjoin deeds of kindness and compassion.
18. Such are the Companions of the Right Hand.
19. But those who reject Our Signs, they are the (unhappy) Companions of the Left Hand.
20. On them will be Fire vaulted over (all round).

89. The Dawn (Al-Fajr)

Revealed before the Hijrah. This chapter has 30 verses.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

1. By the Dawn
2. By the ten Nights;
3. By the Even and Odd (contrasted);
4. And by the Night when it passeth away;-
5. Is there (not) in these an adjuration (or evidence) for those who understand?
6. Seest thou not how thy Lord dealt with the Àd (people),-
7. Of the (city of) Iram, with lofty pillars,
8. The like of which were not produced in (all) the land?
9. And with the Thamüd (people), who cut out (huge) rocks in the valley?-
10. And with Pharaoh, lord of stakes?

88. The Overwhelming Event (Al-Gáshiya)

Revealed before the Hijrah. This chapter has 26 verses.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

1. Has the story reached thee of the Overwhelming (Event)?
2. Some faces, that Day, will be humiliated,
3. Laboring (hard), weary,-
4. The while they enter the Blazing Fire,-
5. The while they are given, to drink, of a boiling hot spring,
6. No food will there be for them but a bitter Dhariì
7. Which will neither nourish nor satisfy hunger.
8. (Other) faces that Day will be joyful,
9. Pleased with their striving,-
10. In a Garden on high,
11. Where they shall hear no (word) of vanity:
12. Therein will be a bubbling spring:

87. The Most High (Al-Alá)

Revealed before the Hijrah. This chapter has 19 verses.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

1. Glorify the name of thy Guardian-Lord Most High,
2. Who hath created, and further, given order and proportion;
3. Who hath measured, and granted guidance;
4. And Who bringeth out the (green and luscious) pasture,
5. And then doth make it (but) swarthy stubble.
6. By degrees shall We teach thee (the Message), so thou shalt not forget,
7. Except as Allah wills: for He knoweth what is manifest and what is hidden.
8. And We will make it easy for thee (to follow) the simple (Path).
9. Therefore give admonition in case the admonition profits (the hearer).
10. He will heed who fears:

86. The Night Visitant (At-Táiq)

Revealed before the Hijrah. This chapter has 17 verses.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

1. By the Sky and the Night-Visitant (therein);-
2. And what will explain to thee what the Night-Visitant is?-
3. (It is) the Star of piercing brightness;-
4. There is no soul but has a protector over it.
5. Now let man but think from what he is created!
6. He is created from a drop emitted-
7. Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs:
8. Surely (Allah) is able to bring him back (to life)!
9. The Day that (all) things secret will be tested,
10. (Man) will have no power, and no helper.

85. The Zodiacal Signs (Al-Burüj)

Revealed before the Hijrah. This chapter has 22 verses.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

1. By the sky, with its constellations;
2. By the promised Day (of Judgment);
3. By one that witnesses, and the subject of the witness;-
4. Woe to the makers of the pit (of fire),
5. Fire supplied (abundantly) with fuel:
6. Behold! they sat over against the (fire),
7. And they witnessed (all) that they were doing against the Believers.
8. And they ill-treated them for no other reason than that they believed in Allah, Exalted in Power, Worthy of all Praise!-
9. Him to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth! And Allah is Witness to all things.

84. The Rending Asunder (Al-Inshiqáq)

Revealed before the Hijrah. This chapter has 25 verses.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

1. When the Sky is rent asunder,
2. And hearkens to (the Command of) its Lord, and it must needs (do so);-
3. And when the earth is flattened out,
4. And casts forth what is within it and becomes (clean) empty,
5. And hearkens to (the Command of) its Lord,- and it must needs (do so);- (then will come Home the full reality).
6. O thou man! Verily thou art ever toiling on towards thy Lord- painfully toiling,- but thou shalt meet Him.
7. Then he who is given his Record in his right hand,
8. Soon will his account be taken by an easy reckoning,

83. Dealing in Fraud (Al-Mutaffifín)

This is the last verse revealed in Macca. Revealed before the Hijrah. This chapter has 36 verses.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

1. Woe to those that deal in fraud,-
2. Those who, when they have to receive by measure from men, exact full measure,
3. But when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less than due.
4. Do they not think that they will be raised up?-
5. On a Mighty Day,
6. A Day when (all) mankind will stand before the Lord of the Worlds?
7. Nay! Surely the Record of the wicked is (preserved) in Sijjín.
8. And what will explain to thee what Sijjín is?
9. (There is) a Register (fully) inscribed.
10. Woe, that Day, to those that deny-
11. Those that deny the Day of Judgment.

82. The Cleaving Asunder (Al-Infitár)

Revealed before the Hijrah. This chapter has 19 verses.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

1. When the Sky is cleft asunder;
2. When the Stars are scattered;
3. When the Oceans are suffered to burst forth;
4. And when the Graves are turned upside down;-
5. (Then) shall each soul know what it hath sent forward and (what it hath) kept back.
6. O man! What has seduced thee from thy Lord Most Beneficent?-
7. Him Who created thee. Fashioned thee in due proportion, and gave thee a just bias;
8. In whatever Form He wills, does He put thee together.
9. Nay! but ye do reject the Judgment!

81. The Folding Up (At-Takwír)

Revealed before the Hijrah. This chapter has 29 verses.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

1. When the sun (with its spacious light) is folded up;


2. When the stars fall, losing their luster;


3. When the mountains vanish (like a mirage);


4. When the she-camels, ten months with young, are left untended;


5. When the wild beasts are herded together (in human habitations);


6. When the oceans boil over with a swell;


7. When the souls are sorted out, (being joined, like with like);


8. When the female (infant), buried alive, is questioned -


9. For what crime she was killed;


10. When the Scrolls are laid open;


11. When the sky is unveiled;

80. He Frowned (Àbasa)

Revealed before the Hijrah. This chapter has 42 verses.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

1. (The Prophet) frowned and turned away,

2. Because there came to him the blind man (interrupting).

3. But what could tell thee but that perchance he might grow in purity?-

4. Or that he might receive admonition, and the reminder might profit him?

5. As to one who regards Himself as self-sufficient,

6. To him dost thou attend;

7. Though it is no blame to thee if he grow not in purity.

8. But as to him who came to thee striving earnestly,

9. And with fear (in his heart),

10. Of him wast thou unmindful.

79. Those Who Tear Out (An-Náziàát)

Revealed before the Hijrah. This chapter has 46 verses.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

1. By the (angels) who tear out (the souls of the wicked) with violence;

2. By those who gently draw out (the souls of the blessed);

3. And by those who glide along (on errands of mercy),

4. Then press forward as in a race,

5. Then arrange to do (the Commands of their Lord),

6. The Day everything that can be in commotion will be in violent commotion,

7. Followed by oft-repeated (commotions):

8. Hearts that Day will be in agitation;

9. Cast down will be (their owners') eyes.

10. They say (now): "What! shall we indeed be returned to (our) former state?

78. The (Great) News (An-Nabaa)

Revealed before the Hijrah. This chapter has 40 verses.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

1. Concerning what are they disputing?

2. Concerning the Great News,

3. About which they cannot agree.

4. Verily, they shall soon (come to) know!

5. Verily, verily they shall soon (come to) know!

6. Have We not made the earth as a wide expanse,

7. And the mountains as pegs?

8. And (have We not) created you in pairs,

9. And made your sleep for rest,

10. And made the night as a covering,

11. And made the day as a means of subsistence?

77. Those Sent Forth (Al-Mursalát)

Revealed before the Hijrah. This chapter has 50 verses.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

1. By the (Winds) Sent Forth one after another (to man's profit);

2. Which then blow violently in tempestuous Gusts,

3. And scatter (things) far and wide;

4. Then separate them, one from another,

5. Then spread abroad a Reminder,

6. Whether of Justification or of Warning;-

7. Assuredly, what ye are promised must come to pass.

8. Then when the stars become dim;

9. When the heaven is cleft asunder;

10. When the mountains are scattered (to the winds) as dust;