Section: An Inquiry into the Qur’anic Inimitability

The Qur’an is the speech of Allah, and within it lie both the summons and the proof. By virtue of it the Prophet enjoys a distinction that no one else shares, as is authentically reported from him:

“No prophet has ever been sent without being given signs that caused people to believe; the sign I have been given is a revelation Allah has sent down to me, and so I hope to have the largest following on the Day of Resurrection.”

The Qur’an shows itself to be a sign and an irrefutable proof for him in several ways, whether taken as a whole or examined in detail. In general terms, both the learned and the ordinary people of all nations know—by knowledge transmitted through multiple, independent chains—that it was he who brought this Qur’an. The reports affirming this are more widely and firmly attested than those that establish the history of any other prophet, king, philosopher, or anyone else.

Furthermore, the Qur’an itself issues a challenge (tahaddi) to the nations to match it. This challenge consists of urging them on—that is, summoning and spurring them to attempt to rival it. Thus one says: ḥadānī ʿalā hādhā al-amr (“he impelled me to this matter”). From the same root comes the term ḥādī al-ʿīs, the camel-driver, because through his chant he rouses the camels to move forward.