Some people use “challenge” to mean a claim to prophethood, yet its primary intent is the first sense we discussed. The Exalted said—in Sūrat al-Ṭūr:

“Or do they say, ‘He has fabricated it’? No! They do not believe. So let them bring a discourse like it, if they are truthful.” [al-Ṭūr 33–34]

Here the words, “let them bring a discourse like it, if they are truthful,” make the point clear: if they allege that Muhammad forged the Qur’an, then just as any human being can speak in prose or verse, it should be equally possible for people of his own kind to produce something comparable. If he could have done so, they should be able to do the same.

Next, He challenged them to produce ten surahs of similar stature:

“Or do they say, ‘He has invented it’? Say: ‘Then bring ten surahs like it, all fabricated, and call upon everyone you can besides Allah, if you are truthful.’” [Hūd 13]

Finally, He reduced the challenge to a single surah:

“This Qur’an could never have been produced by anyone other than Allah; rather, it confirms what came before it and gives full details of the Scripture—there is no doubt about it—from the Lord of all worlds. Or do they say, ‘He invented it’? Say: ‘Produce one surah like it, and call upon whomever you can besides Allah, if you are truthful.’” [Yūnus 37–38]