Book of the Proofs of Prophethood

These proofs are both spiritual and tangible.

Among the spiritual proofs is the revelation of the majestic Qur’an to him—a miracle without peer, the most dazzling of signs and the clearest of decisive arguments. Its inimitable composition challenged all humans and jinn to bring forth something like it, yet they were powerless, despite the fierce determination of his adversaries to oppose him and despite their famed eloquence and rhetorical skill. He then narrowed the challenge to ten surahs, and they failed; after that to a single surah of comparable merit, and again they failed—fully aware of their own incapacity and that such a feat lies forever beyond anyone’s reach.

God, Exalted is He, says:

“Say, even if all mankind and the jinn were to band together to produce the like of this Qur’an, they would never produce its like, though they supported one another with all their strength.” (al-Isrāʾ 17:88) — a Meccan verse.

He also says in Sūrat al-Ṭūr, likewise Meccan:

“Or do they say, ‘He has fabricated it’? Rather, they do not believe. Then let them produce a discourse like it, if they are truthful.” (al-Ṭūr 52:33–34)

Meaning: If you are truthful in claiming that he composed it himself—he is but a human like you—then bring something comparable to what he has brought, for you are his equal.

And in Sūrat al-Baqarah, revealed in Madinah, God renews the challenge:

“If you are in doubt about what We have sent down to Our servant, then produce a single surah like it, and call upon your witnesses other than God, if you are truthful. But if you do not—and you will never be able—then guard yourselves against the Fire whose fuel is people and stones, prepared for the disbelievers.” (al-Baqarah 2:23–24)

He, Most High, also says:

“Or do they say, ‘He invented it’? Say, ‘Then bring ten invented surahs like it, and call upon whoever you can besides God, if you are truthful. But if they do not respond to you, know that it has been sent down with God’s knowledge, and that there is no deity but He. Will you not then submit?’” (Hūd 11:13–14)

And He says:

“This Qur’an could never have been devised by anyone apart from God. Rather, it is a confirmation of what came before it and a detailed explanation of the Scripture—without doubt, from the Lord of all worlds.” (Yūnus 10:37)

“Or do they say, ‘He invented it’? Say, ‘Then bring a single surah like it, and call upon whoever you can besides God, if you are truthful.’ Instead, they have rejected that whose knowledge they do not comprehend and whose final outcome has not yet come to them. Those before them also denied; see, then, how the wrongdoers ended up.” (Yūnus 10:38–39)

Thus the Almighty has made clear that created beings are incapable of countering this Qur’an—even with ten surahs like it, indeed even with one surah— and that they will never be able to do so, as He says:

“But if you do not—and you will never be able …” (al-Baqarah 2:24)

Meaning: If you have not managed it in the past, you will never manage it in the future. These are two distinct challenges, declaring that it is impossible to match the Qur’an either now or ever. Such a challenge can only proceed from one certain that what he has brought cannot be matched by any human being—were it the work of a mere pretender,