for had it come from himself, he would have feared being challenged; he would then have been exposed and the very opposite of what he intended—namely, that people follow him—would have transpired. Yet anyone of sound mind knows that Muḥammad—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him (1)—is the most intelligent of Allah’s creatures, indeed the wisest and most perfect of them in absolute terms. He would never have embarked upon this enterprise unless he was certain that no one could confront it. And that is exactly what happened: from the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ until our own day, no one has been able to produce anything like it, not even the equivalent of a single surah. Such a feat is impossible forever, for it is the speech of the Lord of all worlds, and nothing in creation resembles Him—neither in His essence, His attributes, nor His acts. How, then, could the speech of created beings resemble the speech of the Creator?
Concerning the statement of the unbelievers of Quraysh which Allah relates: “And when Our verses are recited to them they say, ‘We have heard; if we wished, we could say something like this—this is nothing but tales of the ancients.’” (al-Anfāl 8:31), it is a lie—a baseless claim made without evidence, proof, or argument. Had they been truthful, they would have produced something to oppose it. In reality they knew they were lying, just as they knew they were lying when they said, “These are only legends of the ancients that he has had written down; they are dictated to him morning and evening.” (al-Furqān 25:5).
Allah, the Exalted, says: “Say: ‘It has been sent down by Him who knows the secret in the heavens and the earth; truly He is ever Forgiving, Merciful.’” (al-Furqān 25:6).
That is to say: it was revealed by the Knower of hidden things, the Lord of the heavens and the earth, who knows what has been, what will be, and what would have been had it occurred, and how it would have occurred. He revealed it to His servant and Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, who could neither read nor write at all and who possessed no knowledge of the sciences of earlier peoples or the reports of those long gone. Yet Allah recounted to him, with perfect accuracy, the stories of the past and the future, distinguishing through it between truth and falsehood concerning matters over which the previous scriptures differed.
As He, Most High, says: “That is from the news of the unseen which We reveal to you; neither you nor your people knew it before this. So be patient, for the outcome belongs to the God-fearing.” (Hūd 11:49).
And He says: “We have sent down to you the Book in truth, confirming what came before it of the Scripture and as a criterion over it…” (al-Māʾidah 5:48).
He also says: “You did not recite any scripture before it, nor did you write it with your right hand; otherwise, the falsifiers would have doubted. (48) Rather, it is clear verses preserved in the hearts of those who have been given knowledge; and none reject Our signs except the wrongdoers. (49) And they say, ‘Why have not signs been sent down to him from his Lord?’ Say: ‘The signs are only with Allah, and I am but a clear warner.’ (50) Is it not sufficient for them that We have sent down to you the Book that is recited to them? Surely in that is mercy and a reminder for a people who believe. (51) Say: ‘Allah is sufficient as a witness between me and you. He knows what is in the heavens and the earth, and those who believe in falsehood and disbelieve in Allah—it is they who are the losers.’” (al-ʿAnkabūt 29:48-52).
Thus Allah makes clear that the very fact of revealing this Book—which contains knowledge of all that has been and all that will be, and the rulings for what takes place among humankind—to such an unlettered Prophet, and to him alone, is itself a proof of his truthfulness.
He, Exalted, also says: “And when Our clear verses are recited to them, those who do not hope to meet Us say, ‘Bring us a Quran other than this or change it.’ Say: ‘It is not for me to change it of my own accord; I only follow what is revealed to me. Indeed, I fear, should I disobey my Lord, the punishment of a tremendous Day.’ (15) Say: ‘Had Allah willed, I would not have recited it to you, nor would He have made you aware of it…’” (Yūnus 10:15-16).