(37–41) “This Quran could not possibly have been produced by anyone other than Allah. Rather, it confirms what came before it and gives a detailed exposition of the Book. There is no doubt that it is from the Lord of all worlds. * Or do they say, ‘He fabricated it’? Say, ‘Then produce a surah like it, and call upon whomever you can besides Allah, if you are truthful.’ * In fact, they have denied what they could not comprehend and whose fulfillment has not yet come to them. Those before them likewise denied the truth. So see what became of the wrongdoers. * Among them are some who believe in it, while others do not believe in it. Your Lord knows best those who spread corruption. * If they deny you, say, ‘My deeds are mine, and your deeds are yours. You are not accountable for what I do, nor am I accountable for what you do.’”

Allah Most High says: “This Quran could not possibly have been produced by anyone other than Allah.” That is, it is neither possible nor conceivable that this Quran could be fabricated and falsely attributed to Allah Most High, for it is the magnificent Book to which “falsehood cannot approach from before it or from behind it—a revelation from One All-Wise, Praiseworthy.” It is the Book which, even if humankind and jinn joined together to produce its like, they could never produce its like, even if they assisted one another. It is Allah’s Book, which [the Lord of all worlds] spoke. How, then, could any creature speak words like it or even approaching it, when speech accords with the greatness and attributes of the speaker?!

If anyone were comparable to Allah in His greatness and perfect attributes, it might be possible for him to produce the like of this Quran. Even if, for the sake of argument and supposition, we were to concede that someone had falsely attributed it to the Lord of all worlds, He would swiftly punish him and hasten to make an example of him.

“Rather,” Allah revealed this Book as a mercy to all creation and a proof against all His servants.

He revealed it to “confirm what came before it” of Allah’s heavenly Scriptures, by agreeing with them and confirming what they testified to and what they foretold concerning its revelation. Thus, it came to pass just as they had stated.

“And as a detailed exposition of the Book”—setting out what is lawful and prohibited, religious rulings and divine decrees, and truthful reports.

“There is no doubt that it is from the Lord of all worlds.” That is, there is no doubt or uncertainty about it in any respect. Rather, it is certain truth—a revelation from the Lord of all worlds, who nurtures all creation with His blessings.

One of the greatest forms of His nurturing care is that He revealed to them this Book, which contains what serves their religious and worldly welfare and encompasses noble character and virtuous deeds.

“Or do they say”—that is, do those who reject it out of stubbornness and transgression say: “Muhammad fabricated it” against Allah and invented it? “Say” to them, challenging them with something which, if they can accomplish it, would make their claim plausible; otherwise, their statement is false:

“Then produce a surah like it, and call upon whomever you can besides Allah, if you are truthful,” to assist you in producing a surah like it. This is impossible. Had it been possible, they would have asserted that they could do so and would have produced its like.

Once their inability became evident, it became clear that their claim was false and without the slightest supporting proof. What led them to reject the Quran—which contains the truth beyond which there is no greater truth—was that they had not fully comprehended it.

Had they fully comprehended it and understood it properly, they would have submitted and acknowledged its truth. Furthermore, up to that time its promised fulfillment had not yet come upon them: the punishment descending upon them and exemplary chastisement befalling them. Their denial was of the same kind as the denial of those before them. Hence He said: “Those before them likewise denied the truth. So see what became of the wrongdoers.” It was destruction ⦗365⦘ that left not one of them alive.

Let these people therefore beware of persisting in their denial, lest there befall them what befell the nations that denied the truth and the generations that were destroyed.

This also shows that one must carefully ascertain matters and should not hasten to accept or reject anything before fully understanding it.

“Among them are some who believe in it”—that is, in the Quran and the message it brought—“while others do not believe in it. Your Lord knows best those who spread corruption.” They are those who refuse to believe in it out of stubbornness, wrongdoing, and corruption. He will requite them for their corruption with the severest punishment.

“If they deny you,” then continue your call. None of their reckoning falls upon you, nor does any of your reckoning fall upon them; each will have his own deeds. “Say, ‘My deeds are mine, and your deeds are yours. You are not accountable for what I do, nor am I accountable for what you do.’”

As Allah Most High says: “Whoever does righteous deeds does so for his own benefit, and whoever does evil does so to his own detriment.”