“Or do they say, ‘He has fabricated it’? Say, ‘Then produce ten fabricated surahs like it, and call upon whomever you can besides Allah, if you are truthful. If they do not respond to you, then know that it has been sent down with Allah’s knowledge and that there is no deity except Him. Will you then submit?’”
“Or do they say, ‘He has fabricated it’?” That is: Has Muhammad fabricated this Quran?
He answered their claim that he had fabricated it (1) by saying: “Say” to them, “Then produce ten fabricated surahs like it, and call upon whomever you can besides Allah, if you are truthful.” There is no difference between you and him in eloquence and rhetorical skill, and you are indeed his enemies, striving with all your might to invalidate his call. If you are truthful, then produce ten fabricated surahs like it.
“If they do not respond to you” in any of these matters, “then know that it has been sent down with Allah’s knowledge” [from Allah] (2), for the proof and all that it entails have been established, while no counterevidence exists.
“And that there is no deity except Him.” That is, know that there is no deity except Him: He alone is worthy of divinity and worship. “Will you then submit?” That is, will you yield to His sole divinity and surrender yourselves in servitude to Him?
These verses teach that one who calls to Allah should not be deterred by the objections of objectors or the attacks of detractors—especially when their criticism has no basis and does not actually undermine what he calls to. He should not feel distressed by it; rather, he should remain reassured, continue his mission, and devote himself to his task. Nor is he obliged to satisfy the demands of those who insist upon proofs of their own choosing. It is enough, in every question and claim, to establish sound evidence that is free of any counterargument.
They also show that this Quran is inimitable in itself: no human being can produce its like, ten surahs like it, or even a single surah like it. Allah challenged its eloquent and articulate enemies to do so, but they offered no rival to it because they knew themselves incapable of doing so.
They further show that certainty is required—and predominant probability is insufficient—with respect to the Quran and tawhīd, as Allah Most High says: “Then know that it has been sent down with Allah’s knowledge and that there is no deity except Him.”