—an illness both chronic and repugnant—and he also fashioned from clay the shape of a bird, by Allah’s permission. The physicians were dumbfounded and admitted that such wonders could only come from Allah.

Now, because the Arabs were masters of eloquence, rhetoric, and oratory, Allah—exalted is He—made the Miracle of our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ the Noble Qur’an, of which He says, “Falsehood cannot approach it from before it or behind it; a revelation from One all-wise, ever-praiseworthy” 1. It is the enduring, everlasting miracle across the ages, chosen by Allah as the dazzling sign for the final, universal message to all people.

The Qur’an is a miracle that every generation can see and recite for itself, recognizing that it is truly the word of Allah and not the word of man. Allah challenged humankind and jinn alike to produce something like it, ten surahs like it, or even a single surah like it. From the mission of Muhammad ﷺ until this very moment—and forevermore—no one has been able to bring forth a book comparable to it, or even a single surah comparable to it, despite the many enemies the Messenger ﷺ and the religion of Islam have faced throughout history.

The Exalted says, “If you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our servant, then produce a surah like it and call upon your witnesses besides Allah, if you are truthful. But if you do not—and you will never be able to—then fear the Fire whose fuel is people and stones, prepared for the disbelievers” 2. The challenge remains in force until the Day of Resurrection, embodied in His words: “But if you do not—and you will never be able to.”

He also says, “Do they say, ‘He has fabricated it’? Rather, they do not believe. Let them produce a discourse like it, if they are truthful” 3.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah remarked, “This challenge was first issued in Mecca—for the surahs of Yunus, Hud, and al-Tur are Makkan. Then, after the Hijrah, it was repeated in Medina, where Allah said in Surah al-Baqarah (23–24), which is Medinan: ‘And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our servant…’”