Erroneous Impressions concerning the
Miraculous lnimitability of the Quran

SYNOPSIS The Quran and Arabic grammar; the manner by which a miracle is estab‌
lished for all humanity; al-Na ams
Quranic narratives from the two Testaments; the inconsistencies of the Gospel; nega‌ tion of free will and delegation of authority [to humankind]; the establishment of the middle position between the two extremes in the Quran; the compilation of the Quran at the time of the Prophet; the method of the Quran in connecting separate subjects [in different parts of the Quran]; an absurd and futile attempt to counter two suras of the Quran.

The Quran has challenged all humanity to produce a chapter like one of its chapters, and, so far, no one has been able to take up the challenge. Since for its obstinate ene‌ mies it was intolerable that the Quran should defeat its adversaries, they attempted to lower its prestige by casting doubts that their imaginations fabricated about the great‌ ness of the Quran, and [expressing] support of their corrupt beliefs.It would be appro‌ priate to tum here to those unfounded doubts, for which they exerted themselves, and to demonstrate the extent of their knowledge and the way their whims swayed them willy-nilly and cast them into a deep abyss. They maintained the following.

١. There are matters in the Quran that are inconsistent with eloquence because they are not in compliance with Arabic grammar. A book like that cannot be a miracle.

This opinion is false on two grounds. First, the Quran was revealed among the skilled masters of th_e Arabic language. It challenged them to counter it, even by producing a single sura, and reminded them that created beings did not have the ability to do so "though they were helpers one of another" (Q. ١٧:٨٨). Had the Quran contained passages that did not conform with the rules of Arabic, those skilled masters of the language, who knew its modes and characteristics, would have used these passages as an argument against the Quran, and would have criticized it for them. Indeed, they would have been spared the trouble of countering it with words and lances. Moreover, had such a thing happened, history would have recorded it, and the story