SYNOPSIS The meaning of i ja::. (inimitability); [the fact that] it is incumbent on the prophets to perform miracles; [that] the best miracles are those which best resemble the most advanced arts of the time; the Quran as a divine miracle; the Quran as an eternal miracle; the Quran and the [forms of] knowledge; the Quran and the cor‌ rectness of expression; the systems of regulation and legislation in the Quran; the precision ofexpression in the Quran; the disclosure of hidden matters by the Quran; the Quran and its characteristic underlying meanings.

Language usage provides several meanings for the word i jaz (inimitability) and its derivatives. These include: to be unable to do a certain thing, to find that someone is unable to do a certain thing, or to cause someone to be unable to do a certain thing. Hence [using various forms of the word ijaz], we say: "This task a jaza so-and-so," meaning that it is beyond that persons ability; and "Ajaztu Zayd," meaning that I found him incapable of doing something or, alternatively, caused him to be inca‌ pable of doing it.
In its conventional application, i jaz means that a person claiming a divine ap‌
pointment proves the truthfulness of his claim by doing things that go beyond the laws of nature and that others cannot accomplish.
However, a miracle is evidence of the truthfulness of the claimant only when it is possible for that person to be truthful in that claim. But, if the truthfulness of his claim is refutable, either by the intellect or by a reliable transmission from a prophet or from an Imam whose inerrancy is well attested, such a miracle cannot be evidence of the veracity of the claim, nor can it be called a miracle as defined by common usage, even if other human beings are incapable of emulating it.
An example of the first basis of refutation is when someone claims to be a deity. The truth of such a claim is unacceptable to the mind, for there are sound proofs which establish its impossibility.
An example of the second basis of refutation is when someone claims to be a
prophet after the Prophet of Islam. Such a claim is absolutely false on the basis of