Arab is able to write speeches and compose panegyrics because he knows all the words and vocabularies that [are used] in them.
It was probably this mistaken view that led al-Nazzam and his associates to argue that the inimitability of the Quran was in its being kept away [from other human beings]. This view is very difficult to sustain because of the following points.
First, if by keeping away they mean that God is able to empower a human being
to bring forth the like of the Quran, but that God has kept this ability away from [the rest of] mankind, this would be correct, but it would apply to all miracles, not only to the Quran. However, if it means that people possess the ability to bring forth the like of the Quran, but God has kept them away from countering it, then this would be wrong because many people have attempted to match the Quran, but failed, and have admitted their failure.
Second, if the inimitability of the Quran rested in keeping away, then some‌
thing like it would have existed in pre-Islamic Arabic literature before the Prophet had challenged mankind to do that. Had such a thing existed, it would have been reported by an uninterrupted transmission, for there were many good reasons for it to be reported. However, since it neither existed nor was narrated, this proves that the Quran is by itself a divine miracle, beyond human capacity [for achievement].

٤. They also say that even if the miraculous inimitability of the Quran is conceded, this does not establish the truthfulness of the prophecy of the person who brought it forth, for the Quranic stories contradict the stories of the two Testaments, whose divine origin has been proven by uninterrupted transmission.

The response to this is that the Quran, by contradicting the mythical stories of the two Testaments, has put an end to all doubts about its being a divine revelation, for it contains no myths or absurdities or anything that is not rationally attributable to God, the Exalted, and to His prophets. Consequently, the Qurans contradiction of the two Testaments is itself a proof of its being a divine revelation. We have already alluded to this, and to a number of fallacies in the two Testaments.

٥. They say that the Quran contains inconsistencies and that, as such, it cannot be regarded as a divine revelation. They claim that the inconsistencies occur in two places: first in Gods saying [to Zechariah]: "Your [divine] sign is that you will not speak to the people for three days except through intimation" (Q. ٣:٤١). This, they maintain, contradicts Gods saying that "your sign is that you will not speak to the people for three nights together" (Q. ١٩:١٠).

The response to this is that the word "day" (yawm) may apply to daylight only, as in the following:

And He subjected them to it on seven nights and eight grueling days (Q. ٦٩:٧).

Or [it may apply] to daylight and the following night, as in Gods saying:

Enjoy life in your homes for three days (Q. ١١:٦٥)!

Likewise, the word "night" (lay[) may apply to the period between sunset and sun‌
rise, as in Gods saying:

By the night when it conceals (Q. ٩٢: I).