The Challenge
In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips
The Quraan is not only unique in the way
in which it presents its subject matter, but it is also unique in that it is a miracle
itself. By the term "miracle," we mean the performance of a supernatural or
extraordinary event which cannot be duplicated by humans. It has been documented that
Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) challenged the Arabs to produce a
literary work of a similar caliber as the Qur'aan, but they were unable to do so in spite
of their well-known eloquence and literary powers. The challenge to reproduce the Qur'aan
was presented to the Arabs and mankind in three stages: l. The Whole Qur'aan: In the Qur'aan, Allaah commanded the
Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) to challenge all of creation to create a book of
the stature of the Qur'aan, "Say: 'If all mankind
and the jinn would come together to produce the like of this
Quraan, they could not produce its like even though they exerted all and
their strength in aiding one another." [Soorah al-Israa
(17):88] 2. Ten Soorahs: Next, Allaah made the challenge
ostensibly easier by asking those who denied its divine origin to imitate even ten soorahs
of the Quraan: "Or do they say that he has
invented it? Say (to them), 'Bring ten invented soorahs like it, and call
(for help) on whomever you can besides Allaah, if you are truthful." [Soorah
Hood (11):13] This final challenge was to produce
even a single soorah to match what is in the Quraan, whose shortest soorah, al-Kawthar,
consists of only three verses: "And if you all
are in doubt about what I have revealed to My servant, bring a single soorah like
it, and call your witnesses besides Allaah if you are truthful." [Soorah
al-Baqarah (2):23] These challenges were not just empty
words with no one caring to prove them wrong. Prophet Muhammads (sallallaahu `alayhi
wa sallam) call to monotheism, to the abolition of idolatry in all its forms, and to the
equality of slaves and their masters threatened the whole socio-economic framework of
Makkah society in general, and the position of the ruling Qurayshee tribe from which the
Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) came in particular. Makkah, the trading center of
Arabia, as well as its spiritual center, desperately wanted to stop the spread of Islaam.
Yet all that the Prophets opponents had to do to crush the movement was to make up a
single soorah like any one of those which the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi
wa sallam) and his followers were reciting to the people. A number of Qurayshee orators
and poets tried to imitate the Qur'aan, but they failed. They then resorted to offering
him vast amounts of wealth, the position of king over them, and the most noble and
beautiful of their women in exchange for his promise to stop inviting people to
Islaam. He responded to them by reciting the first thirteen verses of Soorah Fussilat,
until they asked him to stop. [Collected by al-Haakim, al-Bayhaqee, Aboo Ya'laa and Ibn
Hishaam, and declared hasan by lbraaheem al-'Alee in Saheeh
as-Seerah an-Nabaweeyah, p.64.] The Quraysh also resorted to torturing their slaves
and relatives who had embraced Islaam in a vain attempt to cause them to revert to
paganism. Later they organized an economic boycott against the Prophet his followers and
the members of his clan, Banoo Haashim, in an attempt to starve them into submission. But
even this plan eventually failed. Finally, they plotted to kill him in his home by sending
armed young men from each of the clans of Quraysh in order that the guilt of his
murder be shared by all the clans, making revenge by the Prophet's clan impossible. However, Allaah enabled the Prophet
(sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) and his followers to flee Makkah and join a new band of
converts who had arisen among the tribes of a city to the north called Yathrib. Islaam
spread rapidly through the clans of Yathrib, and within a year Muslims became the city's
majority. Prophet Muhammad was then made the ruler, and the name of the city was changed
to Madeenah an-Nabee (The City of the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam), which
was then shortened to "Madeenah." Over the next eight years, the clans of Makkah
and its neighboring lands mounted a series of unsuccessful battle campaigns against the
emerging Muslim state in Madeenah, which ended with the Muslim invasion of Makkah itself. All of this bloodshed could have been
avoided if only the Quraysh and their allies had been able to produce a mere three lines
of poetry or flowing prose similar to the shortest soorah of the Qur'aan. Hence,
there can be no doubt about the inimitability of the Qur'aan's literary style, about the
miracle of its rhyme and the marvel of its rhythm. It has been suggested that the
inimitability of the Qur'aan is not necessarily unique, for great English poets like
Shakespeare, Chaucer, or great poets in any language tend to have distinctly unique styles
which set them apart from their contemporaries. However, if, for example, some leading
poet of today were to make an in-depth study of Shakespeare's writings and write a sonnet
in Shakespeare's style in old ink and on old paper, then claim that he had discovered a
lost poem of Shakespeare's, the literary world would probably accept this claim, even
after careful study. Thus, even the greatest of poets could be imitated, no matter how
unique his style was, just as the famous painters have been imitated. [In fact, some
English scholars consider much ofwhat has been attributedto Shakespeare to have been
written by his contemporary, Christopher Marlowe.] The Qur'aan, however, is way above this
level, as attempts to forge chapters have been made throughout the ages, yet none has
withstood close scrutiny. And, as was mentioned before, the incentive to imitate the
Qur'aan was more intense during the time of its revelation when literally skills were at
their peak than at any other time, yet there was no successful attempt.
Courtesy Of: Islaam.com