What exactly is the challenge of the Quran?

Sources

• ✓ 2:23 · Al-Baqara

  2:23 · Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall

  وَإِن كُنتُمْ فِى رَيْبٍۢ مِّمَّا نَزَّلْنَا عَلَىٰ عَبْدِنَا فَأْتُوا۟ بِسُورَةٍۢ مِّن مِّثْلِهِۦ وَٱدْعُوا۟ شُهَدَآءَكُم مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ إِن كُنتُمْ صَٰدِقِينَ

  And if ye are in doubt concerning that which We reveal unto Our slave (Muhammad), then produce a surah of the like thereof, and call your witness beside Allah if ye are truthful.

• ✓ Tafsir Ibn Kathir on 2:23

  Sunni

  Tafsir Ibn Kathir · 2:23

  After affirming that none has the right to be worshiped except Allah, the Exalted proceeded to establish the truth of prophethood, addressing the disbelievers: "And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our Servant," meaning Muhammad ﷺ, "then produce a surah like it if you are truthful." That is, present another chapter similar to this Qur'an, thereby challenging them to imitate the divine revelation, relying on whichever allies or witnesses they choose besides Allah. But they are utterly incapable of doing so. Ibn Abbas explained "your witnesses" as your helpers—other people who assist you in this attempt. As-Suddi, reporting from Abu Malik, said it means your partners or idols whom you seek help from and who support you. Mujahid interpreted "your witnesses" to mean men who testify or are expert orators, possibly leaders or judges. This challenge of producing a surah like the Qur'an appears repeatedly in the Qur'an itself, such as in Surah Al-Qasas (28:49), Surah Al-Isra (17:88), Surah Hud (11:13), and Surah Yunus (10:37-38), and all these were revealed in Makkah. Then Allah renewed this challenge in Madinah in this verse, reiterating the demand: if disbelievers doubt the revelation to the Prophet ﷺ, let them produce a surah like it. Scholars like Mujahid, Qatadah, and Ibn Jarir opine that this means a surah like this entire Qur'an, based on verses elsewhere which call for ten surahs or for an entire book like it. Some suggest the challenge is to bring a surah like Muhammad ﷺ himself—an unlettered man like him—but the stronger and broader interpretation is the challenge to match the Qur'an in its entirety, whatever its length, since the Qur'an is a divine miracle that no eloquent people, despite their enmity, have succeeded in imitating. Therefore, the verse adds, "But if you do not—and you will never be able to—then fear the Fire whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for the disbelievers." The phrase "you will never be able" (walan taf‘aloo) is an emphatic negation, indicating the perpetuity and absolute impossibility of their success. This divine challenge itself is a miraculous proof that the Qur'an is from Allah, since it has never been matched and cannot be matched by any created human speech. The Qur'an is the speech of the Creator, perfectly formed in both wording and meaning, flawless in eloquence and depth, often repeating its themes to raise their effect rather than from any weakness. The Qur'an contains many kinds of miraculous eloquence, both apparent and subtle, in sound and sense, giving detailed and general information about what has passed and will come to pass, commanding good and forbidding evil with perfect justice and truth, without falsehood or fabrication. Unlike pre-Islamic Arab poetry, which often used exaggerations and falsehoods to impress, the Qur'an is consistently truthful, balanced, and beneficial, leading to guidance and the straight path. Regarding the description of the Fire, "whose fuel is men and stones," the "fuel" (waqood) here means what is cast into the fire to make it burn, such as firewood. Similarly, in other verses, sinful people are called fuel for Hellfire. The "stones" are understood to be huge blocks of black sulfur, intensely hot and burning, as narrated in various traditions. Some commentators say it's the idols and false gods worshiped instead of Allah who are also fuel and stones in Hell. It is reported from Abdullah ibn Mas’ud that these stones of sulfur were created on the day Allah created the heavens and earth and are stored in the nearest heaven to be used against the disbelievers. Numerous sayings from the Companions and early scholars emphasize the reality of the Fire's fuel as including human beings and these sulfur stones. Then, the verse concludes by stating that this Fire has been prepared for the disbelievers, that is, it is fully ready and allocated for those persist in disbelief. Ibn Mas’ud and other scholars draw from this verse evidence that Hellfire currently exists, prepared and awaiting. Finally, a note regarding the challenge of producing a surah like the Qur'an: the term "a surah like it" refers generally to any surah in the Qur'an, long or short. This has been a point of scholarly debate. Some argue that even short surahs such as Al-‘Asr or Al-Kawthar are inimitable and hence satisfy the challenge, while others hold that it covers the whole Qur'an at various lengths. The well-known scholar Fakhr al-Din al-Razi explains that this challenge encompasses all surahs regardless of length, because the miraculous nature of the Qur'an appears fully in each part. Imam ash-Shafi‘i remarked that if people contended over the meanings and eloquence of the Surah Al-‘Asr alone, it would suffice. Historical reports also show even those known as liars or impostors acknowledged the unmatched eloquence of such surahs. This verse and its challenge demonstrate the profound linguistic, literary, and theological miracle of the Qur'an, affirm the prophethood of Muhammad ﷺ, and serve as a warning to disbelievers about the dreadful consequences prepared for their rejection of the truth.