Overview (Verses 13 - 14)

A Challenge Never to be Met

The unbelievers often claimed that the Qur’ān was a forgery, invented by the Prophet. Here, he is instructed to challenge them to produce ten sūrahs similar to the Qur’ān, and to that end, they are able to seek the help of whomever they like: “If they say: We has invented it,’ say: ‘Produce, then, ten invented sūrahs like it, and call for help on all you can other than God, if what you say is true.’” (Verse 13) The same sort of challenge occurs in the preceding sūrah, Jonah, but there they are only challenged to produce one sūrah like the Qur’ān. So why are they now challenged to produce ten sūrahs?

Earlier commentators on the Qur’ān say that the challenge was narrowed down chronologically. They were first challenged to produce a book like the Qur’ān, then ten sūrahs and later the challenge was reduced to one sūrah. There is, however, no evidence to support this claim. It appears that Sūrah 10, Jonah, was revealed earlier than the present one, Hūd. The challenge there was to produce one sūrah while here it is ten. It is true that the chronological order of the revelation of verses does not necessarily follow the order of the revelation of the sūrahs in which they occur. Furthermore, more than one sūrah could have been revealed at the same time. A later verse could have been attached to an earlier sūrah. We have, nevertheless, no evidence to prove that the verse which contains the challenge in Sūrah 10 was revealed at a later date than the challenge in the present sūrah. We simply cannot make such an arbitrary claim.

In his commentary on the Qur’ān, Al-Manār, the eminent scholar, Rashīd Riđā’, tries hard to explain the challenge made here to the unbelievers to produce ten sūrahs. He claims this challenge is concerned with the historical accounts given in the Qur’ān. He says that up to the time this sūrah was revealed God’s revelations included only ten sūrahs with such detailed accounts. In this connection, the production of a single sūrah would be much more difficult for them because of the different styles in which the historical accounts are told in the Qur’ān. If they were to imitate the Qur’ān they would have needed ten sūrahs to produce similar stories.

The matter is, in my view, much easier than this. The challenge took into consideration the particular circumstances of those making the accusation that the Qur’ān was invented. As the process of its revelation continued, the Qur’ān dealt with particular conditions and cases. Each time, its response was the one most fitting to the case in hand. Hence, the challenge was once to produce a Qur’ān like the one revealed. In other situations it required them to produce a single sūrah, or ten sūrahs. No chronological order needs to be taken into consideration. The purpose was to challenge them to produce anything like the Qur’ān, in full or in part. The challenge indeed related to the quality of the Qur’ān, not to any quantity of it. Needless to say, in quality, a single sūrah is the same as the Qur’ān in full.

“And call for help on all you can other than God, if what you say is true.” (Verse 13) The challenge included anyone they cared to call to their aid: their deities whom they claimed to be God’s partners, their finest poets as well as those among them who were endowed with the best literary talents. All they had to do to prove their allegation that the Qur’ān was invented, was produce ten sūrahs like those of the Qur’ān.

But all the help you seek will produce nothing. So, “if they do not respond to you,” then it should be enough for you to come to know the truth of revelation: “know that it [the Qur’ān] has been bestowed from on high with God’s knowledge.” (Verse 14) He alone has the ability to bestow the Qur’ān. Only His knowledge could have produced it the way it is.

They must also realize “that there is no deity other than Him.” (Verse 14) This is the net result of the inability of their gods to help compose ten sūrahs similar to those God revealed. The self-evident conclusion then is that there is only one God who alone is able to reveal such a Scripture.

Having stated this fact, which does not admit any contradiction, the verse concludes with a question which allows for only one answer, unless it be by those who stubbornly refuse to admit the obvious. The question is “Will you then submit yourselves to Him?” (Verse 14)