'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' The Exalted and Majestic says: "And this Qur'an could not have been forged by anyone other than Allah. But it is a confirmation of what is before it and a detailed explanation of the Book, there is no doubt in it, from the Lord of the worlds." "Or do they say, 'He has forged it'? Say, 'Then bring forth a surah like it and call upon whom you can besides Allah, if you are among the truthful.'" This is a denial of the saying of those from Quraysh who said: "Indeed, Muhammad ﷺ is forging the Qur'an and attributing it to Allah, the Exalted." He expressed this with these words that include a condemnation of their saying and magnification of the matter, as He said: "And it is not for a prophet to be treacherous" [Al-Imran: 161], and as He mentioned in the narration of 'Isa, peace be upon him: "It is not for me to say what is not rightfully mine" [Al-Ma'idah: 116], and other than this which gives the meaning, evidence, and proofs of its impossibility. And "forged" means: created and initiated, as if a person forges it from his speech, meaning he cuts it and marks it with a mark. It is derived from "I forged" if you cut for repair. And "confirmation" is in the accusative as a verbal noun, and the doer of it is an implied verb. Al-Zajjaj said: It is the news of an implied 'was', and the estimation is: But it was a confirmation of what is before it. And His saying: "what is before it" refers to the Torah and the Gospel. And what is before the hand is what precedes something. A group said regarding this verse: Indeed, what is before it are the signs of the Hour and what comes of matters. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is an error, and the matter is the opposite. The Book of Allah, blessed and exalted, is what is before that. As for Al-Zajjaj, he was cautious and said: "The pronoun returns to the signs, and the estimation is: But it is a confirmation of what is before the Qur'an." This is also uneasy, and the establishment of the proof against Quraysh at that time was that the Qur'an confirms what is in the Torah and the Gospel, even though the one who brought the Qur'an is among those who they cut off that he had not read those books nor are they in his land or among his people. And the detailed explanation of the Book is its clarification, and "there is no doubt in it" means: it is in itself in this state. And if a denier doubts, that should not be heeded. And His saying, the Exalted, "Or do they say, 'He has forged it'?" The word "Or" here is not equivalent to the interrogative ألف (alif) in your saying: 'Did Zayd stand or Amr?'. Rather, it is that which interjects in the speech. Sibawayh's school is that it is like the 'alif' and 'but' because it includes a question and a negation of what preceded. It is like their saying: "Is it camels or sheep?" A group said regarding this "Or": it is like the interrogative alif, then they were challenged in His saying: "Say, 'Then bring forth a surah like it.'" And the surah is taken from "the surah of construction", and it is from the Qur'an this piece that has a beginning and an end. And the challenge in this verse occurred in the two aspects of the miraculousness that are in the Qur'an: one of them is the arrangement, coherence, brevity, and eloquence, all of which are in the definition of truths. The other is the meanings of the unseen regarding what has passed and what is to come. And when He challenged them with ten forgeries, He indeed challenged them with the arrangement alone.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is the saying of a group of the theologians, and I have some reservations about it. How can the challenge come with a similarity in the unseen as a response to their saying: "He fabricated it"? The challenge in the two verses - this one and the verse of the ten surahs - only occurred through the arrangement, the structure, and the brevity in the definition of the truths. They were never obliged to bring forth the unseen, because the challenge of informing about the unseen is like His saying: ﴿And after their defeat, they will be victorious﴾ [Ar-Rum: 3], and like His saying: ﴿Certainly, you will enter the Sacred Mosque﴾ [Al-Fath: 27], and similar instances of the unseen in the Qur'an. It is clear that humans are deficient in that. As for the challenge regarding the arrangement, it is also clear that humans are deficient in arranging the Qur'an, as Allah, the Exalted, has encompassed all things with knowledge. When Allah decreed the wording in the Qur'an, He knew, with His encompassing knowledge, the wording that is most suitable for it among all the words of the Arabs in the intended meaning, until the Qur'an was completed in this arrangement, from the first to the last. And humans - even if the most eloquent of the world is assumed - are subject to forgetfulness and ignorance regarding words and truths, and to mistakes and human flaws. It is impossible for one to proceed in his selection according to the first to the last. We find the Arab poet refining his poem - which is the annual poems - changing it, advancing and delaying, then submitting that poem to someone more eloquent than him, who increases in refinement. The doctrine of the people of diversion is broken by this evidence. There has never been in the world anyone except those who are deficient, except for those whom Allah, the Exalted, inspires. The eloquent Arabs distinguished this extent of the Qur'an and submitted to it due to the correctness of their nature and the purity of their disposition. They recognize each other's speech and distinguish it from others, like the action of Al-Farazdaq in the verses of Jarir, and the maiden in the poetry of Al-A'sha, and the saying of the Bedouin regarding your 'Arafjik', so it was cut off, and similar instances that, if followed, would become clear. The miraculous extent of the Qur'an is what combines both aspects: the consistency of the arrangement and the narration, and the attainment of meanings and the composition of many of them in a few words. As for His saying, the Exalted: ﴿Dark green﴾ [Ar-Rahman: 64], and His saying: ﴿Then he looked﴾ [Al-Muddathir: 21], it is not correct to challenge to bring forth something like it, but rather through its organization and connection, the inability to do so occurs. His saying: ﴿Like it﴾ is a description of the surah, and the pronoun refers back to the Qur'an mentioned earlier, as if he said: So bring a surah like the Qur'an, meaning: in its meanings and words. Different groups have mixed in their saying: ﴿Like it﴾ regarding the tongue, like the saying of Al-Tabari: That is regarding the meaning, and if it were regarding the wording, he would have said: "Like it". This is a clear misunderstanding that is not needed. Amr ibn Faid read: "With a surah like it" in the genitive case. Abu Al-Fath said: The estimation is: with a speech like it. Abu Hatim said: Abdullah Al-Aswad commanded to ask Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, about the addition of "surah" or its indefiniteness. Umar said to him: As you wish.

And His saying: ﴿And call upon whom you can﴾ is a reference to their partners and their jinn and others. It is like His saying in the other verse: ﴿They will not bring forth anything like it, even if some of them were to be a helper to others﴾ [Al-Isra: 88], meaning a supporter. This is a stronger establishment for their souls and a clearer incapacitation for them.