a Surah the like thereof

As evidence for the divine origin of the Quran, several people have quoted the following verse to me: "And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our Servant [Muhammad], then produce a Surah the like thereof and call upon your witnesses other than Allah , if you should be truthful." (Quran 2:23)

It is never made clear to me exactly what the challenge is here.  What is meant by "the like thereof"?  I can think of many possible scriptures, but it's really just a matter of opinion.  Who decides whether something is like the Quran, and on what basis?

I suggested the Book of Mormon, for example, which is similar to the Quran in its claim to being a revelation from God, given to a single person with no corroborating evidence, and building on earlier scriptures.  It is also similar in style and content, pretending to speak in the voice of God, exhorting righteousness, demanding obedience, offering heaven and threatening hell, etc.

Of course I could also point to the Bible, the Bhagavad Gita, the Analects of Confucius, and dozens of others.  All of them are similar in some respects and different in others.

Another example which comes to mind is a sura which some claim was supposed to be part of the Quran, but was omitted (or do the Shias include it? I don't know):

In the name of the bountiful and merciful God.

O you who have faith, believe in the two lights, Muhammed and Ali, whom we have sent, and who recite our verses to you, and put you on your guard against the chastisement of the great day. These two lights proceed the one from the the other. As to myself, I understand and I know.

Those who fulfil the order of God and of his prophet, such as it is given to them in the verses of the Koran, those shall enjoy the gardens of delight. As to those who, after having believed, became infidels by transgressing their compact, and what the prophet had stipulated for them, they shall be thrown into hell, because they have unjustly treated their own souls, and have disobeyed the preaching prophet. These shall be drenched with hot water.

It is God who illuminated the heavens and the earth, as it was his pleasure; who made his choice among the angels and prophets; who placed the latter among the number of believers in the midst of his creatures.�God does what he wills: there is but he, the bountiful and merciful God.

Those who preceded them, have already machinated against their prophets; but I have punished them for their perfidy, and, certainly, my punishment is violent and severe. God had already destroyed Ad* and Tamud,* on account of their crimes; he made of them an example for warning you. Shall you then not fear?

Because Pharaoh acted tyrannically towards Moses and his brother Aaron, I drowned him in the waters, as well as those who followed him, in order that it may serve as a sign for you

Many among you are prevaricators; but God will assemble them all on the day of resurrection; and they will not be able to answer when interrogated by him: certainly, hell is their habitation. God is all-knowing and wise.

O prophet! my advertisement arrived (at its destination); perhaps will they act (conformably to it). Those who turned away from my words have already experienced detriment. Are they comparable to those who accomplish thy ordinances, and whom I will reward by the gardens of delight? For God is the Lord of mercy and great rewards.

Ali is of the number of pious; we shall restore him his right on the day of judgment. We are not ignorant of their inten�tion to defraud him. We have honored him more than all thy family. He and his race are of the number of sufferers, and certainly their enemy is the Imam of sinners.*

Say to those who became infidels after having believed: �You have sought after the comforts of the present life, and you have been eager in the pursuit of them; but you have forgotten what God and his prophet have promised you. You have broken the engagements which you had taken in a formal manner; yet we quoted to you examples, in the hope that you would follow the good direction.�

O prophet, we have sent thee clear verses. Those who were faithful, and attached themselves to them, will receive assistance after thee. Turn away from those who turn away from me. Certainly, he shall make them appear on the day on which nothing shall avail them, and when they will have no pity to hope for. Their habitation shall be hell, from which they shall not be removed.

Celebrate the name of thy lord, and be of the number of his adorers. We have already sent Moses, and Aaron, and those who followed them; but they treated Aaron unjustly. Patience is an excellent virtue. Among them we changed some into apes* and hogs; we cursed them until the day of resurrection. Have patience; certainly they shall be punished.

We have gratified thee with an authority equal to that which was possessed by the messengers who preceded thee, and we have given thee instructions in their persons. Perhaps man�kind will be converted. He who turns away from my com�mand shall be soon called away by me from this world. Let them therefore enjoy some time their impiety. Ask no information concerning the violators of God's law.

O prophet, we granted thee the power of loading the neck of those who believed in the strength of a compact which we contract. Be thou of the number of the grateful.

Certainly, Ali is pious. He passes the night prostrate before God. He is cautious with respect to another life, and he hopes to merit the reward of his Lord. Say, will they be treated in the same manner, they who have acted unjustly, although they knew the chastisement which I prepare for them? Chains shall be put on their necks, and they shall repent of their acts.

We have announced to thee a progeny of just men,* who will not oppose my commands. My bounty and mercy are upon them, living or dead,* until the day of resurrection. My anger is against those who act tyrannically towards thy pos�terity; wicked men who shall suffer the pain which they deserve.

As to those who walked upon the road of thy posterity, my mercy is granted to them, and they shall be safe in the kiosques of paradise. Glory to God, King of the creatures.

@The Saint

Is this copy and paste from here (without even quoting your source as usual!) all you have to offer ?

Well.....


Airmano

Edited by airmano - 06 September 2015 at 3:11am

May be it is time to continue the "likeof" discussion here.

In this post I produced a poem that I consider as at least equal (if not superior) to any surah of the Quran.

"The Saint" tried a couple of times to prove me wrong like here, there and there but without providing any arguments (one could also say without any success).

Is there anybody else that could respond to my challenge ?


Airmano

Edited by airmano - 07 September 2015 at 1:39pm

You must have patience. I move at my own pace and in the way I want to.

I chose a starter. I have just begun and you are resorting to cribbing. Let me assure you this is not the end. It is just the preamble, if you will, of what I am going to say.

Here is some background to Quran's challenge which is the topic here.

"Every Prophet was given �signs� because of which people believed in him. Indeed, I have been given the Divine Revelation that God has revealed to me. So, I hope to have the most followers of all the prophets on the Day of Resurrection." (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)

The physical miracles performed by the prophets were time-specific, valid only for those who witnessed them, whereas the like of the continuing miracle of our Prophet, the Noble Quran, was not granted to any other prophet. Its linguistic superiority, style, clarity of message, strength of argument, quality of rhetoric, and the human inability to match even its shortest chapter till the end of time grant it an exquisite uniqueness.

That is why the Prophet of Mercy hoped he will have the most followers of all the prophets, and prophesized that he would at a time when Muslims were few, but then they began to embrace Islam in floods. Thus, this prophecy came true.

Why this Challenge?

First, Arabs were poets. Poetry was their supreme ornament and their most representative form of discourse. Arabic poetry was rooted in the oral; it was a voice before it acquired an alphabet. Poets could compose intricate poems spontaneously and commit thousands of lines to memory. Arabs had a complex system of evaluating a poet and the poetry to meet rigid standards. Annual competition selected the �idols� of poetry, and they were engraved in gold and hung inside the Kaaba, alongside their idols of worship. The most skilled served as judges. Poets could ignite wars and bring truce between warring tribes. They described women, wine, and war like no one else.

Second, the opponents of the Prophet Muhammad were strongly determined to quash his mission in any way possible. God gave them a non-violent approach to disprove Muhammad.

History is a witness that the pre-Islamic Arabs could not produce a single chapter to meet the challenge of the Quran. Instead of meeting the challenge, they chose violence and waged war against him. They, of all people, had the ability and the motive to meet the Quranic challenge, but could not do so. Had they done so, the Quran would have proven false, and the man who brought it would have been exposed as a false prophet. The fact that the ancient Arabs did not and could not meet this challenge is proof of Quran�s inimitability. Their example is of a thirsty man next to a well, the only reason he dies of thirst is if he was unable to reach the water!

Furthermore, the inability of previous Arabs to meet the challenge of the Quran implies later Arabs are less competent to meet the challenge, due to their lack the mastery of classical Arabic that the previous, �classical� Arabs had. According to linguists of the Arabic language, the Arabs before and during the time of the Prophet, in exclusion to subsequent generations, had the most complete mastery of the Arabic language, its rules, meters, and rhymes. Later Arabs did not match the mastery of classical Arabs.

Lastly, the challenge is for Arabs and non-Arabs alike. If the Arabs cannot meet the challenge, the non-speakers of Arabic cannot claim to meet the challenge either. Hence, the inimitability of the Quran is established for non-Arabs as well.