Tafsir

Commentary

From this point onward the objections raised by infidels and polytheists against the Holy Qur'an and the prophethood of the Holy Prophet ﷺ are related together with the answers to those objections.

The first objection was that the Qur'an was not a revealed book from Allah Ta’ ala, but has been compiled from the old stories and narrations by the Jews and Christians which have been reduced into writing by the Companions of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، since he himself was illiterate and could not write. And because he could not read or write, he would get them read out to him day and night, so that he could remember them by heart, then he would repeat them before people and claim that he had received that revelation from Allah Ta’ ala.

The answer to this objection was given by the Holy Qur’ an قُلْ أَنزَلَهُ الَّذِي يَعْلَمُ السِّرَّ‌ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْ‌ضِ , that is (Say, "It is sent down by the One who knows the secret in the heavens and the earth - 25:6).

The essence of this answer is that the Qur'an itself is an evidence to the fact that it is the Divine message from Him who is Omniscient and who knows fully well all the secrets of the Heavens and the earth. This is why Qur'an is a miraculous Message, and the whole world is challenged to bring out a Surah or even a verse to match it, if its divine origin is refused. This was a challenge to a people - the Arabs - who were well known for their literary proficiency and art of expression, and for whom composition of a piece of literature was not a problem. But they too did not dare to attempt to compose something similar to Qur’ an. Although they were willing to sacrifice all their material wealth for opposing the Holy Prophet ﷺ in his mission, so much so that they were willing to sacrifice even their children and their own lives to counter the Holy Prophet ﷺ mission and message, but they dared not attempt to compose a passage similar to a Surah of the Qur'an.

This is a clear proof of the fact that it is not a work of a human being. Otherwise other people could also have composed passages similar to Qur'an. Therefore, it is definitely the revelation from Allah Ta ala. Apart from the beauty of expression and language, the Book also excels in its meanings. The multifarious subjects it covers can only be dealt by One who knows everything whether hidden or exposed. This subject has been dealt with in detail in the first volume of Ma’ ariful Qur'an.