A Historical Interpretation of the Challenge by the Qur’ān and its Consequences

Document Type : Scholary

Author

Professor, the Department of the Qur’ān and Ḥadīth Studies, Allāmah Tabataba’ī University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

In some chapters of the Qur’ān, the opponents of the divinity of the Qur’ān are challenged to bring a text like that of the Qur’ān. Based on the revelation order, this challenge has been done in the chapters of the Night Journey, Jonah, Hūd, the Mount, and the Cow. The first four chapters have been revealed in Mecca, while the Cow chapter has been revealed in Medina. These have been descended during the middle one-third of the 23-year-long mission of the noble Prophet (s). A historical analysis of these verses along with their collocate verses – which have been revealed before and after these verses – clearly proves the divine nature of the qur’ānic text. More importantly, this analysis demonstrates that even if the qur’ānic challenge is limited to the Prophet (s) era and his nation, the failure of the Prophet's opponents to respond to this challenge is the best evidence for the confirmation of the divinity of the Qur’ān. Even the present-day audience of the Qur’ān can also realize the divinity of the Qur’ān by adopting a historical view toward what happened in the Challenge.

Keywords

References

The Noble Qur’ān.
A group of authors, (2001), Musū‘ah al-adyān al-maysarah. Beirut, Dār al-Nafā’is.
‘Abd al-‘Azīz, A. (2007), I‘jāz al-Qur’ān. Bablus, Jāmi‘ah al-Najāḥ al-Waṭanīyyah.
Bāqilānī, A. (1997), I‘zāj al-Qur’ān. Cairo, Dār al-Ma‘ārif
Bullātah, A. (2006), I‘jāz al-Qur’ān ‘abr al-tārīkh. Beirut, Al-Mu’assisah al-‘arabīyyah lil-dirāsāt wa al-nashr.
Ḥaskanī, A. (1990), Shawāhid al-tanzīl. Tehran, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance Publications.
Ibn Kathīr, A. (1998), Tafsīr al-Qur’ān al-‘azīm. Beirut, Dār al-Kutub al-‘ilmīyyah
‘Itir, Ḥ. (1989), Al-Mu‘jizah al-khālidah. Beirut, Dār ībn Ḥazm.
Khālidī, Ṣ. A. (1992), Al-Bayān fī i‘jāz al-Qur’ān. Amman, Dār ‘Ammār.
Khatīb, A. (1975), I‘jāz al-Qur’ān; Fī dirāsah kāshifah li-khasā’is al-balāghah al-‘arabīyyah wa ma‘ābīriha. Beirut, Dār al-Ma‘rifah.
Khu’ī, A. (1996), Al-Bayān fī tafsīr al-Qur’ān. Qom, Omid publications.
Lofmark, C. (1990). What Is the Bible? Translated by Muḥammad Kāzim Shākir, Tehran, Raizan Publications.
Nadīm, M. (n.d.), Al-Fihrist. Beirut, Dār al-Ma‘rifah.
Nikūnām, J. (2001), An introduction to qur’ānic chronology. Tehran, Hastīnamā publications.
Rāmyār, M. (1983), Tārīkh Qur’ān. Tehran, Amir Kabir publications. 
Sabt, Kh. (1997), Qawāīd al-tafsīr jam‘an wa derāsah. Al-‘Aqrabiyyah (Saudi Arabia), Dar ībn-‘Affān.
Shākir, M. K. (2015), ‘ulūm Qur’ānī. Qom, Qom University Publications.
Syūṭī, J. (1996), Al-Itqān fī ‘ulūm al-Qur’ān. Beirut, Dar ībn-Kathīr.
Ṭāsh Kubrāzādeh, A. (1998), Musū‘ah Muṣṭalaḥāt miftāḥ al-sādah wa miṣbāḥ al-syādah fī muzūāt al-‘ulūm. Beirut, Maktabat lubnān nāshirūn.
Watt, W. M. (1994), Muslim-Christian Encounters: Perceptions and Misperceptions. Translated by Muḥammad Ḥussein Āryā, Tehran, Islamic Culture Publication Center. 
Ya‘qūbī, A. (n.d.), Tārīkh al-Ya‘qūbī. Beirut, Dār Ṣādir.     
Classical and Contemporary Islamic Studies (formerly known as Journal of Contemporary Islamic Studies)
Volume 1, Issue 1
February 2019
Pages 1-17

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics