THE CHALLENGE OF THE QUR’AN

The Challenge of The Qur’an ~ 281 ~ besides God to assist you, if what you say be true.1 Needless to say, this challenge has not to this day been met. Those who feel that the authorship of the Quran was human and not divine should consider also that no ordinary mortal would deliver himself of such a challenge for fear of being instantly proved a posturer and a braggart. Neither the Quran, nor the challenge it flings down to humanity, can be of human origin, for no human work is ever complete; it can always be added to, improved upon and emulated. Purely human standards are always re-attainable. This, however, has proved the Quran to be quite unique in that it is both definitive and inimitable. Attempts were, of course, made to meet this challenge. The first was that of Labid Ibn Rabiyah, a contemporary of the Prophet and the last of a series of seven renowned poets of the time. He was so eloquent that once, when he recited a poem at the famous annual fair of Ukaz, the other poets present fell in prostration before him — they were so enchanted by his verses. In pre-Islamic days,