Can Anyone Produce a Surah Like It?

The Qur’an tells anyone who doubts it to produce a surah like it, and says they will never be able to. Qur’an 2:23–24Qur’an 2:23-24 · Saheeh InternationalAnd if you are in doubt about what We have sent down [i.e., the Qur’ān] upon Our Servant [i.e., Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ)], then produce a sūrah the like thereof and call upon your witnesses [i.e., supporters] other than Allāh, if you should be truthful. But if you do not - and you will never be able to - then fear the Fire, whose fuel is people and stones, prepared for the disbelievers.Qur’an 2:23-24 · Saheeh InternationalOpen the Source is that challenge, and Qur’an 17:88Qur’an 17:88 · Saheeh InternationalSay, "If mankind and the jinn gathered in order to produce the like of this Qur’ān, they could not produce the like of it, even if they were to each other assistants."Qur’an 17:88 · Saheeh InternationalOpen the Source widens it to mankind and the jinn together. Literary excellence is a real claim about a book. It is not, by itself, a test that the book is from God. A poem can be unmatched and still be false, and a prophecy can be plain and still come to pass.

Key Points

• Qur’an 2:23Qur’an 2:23 · Saheeh InternationalAnd if you are in doubt about what We have sent down [i.e., the Qur’ān] upon Our Servant [i.e., Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ)], then produce a sūrah the like thereof and call upon your witnesses [i.e., supporters] other than Allāh, if you should be truthful.Qur’an 2:23 · Saheeh InternationalOpen the Source says: if you are in doubt about what was sent down, produce a surah the like of it and call your witnesses other than Allah. Qur’an 2:24Qur’an 2:24 · Saheeh InternationalBut if you do not - and you will never be able to - then fear the Fire, whose fuel is people and stones, prepared for the disbelievers.Qur’an 2:24 · Saheeh InternationalOpen the Source says you will never be able to.
• Qur’an 10:38Qur’an 10:38 · Saheeh InternationalOr do they say [about the Prophet (ﷺ)], "He invented it?" Say, "Then bring forth a sūrah like it and call upon [for assistance] whomever you can besides Allāh, if you should be truthful."Qur’an 10:38 · Saheeh InternationalOpen the Source says to bring a surah like it. Qur’an 11:13Qur’an 11:13 · Saheeh InternationalOr do they say, "He invented it"? Say, "Then bring ten sūrahs like it that have been invented and call upon [for assistance] whomever you can besides Allāh, if you should be truthful."Qur’an 11:13 · Saheeh InternationalOpen the Source says to bring ten surahs like it that have been invented. Qur’an 52:33–34Qur’an 52:33-34 · Saheeh InternationalOr do they say, "He has made it up"? Rather, they do not believe. Then let them produce a statement like it, if they should be truthful.Qur’an 52:33-34 · Saheeh InternationalOpen the Source says to produce a statement like it.
• Qur’an 17:88Qur’an 17:88 · Saheeh InternationalSay, "If mankind and the jinn gathered in order to produce the like of this Qur’ān, they could not produce the like of it, even if they were to each other assistants."Qur’an 17:88 · Saheeh InternationalOpen the Source says mankind and the jinn, gathered as assistants to one another, could not produce the like of this Qur’an.
• The verses name the likeness. They do not, in these lines, appoint a judge, a meter, or a list of features that would count as success.
• Deuteronomy 18:21–22Deuteronomy 18:22 · King James VersionWhen a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.Deuteronomy 18:22 · King James VersionOpen the Source tests a prophet by whether the thing he speaks comes to pass. 1 Corinthians 15:3–81 Corinthians 15:3–8 · King James Version^15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; ^15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: ^15:5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: ^15:6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. ^15:7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. ^15:8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.1 Corinthians 15:3–8 · King James VersionOpen the Source names people who saw the risen Christ.
• Has the Qur’an Been Changed? and How Was the Qur’an Compiled? are the history of the text. Scientific Miracles in the Qur’an? is the other sign often claimed for the same book.

What the Challenge Says

Qur’an 2:23–24Qur’an 2:23-24 · Saheeh InternationalAnd if you are in doubt about what We have sent down [i.e., the Qur’ān] upon Our Servant [i.e., Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ)], then produce a sūrah the like thereof and call upon your witnesses [i.e., supporters] other than Allāh, if you should be truthful. But if you do not - and you will never be able to - then fear the Fire, whose fuel is people and stones, prepared for the disbelievers.Qur’an 2:23-24 · Saheeh InternationalOpen the Source, Saheeh International:

And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down [i.e., the Qur’ān] upon Our Servant [i.e., Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ)], then produce a sūrah the like thereof and call upon your witnesses [i.e., supporters] other than Allāh, if you should be truthful. But if you do not - and you will never be able to - then fear the Fire, whose fuel is people and stones, prepared for the disbelievers.

Qur’an 2:23–24 · Saheeh International

Qur’an · accepted by Muslims

The brackets are part of Saheeh International. The command is to produce a surah the like of what was sent down, and to call supporters other than Allah. The next verse says the hearers will never be able to, and it names the Fire. The challenge is not a request for an opinion. It is a dare with a stated failure.

Qur’an 10:38Qur’an 10:38 · Saheeh InternationalOr do they say [about the Prophet (ﷺ)], "He invented it?" Say, "Then bring forth a sūrah like it and call upon [for assistance] whomever you can besides Allāh, if you should be truthful."Qur’an 10:38 · Saheeh InternationalOpen the Source answers the charge “He invented it” with “bring forth a sūrah like it.” Qur’an 11:13Qur’an 11:13 · Saheeh InternationalOr do they say, "He invented it"? Say, "Then bring ten sūrahs like it that have been invented and call upon [for assistance] whomever you can besides Allāh, if you should be truthful."Qur’an 11:13 · Saheeh InternationalOpen the Source raises the number: “bring ten sūrahs like it that have been invented.” Qur’an 52:33–34Qur’an 52:33-34 · Saheeh InternationalOr do they say, "He has made it up"? Rather, they do not believe. Then let them produce a statement like it, if they should be truthful.Qur’an 52:33-34 · Saheeh InternationalOpen the Source says, “Or do they say, ‘He has made it up’? Rather, they do not believe. Then let them produce a statement like it, if they should be truthful.” Qur’an 17:88Qur’an 17:88 · Saheeh InternationalSay, "If mankind and the jinn gathered in order to produce the like of this Qur’ān, they could not produce the like of it, even if they were to each other assistants."Qur’an 17:88 · Saheeh InternationalOpen the Source is the widest form: if mankind and the jinn gathered to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not, even as assistants to one another.

The likeness is “like it,” “like this Qur’an,” “a statement like it.” The verses do not define the likeness as rhyme, law, news of the unseen, or a feeling in the hearer. The text that issues the dare is also the text that says the attempt will fail. That is a closed test unless some standard sits outside the claim. The challenge this page answers is the one the surahs state.

Who Judges a Likeness

A book can be great and not be revelation. Homer and Shakespeare are praised as literature by people who do not receive the Iliad or the plays as God’s word. Praise of a style does not answer whether the sentences are true. The Qur’an’s challenge asks for a production “the like thereof,” and then says the producers will never succeed. If the judge is the community that already believes the book cannot be matched, every attempt fails by the belief, not by a public measure.

Qur’an 29:50–51Qur’an 29:50-51 · Saheeh International⁵⁰ But they say, "Why are not signs sent down to him from his Lord?" Say, "The signs are only with Allāh, and I am only a clear warner." ⁵¹ And is it not sufficient for them that We revealed to you the Book [i.e., the Qur’ān] which is recited to them? Indeed in that is a mercy and reminder for a people who believe.Qur’an 29:50-51 · Saheeh InternationalOpen the Source answers people who ask for a sign by pointing to the Book that is recited to them. Scientific Miracles in the Qur’an? follows what Ibn Kathir said those creation verses mean. The literary dare and the claim of scientific news are two different arguments. Neither one is Deuteronomy’s test of a prophet.

Muslims disagree among themselves about what makes the Qur’an unmatched. Some arguments stress the Arabic, some the law, some the effect on the hearer. This page does not assign a later school’s definition to the verse. The words that were opened are the dare itself.

The Bible’s Tests

Deuteronomy 18:21–22Deuteronomy 18:22 · King James VersionWhen a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.Deuteronomy 18:22 · King James VersionOpen the Source answers a different question: how Israel would know the word the LORD had not spoken. “When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken.” The test is a public outcome, not a contest of style. Is Muhammad the Prophet of Deuteronomy 18? is that chapter beside the Islamic claim.

1 Corinthians 15:3–81 Corinthians 15:3–8 · King James Version^15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; ^15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: ^15:5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: ^15:6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. ^15:7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. ^15:8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.1 Corinthians 15:3–8 · King James VersionOpen the Source is what Paul says he delivered: Christ died for our sins, was buried, rose the third day, and was seen by Cephas, the twelve, more than five hundred at once, James, all the apostles, and last of all Paul. The claim can be refused. It is not a claim that no one can write a paragraph of similar beauty. The Resurrection of Jesus is that witness. Jesus is God, and the gospel Paul names is his death and resurrection, which Qur’an 4:157Qur’an 4:157 · Saheeh InternationalAnd [for] their saying, "Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, the messenger of Allāh." And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain.Qur’an 4:157 · Saheeh InternationalOpen the Source denies.

Has the Qur’an Been Changed? and How Was the Qur’an Compiled? ask what text the challenge refers to, and how that text was gathered. A dare to match “this Qur’an” assumes a stable “this.” Those pages stay with the reports of the collection.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Qur’an’s Challenge?

Qur’an 2:23Qur’an 2:23 · Saheeh InternationalAnd if you are in doubt about what We have sent down [i.e., the Qur’ān] upon Our Servant [i.e., Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ)], then produce a sūrah the like thereof and call upon your witnesses [i.e., supporters] other than Allāh, if you should be truthful.Qur’an 2:23 · Saheeh InternationalOpen the Source tells doubters to produce a surah like what was sent down, and to call witnesses other than Allah. Qur’an 2:24Qur’an 2:24 · Saheeh InternationalBut if you do not - and you will never be able to - then fear the Fire, whose fuel is people and stones, prepared for the disbelievers.Qur’an 2:24 · Saheeh InternationalOpen the Source says they will never be able to.

What Does Qur’an 17:88 Mean?

It says that if mankind and the jinn gathered to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce the like of it, even as assistants to one another.

Has Anyone Met the Challenge?

The surah says the attempt cannot succeed. It does not name a panel, a meter, or a feature list that would let an outsider score an attempt. A literary likeness is a judgment about writing. Deuteronomy 18:22Deuteronomy 18:22 · King James VersionWhen a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.Deuteronomy 18:22 · King James VersionOpen the Source scores a prophet by whether the spoken thing happens.

Is an Unmatched Book Therefore From God?

The verses argue that failure to produce a likeness shows the hearers are not truthful in their doubt. A book people cannot imitate can still make a false claim. The resurrection Paul reports in 1 Corinthians 15:3–81 Corinthians 15:3–8 · King James Version^15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; ^15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: ^15:5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: ^15:6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. ^15:7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. ^15:8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.1 Corinthians 15:3–8 · King James VersionOpen the Source is a different kind of test: named witnesses to a public event.