al-Quran Yatahadda

al-Quran Yatahadda ("The Quran Challenges") is an exegetical treatise by the Egyptian scholar Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi (1347–1431 AH / 1928–2010 CE) that examines the Quranic challenge (al-tahaddi) issued to skeptics and the proofs of the Quran's divine origin and inimitability (i'jaz) al-Quran Yatahadda+1.

Scope and Core Arguments

The work focuses on demonstrating the veracity of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and establishing that the Quran is not human composition through an analysis of the verses of challenge, principally verses 23–24 of Surah al-Baqarah: وَإِنْ كُنْتُمْ فِي رَيْبٍ مِمَّا نَزَّلْنَا عَلَى عَبْدِنَا فَأْتُوا بِسُورَةٍ مِّنْ مِثْلِهِ وَادْعُوا شُهَدَاءَكُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ ۝ فَإِنْ لَمْ تَفْعَلُوا وَلَنْ تَفْعَلُوا فَاتَّقُوا النَّارَ الَّتِي وَقُودُهَا النَّاسُ وَالْحِجَارَةُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْكَافِرِينَ ("And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our servant, then produce a surah like it and call your witnesses other than Allah, if you should be truthful. But if you do not—and you will never be able to—then fear the Fire whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for the disbelievers") al-Quran Yatahadda.

Tantawi situates the passage as the proof for the second pillar of faith—the truthfulness of the Messenger—following the initial establishment of God's oneness and power al-Quran Yatahadda. He surveys the chronology of the challenge across the Quran, noting earlier Makkan proclamations in Surah al-Qasas, Surah al-Isra, and Surah Yunus, culminating in the Madinan challenge in Surah al-Baqarah al-Quran Yatahadda. The text argues that the pre-Islamic Arabs, despite being the masters of rhetoric and eloquence (fursan al-kalam and arbab al-bayan), were utterly unable to compose even the shortest chapter in response, ultimately resorting to armed conflict rather than verbal refutation al-Quran Yatahadda.

Exegetical Method and Sources

Tantawi's analysis combines lexical definitions, grammatical parsing, and rhetorical exposition:

• Reference of Pronouns: In addressing the clause فَأْتُوا بِسُورَةٍ مِّنْ مِثْلِهِ , he investigates whether the pronoun in مِثْلِهِ refers back to the Quran or to the Prophet ﷺ, adopting the former view and citing four arguments from Fakhr al-Din al-Razi's Mafatih al-Ghayb to substantiate that the challenge applies universally to all humanity rather than merely unlettered individuals al-Quran Yatahadda+1.
• Rhetorical Devices: He highlights the Quran's use of sarcasm (tahakkum) in demanding that the polytheists summon their idols ( وَادْعُوا شُهَدَاءَكُمْ ) to assist them, drawing upon Sulayman al-Jamal's marginalia on Tafsir al-Jalalayn al-Quran Yatahadda+1.
• Prophecy of Unseen Events: In analyzing the parenthetical clause وَلَنْ تَفْعَلُوا ("and you will never be able to"), Tantawi cites al-Zamakhshari's al-Kashshaf to argue that this categorical denial represents an ongoing miraculous foretelling of the unseen (ikhbar bi-al-ghayb), as no rival composition was ever transmitted across the generations al-Quran Yatahadda+1.
• Classical Citations: Alongside al-Razi and al-Zamakhshari, the treatise incorporates commentary and observations from Jamal al-Din al-Qasimi's Mahasin al-Ta'wil al-Quran Yatahadda+1.