Taking on the Qur'an's Own Test for Itself
Can we produce a ‘Sura like it’?
Serious questions can be asked about the textual integrity and reliability of the Qur’an. Far from being a clear and accurate divine revelation, it can be shown that it is a deeply flawed and human document.
However, the ultimate ace that many devout Muslims believe they hold regarding questions about the Qur’an is to repeat the ultimate test that Muhammad proposed for those who wanted to assess the truthfulness of this book. It is the challenge to produce a ‘Sura like it’: “And if you are in doubt as to which We have revealed to Our servant, then produce a Sura (chapter) like it, and call on your helper, besides Allah, if you are truthful.” (Qur’an 2:23).
A sura refers to a chapter of the Qur’an, so the challenge is to write something that is at the same level of truth and beauty as the Qur’an. Muslim apologists obviously believe that this challenge cannot be met. I propose to show below that this challenge is:
Deeply flawed, and
That it has been met on several occasions
The ‘Sura like it’ test is entirely subjective.
All of us are familiar with the basic truth that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Since a large part of this challenge rests on the aesthetic appeal of the Qur’an, the same truth applies to this challenge. Some people may think that the Classical Arabic of the Qur’an is the most beautiful thing they have ever heard. Other people may respond in an entirely different way and may think that a recital of, for example, The Iliad of Homer is much more ‘divine’ than the Qur’an in terms of its appeal to the reader.
Who will be the judge?
This point rests, to a certain extent, on the previous one. Since opinions will differ on the quality and appeal of the Qur’an, who will be the impartial judges on whether the challenge has been met or not? Will Muslims actually acknowledge that the Qur’an is defeated when the challenge is met? This is highly unlikely. You can almost imagine many ‘Suras like it’ being produced, and devoted Muslims acting as judge and jury to reject all contenders as a matter of course. It is another case of having your cake and eating it too. There is, for example, a website (www.suralikeit.com) where a variety of candidates for ‘Suras like it’, all written in excellent Classical Arabic, are presented. However, the likelihood that these will be impartially evaluated as meeting the challenge by believing Muslims is slim indeed.