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Qur'an 2:23

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Qur'an 2:23
Verse's Information
SuraSura al-Baqara (Qur'an 2)
Verse23
Juz'1
Content Information
Cause of
Revelation		Proving the miraculous nature of the Qur'an
Place of
Revelation		Medinan
TopicChallenging the deniers of prophethood to bring a sura like the Quran
Related VersesQur'an 52:34 ● Qur'an 28:49 ● Qur'an 17:88 ● Qur'an 11:13 ● Qur'an 10:38


Qur'an 2:23 constitutes one of the verses of tahaddi, inviting those who deny the revelation of the Qur'an to Prophet Muhammad (s) to produce a sura comparable to those found in the Qur'an. According to certain hadiths, the occasion of revelation for this verse serves to demonstrate the miraculous nature of the Qur'an, the superiority of Imam Ali (a) over other Sahaba in the estimation of the Prophet (s), and his designated succession after the Prophet (s).

The verses of challenge vary in their scope, calling at times for a work equivalent to the entire Qur'an, in other instances for ten suras, and elsewhere for a single sura. Exegetes maintain that these verses are not bound by a specific time or location, but rather issue an eternal challenge to deniers of the Qur'an.

Challenging the Deniers of the Qur'an

Qur'an 2:23 addresses those who repudiate the divine origin of the Qur'an.[1] Citing narrations from the Shi'a Imams, scholars posit that the occasion of revelation for this verse is to prove the miraculous nature of the Qur'an and the Prophethood of the Prophet (s), as well as the preeminence of Imam 'Ali (a) over other companions.[2] Researchers assert that to substantiate this claim, the Qur'an issues a challenge to its detractors: if they reject its divine provenance, they must produce a comparable work.[3] This provocation is technically termed the "Challenge of the Qur'an" (Tahaddi).[4]

The Qur'an contains six verses of challenge.[5] These are classified into three distinct tiers: a challenge to bring the like of the entire Qur'an,[6] ten suras,[7] or a single sura.[8] In Tafsir-i nimuna, Nasir Makarim Shirazi observes that these verses are not temporally restricted; rather, they extend a universal invitation to the world and its centers of learning to engage in this contest without exception.[9]

Concept of Tahaddi

Main article: Tahaddi

Tahaddi signifies challenging a rival to a contest to demonstrate their incapacity.[10] It functions as a technical term within Quranic sciences[11] and Islamic Theology, and is regarded as a requisite condition of a miracle.[12] Through Tahaddi, Prophets challenge those who deny their prophethood to replicate their miracles.[13]

Text and Translation

Qur'an 2:23 refers to the challenge and calls upon the disbelievers and the deniers of the Prophet's mission to produce, if they are able, a sura like this one from the Qur'an. According to Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i in al-Mizan, this verse and others like it indicate that the entire Qur'an is a miracle, even its shortest suras, such as al-Kawthar and al-'Asr.

Exegetical Points

Imam al-Askari (a): "If you are truthful in saying that Muhammad (s) fabricated this Qur'an... and that what he said regarding the leadership of 'Ali (a) over the entire Ummah and handing over the reins of governance to him by the command of the Lord... was not true... [then bring the like of it]."[14]

— Imam 'Ali's (a) succession after the Prophet (s)

Exegetical works and narrations from the Shi'a Imams highlight several points regarding this verse:

  • "And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down": Imam al-Hasan al-Askari (a) recounts the miracles through which God commanded the preservation of the Prophet's life. God challenges the deniers who witnessed these miracles to produce the like of what was revealed to Muhammad (s).[15] Mulla Sadra asserts that the phrase "what We have sent down" serves as divine emphasis and a clear proof of his prophethood.[16]
  • "Then bring a sura like it": According to al-Mizan, this alludes to the eternal miraculous nature of the Qur'an. Fayd Kashani suggests that "like it" references the fact that the Prophet (s) was unlettered (unschooled), yet produced such a scripture; thus, the challenge is to produce a sura under identical conditions.[17] 'Allama Tabataba'i argues that although humans utilize language, they are incapable of producing the like of the Qur'an because God's will safeguards its status as a sign of prophethood; any human attempt to meet this challenge results in doubt and ultimate withdrawal.[18]
  • "And invoke your helpers besides Allah": According to Imam al-Sajjad (a), this refers to those who believe the deniers are correct and that their speech could equal that of the Prophet (s).[19]
  • "If you are truthful": In certain narrations, this segment alludes to verses revealed concerning Imam 'Ali (a), his virtues, and his succession.[20]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ḥusaynī-zādih, "Tahaddī", p. 275.
  2. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, 1403 AH, vol. 9, p. 175, vol. 17, p. 214; Astarābādī, Taʾwīl al-āyāt al-ẓāhira, 1409 AH, p. 45.
  3. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, 1353 Sh, vol. 1, p. 57; Khurramshāhī, Dānishnāmih-yi Qurʾān, 1377 Sh, vol. 1, p. 481.
  4. ↑ Mullā Ṣadrā, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-karīm, 1366 Sh, vol. 1, p. 202; Muḥaqqiq Sabziwārī, Asrār al-ḥikam, 1383 Sh, p. 472.
  5. ↑ Khurramshāhī, Dānishnāmih-yi Qurʾān, 1377 Sh, pp. 46-47.
  6. ↑ Qur'an 28:49; Qur'an 17:88; Qur'an 52:33-34.
  7. ↑ Qur'an 11:13.
  8. ↑ Qur'an 2:23; Qur'an 10:38.
  9. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūnih, 1374 Sh, vol. 1, p. 133.
  10. ↑ Group of writers, Sharḥ al-muṣṭalaḥāt al-kalāmiyya, 1415 AH, p. 64.
  11. ↑ Jawāhirī, "An Analysis of the Criteria for Tahaddi in the Quran and a Critique of the Descending Logic", p. 112.
  12. ↑ Bāqillānī, Iʿjāz al-Qurʾān, 1421 AH, p. 161.
  13. ↑ Muʾaddib, Iʿjāz al-Qurʾān dar naẓar-i ahl-i bayt, 1379 Sh, p. 17.
  14. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, 1403 AH, vol. 36, p. 114.
  15. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, 1403 AH, vol. 9, p. 175.
  16. ↑ Ṣadr al-Dīn Shīrāzī, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-karīm, 1366 Sh, vol. 2, p. 125.
  17. ↑ Fayḍ Kāshānī, Tafsīr al-ṣāfī, 1415 AH, vol. 1, p. 102.
  18. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, 1353 Sh, vol. 1, p. 69.
  19. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, 1403 AH, vol. 17, p. 217.
  20. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, 1403 AH, vol. 36, p. 114.

References

  • Abū al-Futūḥ al-Rāzī, Ḥusayn b. 'Alī. Rawḍ al-jinān wa rūḥ al-jinān fī tafsīr al-Qur'an. Edited by Muhammad Ja'far Yahaghi. Mashhad: Astan Quds Razavi, 1376 Sh.
  • Astarābādī, 'Alī. Ta'wīl al-āyāt al-ẓāhira. Edited by Husayn Ustadwali. Qom: Mu'assasat al-Nashr al-Islāmī, 1409 AH.
  • Bāqillānī, Muḥammad b. Ṭayyib. I'jāz al-Qur'an. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, 1421 AH.
  • Fayḍ Kāshānī, Mullā Muḥsin. Tafsīr al-ṣāfī. Edited by Husayn A'lami. Tehran: al-Sadr, 1415 AH.
  • Ḥusaynī-zādih, Sayyid 'Abd al-Rasūl. "Taḥaddī". In Dā'irat al-ma'ārif-i Qur'an-i karīm. Qom: Bustan-i Kitab, 1382 Sh.
  • Jawāhirī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. "Vākāvi-yi milāk-i taḥaddī dar Qur'an va naqd-i manṭiq-i tanzulī". Pizhūhish-hā-yi Qur'anī, no. 2, 1395 Sh.
  • Khurramshāhī, Bahā' al-Dīn. Dānishnāmih-yi Qur'an va Qur'an-pizhūhī. Tehran: Nashr-i Nahid-Dustan, 1377 Sh.
  • Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir. Biḥār al-anwār. Beirut: Mu'assasat al-Wafā', 1403 AH.
  • Majma' al-Buḥūth al-Islāmiyya. Sharḥ al-muṣṭalaḥāt al-kalāmiyya. Mashhad: Astan Quds Razavi, 1415 AH.
  • Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūnih. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1374 Sh.
  • Mu'addib, Sayyid Riḍā. I'jāz-i Qur'an dar naẓar-i ahl-i bayt. Qom: Ahsan al-Hadith, 1379 Sh.
  • Muḥaqqiq Sabziwārī, Muḥammad Bāqir. Asrār al-ḥikam. Qom: Matbu'at-i Dini, 1383 Sh.
  • Mullā Ṣadrā, Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm. Tafsīr al-Qur'an al-karīm. Qom: Nashr-i Bidar, 1366 Sh.
  • Ṭabāṭabā'ī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qur'an. Beirut: Mu'assasat al-A'lamī lil-Maṭbū'āt, 1353 Sh.
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