Tahaddi: Difference between revisions

'''Taḥaddī''' (Arabic: تَحَدّی) or '''the Challenge of the Quran''' is a term in Quranic sciences and Islamic [[kalam]] (or theology) referring to a challenge made by the [[Quran]] (or in its broader meaning, by every [[prophet]] who had a [[miracle]]) in order to prove the prophet’s relation with the hidden world and the failure of opponents to bring the same divine miracle. In the Quran, God asked opponents to bring something similar to the Quran if they reject the [[prophethood]].

The word, “tahaddi”, is from the Arabic root, “ḥ-d-y” (ح-د-ی), which means to challenge someone to combat you or compete with you in order to show that they will fail. Terminologically, it refers to God’s challenge for some opponents of [[the Prophet Muhammad (s)]] to bring something similar to what he brought if they are right that Muhammad was not a prophet. The term, “tahaddi”, came to be commonly used in works of kalam in the 3rd/9th century for the first time.

Some early scholars of kalam, such as [[al-Sayyid al-Murtada]], believed that if a person intends to oppose the Quran (and bring something similar to it), then God will weaken their will to do so, thereby preventing them from challenging the Quran. This is known as the theory of “sarfa” (divine prevention or deterrence). Given attempts at challenging the Quran, this claim is not true.

The Quran has not challenged its opponents to bring one verse, since a verse might include a word, such as “مُدْهَامَّتَانِ” (dark green) without communicating a full concept.

Chapters of this fake book include “al-Injil” (Gospel), “al-Janna” (the Heaven), “al-Mahabba” (the love), and in some cases even the names of its chapters are the same as Quranic chapters, such as “al-Anbia'” (the prophets), “al-Fatiha”, and “al-Munafiqun”. Instead of “Bim Allah al-Rahman al-Rahim”, the chapters begin with “Bism al-Ab al-Kalimat al-Ruh al-Ilah al-Wahid al-Awhad” (in the name of the Father, the Word, the Spirit, the Lord, the One, and the Only).