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Tahaddi: Difference between revisions
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'''Taḥaddī''' (Arabic: تَحَدّی) or '''the Challenge of the | '''Taḥaddī''' (Arabic: {{ia|تَحَدّی}}) or '''the Challenge of the Qur'an''' is a term in Quranic sciences and Islamic [[kalam]] (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 Meaning of Tahaddi== | ==The Meaning of Tahaddi== | ||
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. | The word, "tahaddi", is from the Arabic root, "ḥ-d-y" ({{ia|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. | ||
Tahaddi is based on the assumption that if the Quran were not from God, then other people would be able to bring something similar to it, and if they cannot do so, then the Quran will prove to be from God. | Tahaddi is based on the assumption that if the [[Quran]] were not from God, then other people would be able to bring something similar to it, and if they cannot do so, then the Quran will prove to be from God. | ||
==Sarfa (Divine Deterrence)== | ==Sarfa (Divine Deterrence)== | ||
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==Tahaddi Verses== | ==Tahaddi Verses== | ||
There are several verses of the Quran regarding tahaddi: | There are several [[verses]] of the Quran regarding tahaddi: | ||
* The challenge of the whole Quran, 17:88. | * The challenge of the whole Quran, [[Sura al-Isra|17]]:88. | ||
* The challenge of ten chapters of the Quran, 11:13. | * The challenge of ten chapters of the Quran, [[Sura Hud|11]]:13. | ||
* The challenge of one chapter of the Quran, 10:38. | * The challenge of one chapter of the Quran, [[Sura Yunus|10]]:38. | ||
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. | The Quran has not challenged its opponents to bring one verse, since a verse might include a word, such as "{{ia|مُدْهَامَّتَانِ}}" (dark green) without communicating a full concept. | ||
An important point regarding tahaddi is that it is not a challenge to bring sentences apparently similar to those of the Quran, since this is just an imitation of Quranic phrases and would count as plagiarism. Thus it is a challenge to create words that have features like those of Quranic words. | An important point regarding tahaddi is that it is not a challenge to bring sentences apparently similar to those of the Quran, since this is just an imitation of Quranic phrases and would count as plagiarism. Thus it is a challenge to create words that have features like those of Quranic words. | ||
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* Quranic challenge to knowledge, that is, if people doubt the divine origins of the Quran, then they can all cooperate to bring a book that is similar to the Quran with respect to knowledge involved in it. | * Quranic challenge to knowledge, that is, if people doubt the divine origins of the Quran, then they can all cooperate to bring a book that is similar to the Quran with respect to knowledge involved in it. | ||
* The Quranic challenge to find contradictions within the Quran, 4:82. | * The Quranic challenge to find contradictions within the Quran, [[Sura al-Nisa'|4]]:82. | ||
* The Quranic challenge to disclose [[knowledge of the hidden]], 11:49. | * The Quranic challenge to disclose [[knowledge of the hidden]], [[Sura Hud|11]]:49. | ||
==The Scope of Tahaddi== | ==The Scope of Tahaddi== | ||
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==The Subject-Matter of Tahaddi== | ==The Subject-Matter of Tahaddi== | ||
Appealing to Quranic self-descriptions that are directed at its contents, rather than its formal structures, and to the Quran 28:49, some scholars take tahaddi to be concerned with the contents of the Quran, rather than its words. However, verses of tahaddi are unqualified in this respect, which is why many scholars take tahaddi to include both contents and words. | Appealing to Quranic self-descriptions that are directed at its contents, rather than its formal structures, and to the Quran [[Sura al-Qasas|28]]:49, some scholars take tahaddi to be concerned with the contents of the Quran, rather than its words. However, verses of tahaddi are unqualified in this respect, which is why many scholars take tahaddi to include both contents and words. | ||
Some exegetes of the Quran appealed to verses of tahaddi to relate it to knowledge and guidance of the Quran, its issuance from an illiterate prophet, its knowledge of the hidden, there being no contradiction in it, its eloquence, its forms, and its contents. | Some exegetes of the Quran appealed to verses of tahaddi to relate it to knowledge and guidance of the Quran, its issuance from an illiterate prophet, its knowledge of the hidden, there being no contradiction in it, its eloquence, its forms, and its contents. | ||
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==Pseudo-Contenders== | ==Pseudo-Contenders== | ||
Nadr b. Harith, a tough enemy of the Prophet (s), was the first person who attempted to take up the Quranic challenge by narrating the stories of Rostam and Esfandiyar. According to some [[hadiths]], the Quranic verse, [[Sura al-Anfal|8]]:31, is about Nadr b. Harith. | |||
[[Musaylima al-Kadhdhab]] also made up offensive sentences to take up the Quranic challenge. | [[Musaylima al-Kadhdhab]] also made up offensive sentences to take up the Quranic challenge. | ||
Aswad al-'Anasi also claimed to take up the challenge. | |||
'Abd Allah b. Muqaffa' is also said to have attempted to challenge the Quran, but he withdrew it after a while and destroyed all he had written. According to [[Abu Bakr al-Baqilani]] and [[Ibn Qayyim]], when Ibn Muqaffa' wanted to create something similar to the verse number 44 of [[Sura al-Hud]], he admitted that humans cannot take up the Quranic challenge. | |||
[[Ibn Abi l-'Awja']], [[Abu Shakir al-Disani]] and [['Abd al-Malik al-Basri]] also attempted to take up the Quranic challenge, but they eventually admitted that they failed to do so. | [[Ibn Abi l-'Awja']], [[Abu Shakir al-Disani]] and [['Abd al-Malik al-Basri]] also attempted to take up the Quranic challenge, but they eventually admitted that they failed to do so. | ||