Translation of the Meanings of the Noble Qur'an - English Translation - Dr. Waleed Bleyhesh Omary * - Translations’ Index
Translation of the meanings Ayah: (88) Surah: Al-Isrā’
قُل لَّئِنِ ٱجۡتَمَعَتِ ٱلۡإِنسُ وَٱلۡجِنُّ عَلَىٰٓ أَن يَأۡتُواْ بِمِثۡلِ هَٰذَا ٱلۡقُرۡءَانِ لَا يَأۡتُونَ بِمِثۡلِهِۦ وَلَوۡ كَانَ بَعۡضُهُمۡ لِبَعۡضٖ ظَهِيرٗا
(88) [3690]Say ˹Muhammad˺: “Should humans and the jinn[3691] rally up together to come up with the like of this Qur’an, they shall not come up with the like of it, even if they were backing each other” [3692].
[3690] The Qur’an is the greatest miracle which is singularly inimitable; a “great favour” on the Noble Messenger (ﷺ) indeed (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr) being the ultimate, conclusive, everlasting proof of his Messengership (cf. Abū Ḥayyān).
[3691] The jinn are specifically mentioned here either to denote all-inclusiveness and/or in answer to the Arabs who believed that the jinn were able to do stupendous feats of verbal art (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr).
[3692] The Qur’an’s miraculousness and inimitability lie in both its word and meaning. It lies in the way it is worded and styled, and how its words denote meaning, as well as how it informs us about the Unseen: God Almighty, His Names and Attributes, His angels, telling of long-gone events and happenings, the resurrection and how creation returns to their Creator. Its miraculousness is, moreover, borne out in the cogent logical examples and potent similitudes that it poses (cf. Ibn Taymiyyah, al-Jawāb al-Ṣaḥīḥ, 5: 428). The Qur’an is rife with scientific miracles that only modern scientific breakthroughs and advanced technology have revealed and were not available to people at the time of revelation (cf. for example: 32: 12-14 (which detail the formation of human embryos in the womb); 24: 43 and 30: 48 (which detail how rain clouds come to be formed high up in the sky); 78: 7 (which says that the mountains are pegs that stabilize the crust of the Earth). People will continue to discover more scientific miracles in the Qur’an and signs of its Truth as they develop their tools and become wiser: “We shall show them Our Signs in the horizons, and within themselves, until it becomes clear to them that it is the Truth” (41: 53).
This very daring challenge in and of itself is proof enough of its miraculousness (cf. Ibn Taymiyyah, al-Jawāb al-Ṣaḥīḥ, 5: 408). Assuming for the sake of argument that the Noble Messenger (ﷺ) was the author of the Qur’an, a wise heart would not dare pose such a glaring challenge to those who are keenest on discrediting him, especially when they are the greatest in the art they are being dared to.
The inimitability of the Qur’an is such that the Qur’an itself mounts a challenge for its contemporaries, repeated a number of times (cf. 2: 23, 10: 38, 11: 13, 17: 88), to come up with something like it, ten suras, or even a single sura of it. It is quite telling to note that this challenge was posed to a people who were acknowledged masters of the art of oratory and rhetoric, poetry and prose, rhymed prose and soothsaying. In fact, in pre-Islamic Arabia, the Arabs esteemed linguistic prowess to such an extent that they held annual meetings, prominent among which were ʿUkāẓ (being the name of the place where the competitions used to be held), al-Nadwah (the forum) and Dhū-l-Majāz (that of the figurative language), in which every linguistic talent was showcased and the latest magna opera of celebrated orators and poets were made public. Some poems were immortalized by being written in gilded letters and suspended over the walls of Arabia’s holiest shrine ever, the Kaʿbah in Makkah. These poems became widely known as muʿallaqāt (the hanging odes) and are still being lovingly memorized by Arab literature connoisseurs and school-children up to this day. Also, it is worth noting that these people were absolutely bent on discrediting the Qur’an and ascribing it to the Prophet as we can see in this sura and in the rest of the Qur’an.
[3691] The jinn are specifically mentioned here either to denote all-inclusiveness and/or in answer to the Arabs who believed that the jinn were able to do stupendous feats of verbal art (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr).
[3692] The Qur’an’s miraculousness and inimitability lie in both its word and meaning. It lies in the way it is worded and styled, and how its words denote meaning, as well as how it informs us about the Unseen: God Almighty, His Names and Attributes, His angels, telling of long-gone events and happenings, the resurrection and how creation returns to their Creator. Its miraculousness is, moreover, borne out in the cogent logical examples and potent similitudes that it poses (cf. Ibn Taymiyyah, al-Jawāb al-Ṣaḥīḥ, 5: 428). The Qur’an is rife with scientific miracles that only modern scientific breakthroughs and advanced technology have revealed and were not available to people at the time of revelation (cf. for example: 32: 12-14 (which detail the formation of human embryos in the womb); 24: 43 and 30: 48 (which detail how rain clouds come to be formed high up in the sky); 78: 7 (which says that the mountains are pegs that stabilize the crust of the Earth). People will continue to discover more scientific miracles in the Qur’an and signs of its Truth as they develop their tools and become wiser: “We shall show them Our Signs in the horizons, and within themselves, until it becomes clear to them that it is the Truth” (41: 53).
This very daring challenge in and of itself is proof enough of its miraculousness (cf. Ibn Taymiyyah, al-Jawāb al-Ṣaḥīḥ, 5: 408). Assuming for the sake of argument that the Noble Messenger (ﷺ) was the author of the Qur’an, a wise heart would not dare pose such a glaring challenge to those who are keenest on discrediting him, especially when they are the greatest in the art they are being dared to.
The inimitability of the Qur’an is such that the Qur’an itself mounts a challenge for its contemporaries, repeated a number of times (cf. 2: 23, 10: 38, 11: 13, 17: 88), to come up with something like it, ten suras, or even a single sura of it. It is quite telling to note that this challenge was posed to a people who were acknowledged masters of the art of oratory and rhetoric, poetry and prose, rhymed prose and soothsaying. In fact, in pre-Islamic Arabia, the Arabs esteemed linguistic prowess to such an extent that they held annual meetings, prominent among which were ʿUkāẓ (being the name of the place where the competitions used to be held), al-Nadwah (the forum) and Dhū-l-Majāz (that of the figurative language), in which every linguistic talent was showcased and the latest magna opera of celebrated orators and poets were made public. Some poems were immortalized by being written in gilded letters and suspended over the walls of Arabia’s holiest shrine ever, the Kaʿbah in Makkah. These poems became widely known as muʿallaqāt (the hanging odes) and are still being lovingly memorized by Arab literature connoisseurs and school-children up to this day. Also, it is worth noting that these people were absolutely bent on discrediting the Qur’an and ascribing it to the Prophet as we can see in this sura and in the rest of the Qur’an.
Arabic explanations of the Qur’an:
Translation of the meanings Ayah: (88) Surah: Al-Isrā’
Translation of the Meanings of the Noble Qur'an - English Translation - Dr. Waleed Bleyhesh Omary - Translations’ Index
Translation of the meanings of the Noble Qur’an into English - in progress - translated by Dr. Walid Bleihesh Al-Omari.