إعجاز القرآن
Iʿjāz al-Qurʾān
Topic
The inimitability of the Quran: the claim that no one can produce its like, which shows its divine origin.
What it means
Iʿjāz means making others unable to match something. Iʿjāz al-Qurʾān is the doctrine that the Quran cannot be equalled in its language, meaning and effect, and that this is evidence of its divine origin. The Quran itself issues the challenge to produce a surah like it (2:23, 10:38), and to bring ten (11:13) or even the whole of it (17:88), even if humans and jinn united to try.
Muslims have found the inimitability in the Quran’s Arabic style and rhythm, its structure, its knowledge of the unseen and its effect on listeners. Scholars such as al-Baqillani and al-Jurjani wrote on its eloquence. Faruqi stresses that the Quran is the verbatim word of God, and on this view its form cannot be separated from its meaning, which is why translation never reproduces it fully.
Often misunderstood as
It is mistaken for a claim that the Quran is simply beautiful poetry, while the claim is that the whole work cannot be matched by any human effort.
What the sources say
Scholars differ on the grounds of inimitability: some stress eloquence, others the content, others that God withheld the ability to imitate. All agree that the challenge was never met.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 49, listed as I'JĀZ AL QUR'ĀN. The definition is restated here.