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Party Like It's 632 Islam

Turning towards Mecca

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“”You claim that the evidentiary miracle is present and available, namely, the Qur'an. You say: "Whoever denies it, let him produce a similar one." Indeed, we shall produce a thousand similar, from the works of rhetoricians, eloquent speakers and valiant poets, which are more appropriately phrased and state the issues more succinctly. They convey the meaning better and their rhymed prose is in better meter. By God what you say astonishes us! You are talking about a work which recounts ancient myths, and which at the same time is full of contradictions and does not contain any useful information or explanation. Then you say: "Produce something like it?!"

—Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi

The Surah Like It Challenge refers to the Qur'an's invitation for anyone who doubts its divinity to produce a single surah like that of the Qur'an. Since it was first stated in the Qur'an itself, it is one of the most famous pieces of apologetics for Islam, and perhaps the only unique Islamic argument which does not have a direct equivalent in other religions.

The underlying premise of the challenge is that if the Qur'an could not be reproduced, this would prove its divinity. Notwithstanding the many attempts to produce a "surah like it," the challenge suffers from logical problems in the premise and an immense practical problem in that the Qur'an does not provide any objective criteria for the challenge.