Surah Al Isra ayat 88 Tafsir Quran 17:88

﴿قُل لَّئِنِ اجْتَمَعَتِ الْإِنسُ وَالْجِنُّ عَلَىٰ أَن يَأْتُوا بِمِثْلِ هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنِ لَا يَأْتُونَ بِمِثْلِهِ وَلَوْ كَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ ظَهِيرًا﴾
[ الإسراء: 88]

17:88 Say, "If mankind and the jinn gathered in order to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could not produce the like of it, even if they were to each other assistants."

Say ‘Verily should mankind and jinn come together to produce the like of this Qur’ān the like thereof in terms of clarity and rhetorical excellence they could not produce the like thereof even if they backed one another’ even if one was an assistant of the other. This verse was revealed as a refutation of their statement ‘If we wish we can speak the like of this’ Q. 831.

Say to them It could not be more emphasized that if both mankind and the Jinn should come together to compose a divine discourse of a like nature to the Quran, never shall they be able to produce a discourse of its likeness even with the help of one party to the other

If Allah willed, He could take away the Qur'an Allah mentions the blessing and great bounty that He has bestowed upon His servant and Messenger Muhammad by revealing to Him the Noble Qur'an to which falsehood cannot come, from before it or behind it, ( it is ) sent down by the All-Wise, Worthy of all praise.
Ibn Mas`ud said, "A red wind will come to the people, meaning at the end of time, from the direction of Syria, and there will be nothing left in a man's Mushaf ( copy of the Qur'an ) or in his heart, not even one Ayah." Then Ibn Mas`ud recited: وَلَئِن شِئْنَا لَنَذْهَبَنَّ بِالَّذِى أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ ( And if We willed, We could surely take away that which We have revealed to you. ) Challenging by the Qur'an Then Allah points out the great virtue of the Qur'an, and says that even if mankind and the Jinn were all to come together and agree to produce something like that which was revealed to His Messenger , they would never be able to do it, even if they were to cooperate and support and help one another.
This is something which is impossible.
How could the words of created beings be like the Words of the Creator Who has no equal and peer, for there is none like unto Him وَلَقَدْ صَرَّفْنَا لِلنَّاسِ ( And indeed We have fully explained to man- kind, ) meaning, `We have furnished them with evidence and defini- tive proof, and We have shown them the truth and explained it in detail, yet despite that most of mankind insist on disbelief, i.e., denying and rejecting the truth.'

(17:88) Declare this, "Even if human beings and jinns should cooperate with one another to bring forth a book like the Qur'an, they will never be able to bring anything like it, even though all of them help one another." *105

Say, "If mankind and the jinn gathered meaning

*105) This challenge occurs at several other places in the Qur'an: ( II: 23, X: 38-39, XL: 13-14, LII: 33-34 ).
At all these places, this has been cited as an answer to the charge of the disbelievers that Muhammad ( Allah's peace be upon him ) has himself invented the Qur'an but is presenting it as Allah's Word.
Besides this, the same has also been refuted in X: 16: " Say also, `Had not Allah willed that I should recite the Qur'an to you, I could not have recited it to you, nor could I have been able to give you any information about it: already have I lived a lifetime among you before its revelation.
Do you not use your common sense?' "
Now let us turn to the three arguments contained in these verses as a proof that the Qur'an is the Word of Allah.

( 1 ) The Qur'an is such a miracle in regard to its language, style, arguments, themes, topics, teachings and prophecies that it is beyond any human power to produce the like of it, as if to say, " You say that a man has invented this but We challenge that even the whole of mankind combined cannot produce a Book like this: nay, even if the jinns, whom the mushriks worship as deities and whom this Book openly attacks, should come to the help of the disbelievers, they cannot produce a Book like this to refute this challenge. "
( 2 ) As regards the charge that Muhammad ( Allah's peace be upon him ) has himself invented this Book, the Qur'an refutes their claim, as if to say, " Muhammad is one of you and not a foreigner.
He has lived among you for forty years before the revelation of the Qur'an.
Did you ever hear words like those of the Qur'an from him even a day before his claim of Prophethood, or did you ever hear him discussing themes and problems contained in the Qur'an? If you consider the matter from this point of view, it will become obvious to you that the sudden change which has come about in the language, ideas, information, style and the way of thinking of Muhammad, could not take place without Divine Guidance. "
( 3 ) " Can you not see that after the recital of the Qur'an he dces not disappear but lives among you? You hear other things than the Qur'an from him.
Do you not notice that the distinction between the two different styles of expression is so obvious that no man can successfully adopt the two styles at one and the same time? " The distinction can also be noticed, even today, between the language of the Qur'an and that of the Traditions of the Holy Prophet.
Anyone well-versed in the Arabic language and literature notices the difference which is so marked that one can categorically say that these modes of expression cannot belong to one and the same person.
( For further reference please also see E.N.
21 of X 16 ).

 

If Allah willed, He could take away the Qur'an Allah mentions the blessing and great bounty that He has bestowed upon His servant and Messenger Muhammad by revealing to Him the Noble Qur'an to which falsehood cannot come, from before it or behind it, ( it is ) sent down by the All-Wise, Worthy of all praise.
Ibn Mas`ud said, "A red wind will come to the people, meaning at the end of time, from the direction of Syria, and there will be nothing left in a man's Mushaf ( copy of the Qur'an ) or in his heart, not even one Ayah." Then Ibn Mas`ud recited: وَلَئِن شِئْنَا لَنَذْهَبَنَّ بِالَّذِى أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ ( And if We willed, We could surely take away that which We have revealed to you. ) Challenging by the Qur'an Then Allah points out the great virtue of the Qur'an, and says that even if mankind and the Jinn were all to come together and agree to produce something like that which was revealed to His Messenger , they would never be able to do it, even if they were to cooperate and support and help one another.
This is something which is impossible.
How could the words of created beings be like the Words of the Creator Who has no equal and peer, for there is none like unto Him وَلَقَدْ صَرَّفْنَا لِلنَّاسِ ( And indeed We have fully explained to man- kind, ) meaning, `We have furnished them with evidence and defini- tive proof, and We have shown them the truth and explained it in detail, yet despite that most of mankind insist on disbelief, i.e., denying and rejecting the truth.'

( Say ) O Muhammad to the people of Mecca: ( Verily, though mankind and the jinn should assemble to produce the like of this Qur’an ) conveying therein commands and prohibitions, promises and threats, abrogating and abrogated verses, clear and ambiguous verses and the events of the past and of the future, ( they could not produce the like thereof though they were helpers one of another ).

Say: "If the mankind and the jinns were together to produce the like of this Quran, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they helped one another."

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