أَمْ يَقُولُونَ افْتَرَاهُ قُلْ فَأْتُواْ بِسُورَةٍ مِّثْلِهِ وَادْعُواْ مَنِ اسْتَطَعْتُم مِّن دُونِ اللّهِ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
Or do they say: "He has forged it!"
Say: "Bring then a Surah like unto it, and call upon whomsoever you can besides Allah, if you are truthful!"
If you argue, claim and doubt whether this is from Allah then you uttered a lie and blasphemy, and you say it is from Muhammad -- Muhammad, however is a man like you, and since he came as you claim with this Qur'an -- then you produce a Surah like one of its Surahs. Produce something of the same nature and seek help and support with all the power you have from humans and Jinns.
This is the third stage, Allah challenged them and called them to produce a counterpart of the Qur'an if they were truthful in their claim that it was simply from Muhammad. Allah even suggested that they seek help from anyone they chose. But He told them that they would not be able to do it. They would have no way of doing so.
Allah said:
قُل لَّيِنِ اجْتَمَعَتِ الاِنسُ وَالْجِنُّ عَلَى أَن يَأْتُواْ بِمِثْلِ هَـذَا الْقُرْءَانِ لاَ يَأْتُونَ بِمِثْلِهِ وَلَوْ كَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ ظَهِيرًا
Say: "If the mankind and the Jinn were together to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they helped one another." (17:88)
Then He reduced the number for them to ten Surahs similar to it, in the beginning of Surah Hud, Allah said:
أَمْ يَقُولُونَ افْتَرَاهُ قُلْ فَأْتُواْ بِعَشْرِ سُوَرٍ مِّثْلِهِ مُفْتَرَيَاتٍ وَادْعُواْ مَنِ اسْتَطَعْتُمْ مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ إِن كُنتُمْ صَـدِقِينَ
Or they say, "He forged it."
Say: "Bring you then ten forged Surah like unto it, and call whomsoever you can, other than Allah, if you speak the truth!" (11:13)
In this Surah He went even further to challenge them to produce only one Surah like unto the Qur'an.
So He said:
أَمْ يَقُولُونَ افْتَرَاهُ قُلْ فَأْتُواْ بِسُورَةٍ مِّثْلِهِ وَادْعُواْ مَنِ اسْتَطَعْتُم مِّن دُونِ اللّهِ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
Or do they say: "He has forged it" Say: "Bring then a Surah like unto it, and call upon whomsoever you can besides Allah, if you are truthful!" (10:38)
He also challenged them in Surah Al-Baqarah, a Madni Surah, to produce one Surah similar to it. He stated in that Surah that they would never be capable of doing so, saying:
فَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلُواْ وَلَن تَفْعَلُواْ فَاتَّقُواْ النَّارَ
But if you do it not, and you can never do it, then fear the Fire (Hell). (2:24)
It should be noted here that eloquence was a part of the nature and character of the Arabs. Arabic poetry including Al-Mu`allaqat -- the oldest complete collection of the most eloquent ancient Arabic poems -- was considered to be the best in the literary arts. However Allah sent down to them something whose style none were familiar with, and no one is equal in stature to imitate. So those who believed among them, believed because of what they knew and felt in the Book, including its beauty, elegance, benefit, and fluency. They became the most knowledgeable of the Qur'an and its best in adhering to it.
The same thing happened to the magicians during Fir`awn's time. They were knowledgeable of the arts of sorcery, however, when Musa performed his miracles, they knew that it must have come through someone that was supported and guided by Allah. They knew that no human could perform such acts without the permission of Allah.
Similarly, `Isa was sent at the time of scholarly medicine and during the advancement in the treatment of patients. He healed the blind, lepers and raised the dead to life by Allah's leave. What `Isa was able to do was such that no form of treatment or medicine could reproduce. As a result, those who believed in him knew that he was Allah's servant and His Messenger.
Similarly, in the Sahih, Allah's Messenger said,
مَا مِنْ نَبِيَ مِنَ الاْاَنْبِيَاءِ إِلاَّ وَقَدْ أُوتِيَ مِنَ الاْايَاتِ مَا امَنَ عَلَى مِثْلِهِ الْبَشَرُ وَإِنَّمَا كَانَ الَّذِي أُوتِيتُهُ وَحْيًا أَوْحَاهُ اللهُ إِلَيَّ فَأَرْجُو أَنْ أَكُونَ أَكْثَرَهُمْ تَابِعًا
There was never a Prophet but he was given signs by which the people would recognize him, and that which I was given is revelation that Allah revealed, so I hope that I will have the most followers among them.
Allah then said:
