The Light of Truth — Page 249
REFUTING OBJECTIONS considered worthless according to renowned literary scholars and gifted orators of classical Arabic. The Arabs did not, however, take this course, nor did they reject this claim [of the Quran]. On the contrary, they accepted the Quran as the highest degree of eloquence and marvelled at the grandeur of its fluency, and exclaimed: 1 إِنْ هَذَا الَّا سِحْرٌ مُّبِينٌ . Most of them believed in its miraculous nature and conceded to its challenge. They were unable to comprehend its true measure, and admitted that this Word transcended the speech of human beings; and that the whole of this fruit was the sweet inner flesh and had nothing of the outer peel; and that it possessed elegance and sweetness; and that it is an outpouring of water that did not diminish when the people drank from it. They did not utter a single word in criticism of its status, nor did they say anything to challenge its exposition. They disregarded the beauty of thought while in its presence, but then returned in a state of fear and remorse. Indeed, the majority of them would shed tears upon hearing its recitation and would fall prostrate, crying. In accordance with my belief, faithfully, truthfully, and with integrity-this is what we find in the Holy Quran and the Hadith of the benevolent and merciful Prophet. Moreover, we do not find a single word to contradict this from either the Christians or the idol-worshippers of that era, and they were better than you in linguistic critique, O ignorant people! As for your assertion that certain words in the Quran are not from the spoken language of the Quraish, you have said this out of pure ignorance and thoughtlessness—and you are indeed not among those granted insight. O foolish and lowly 1. 'This is nothing but manifest sorcery. (Sūrah al-An'ām, 6:8) [Publisher] 249