The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 70
CH. 2 AL-BAQARAH of acceptance, PT. 1 the of the word see note under 1:5. As worthy explained there, the verb means, disbelievers should produce one like it. If they cannot, then this very fact would prove them to be wrong. he showed complete submissiveness and humility; or he received the imprint of a thing. So would mean a person who, through complete submission and humility to God, has become, as it were, an image of God. The word has been used here about the Holy Prophet by way endearment and is expressive of the exalted position he holds in the sight of God. (helpers) is the plural of of which is derived from i. e. he was present; or he gave witness, etc. Thus means, one who is present; one who sees or witnesses; one who gives testimony or evidence; one who possesses much knowledge; one from whose knowledge nothing is hidden (Aqrab & Lane); also a helper (Mufradāt). Following the last mentioned signification the word may also refer here to the Jews who were friends of the disbelievers (5:81) and spoke of the idolaters as being better guided in religion than those who believe (4:52). Commentary: In the preceding two verses the Quran gave its first commandment to the people. Having been thus directly addressed by God, the polytheistic disbelievers felt a natural reaction to repudiate the monotheistic teaching of the Quran, because they felt that its acceptance meant that they should give up their long cherished beliefs. In the present verse God says that if the Quran created doubts and disquietude in their minds and is not 70 The subject of the incomparable excellence of the Quran, has been dealt with at five different places in the Quran, i. e. in 2:24; 10:39; 11:14; 17:89; & 52:34, 35, and disbelievers have been challenged, to produce its equal. In two of these five verses (2:24 & while in the remaining three verses 10:39) the challenge is identical, three separate and different demands have been made from disbelievers. demand in 17:89, disbelievers are Thus, to begin with the largest challenged to produce the like of the whole Quran, and they have been told that even if all jinn and men should join together, they would not be able to produce it. In 11:14 the challenge is limited to the production of ten chapters. In 2:24 and 10:39, however, it has been confined to one Surah only; while in 52:34-35, the condition of even one Surah has been omitted and disbelievers have been given the option of producing even a single narration similar to any one narration (i. e. announcement) of the Quran. On the face of it, this difference in the form of the challenge at different places seems to be incongruent and to spring from a lack of harmony in the Quran. Some commentators have endeavoured to explain away this seeming incongruity by saying that it was due to the challenge having been made at different times. At first disbelievers were called upon to produce the like of the whole Quran.