third claim:the qur’an is the pure word of god having no human author

after having examined the theories that either muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) wrote the qur’an and that he got it from other sources and discussing the flaws in those arguments, the logical question beckons that if muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) did not write the qur’an nor get it from another human or collect it from other sources, then where did it come from?

we must now examine the theory that says that the qur’an is the word of god sent to muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and by extension that he is the messenger of god.

the challenge

 first of all, the qur’an in several places challenges mankind by saying:

say: "if the mankind and the jinns were together to produce the like of this qur'an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they helped one another." [qur'an 17:88]

and if you (arab pagans, jews, and christians) are in doubt concerning that which we have sent down (i.e. the qur'an) to our slave (muhammad, peace be upon him ), then produce a surah (chapter) of the like thereof and call your witnesses (supporters and helpers) besides allah, if you are truthful. [qur'an 2:23]

and this qur’an is not such as could ever be produced by other than allah (lord of the heavens and the earth), but it is a confirmation of (the revelation) which was before it [i.e. the taurat (torah), and the injeel (gospel), etc.], and a full explanation of the book (i.e. laws and orders, etc, decreed for mankind) – wherein there is no doubt from the the lord of the worlds. or do they say: "he (muhammad, peace be upon him) has forged it?" say: "bring then a surah (chapter) like it, and call upon whomsoever you can, besides allah, if you are truthful!" [qur’an 10:37-38]

or they say, "he (prophet muhammad, peace be upon him) forged it (the qur’an)."

say: "bring you then ten forged surah (chapters) like unto it, and call whomsoever you can, other than allah (to your help), if you speak the truth!" [qur’an 11:13]

or do they say: "he (muhammad peace be upon him) has forged it (this qur’an)?" nay! they believe not! let them then produce a recital like unto it if they are truthful. [qur’an 52:33-34]

however, despite these repeated challenges, the arabs who were at the height of their poetic eloquence during the time of revelation of the qur'an still could not even produce the shortest surah like it. alqama bin cabd al-manaf confirmed this when he addressed the quraysh tribe by saying:

oh quraish, a new calamity has befallen you. mohammed was a young man the most liked among you, most truthful in speech, and most trustworthy, until, when you saw gray hairs on his temple, and he brought you his message, you said that he was a sorcerer, but he is not, for we have seen such people and their spitting and their knots; (i.e., signs of people who engage in black magic) you said, a mystic, but we have seen such people and their behavior, and we have heard their rhymes; you said a soothsayer, but he is not a soothsayer, for we have heard their rhymes; and you said a poet, but he is not a poet, for we have heard all kinds of poetry; you said he was possessed, but he is not for we have seen the possessed, and he shows no signs of their gasping and whispering and delirium. (signs of possession) oh men of quraish, look to your affairs, for by allah a serious thing has befallen you.

this is a challenge that still stands today, as no one has met this challenge in the over one thousand four hundred (1,400) years since it was first made. this is a point upon which we ask the reader to ponder.