Arabs in the time of the Prophet were proud of their language. They were proud of it, since Arabic language is very rich and sophisticated one. Poets and eloquent speakers were almost idols of their tribes. Poems were learned and read on every occasion, and yearly competitions were held for the best pieces of poetry in a place called Suq 'Ukaz. Thus literature was the best art the Arabs had mastered very well.

The Quran came and its miracle, to their surprise, was its language and style. The Quran was the challenge; God asked them to produce a similar Quran.

Say: If the whole of mankind and jinns gathered together to produce the like of this Quran, they could not produce the like thereof even if they backed up each other (17:88)
The whole of mankind to cooperate to produce just one book! But it was extended even to the jinns!! And backing up each other!!! Still they could not bring its equal!!!

Then the challenge was reduced to ten surahs, to show them their weakness and helplessness:

"Do they say 'He has forged it?' Say, 'Bring you, then, ten surahs like unto it forged, and call (to your aid) whomsoever you can, other than God! if you speak the truth.'" (11:13)

They could not meet even that challenge, and it was reduced at last to one surah only:

"Do they say 'He forged it'? Say, 'Bring then a surah like unto it and call to your aid anyone you can, besides God, if you speak the truth.'" (10:38)

One surah may be only one line. Still the proud eloquent Arabs could not face the challenge. You can see the logical reasoning and rational approach to convince the Arabs of its miraculous quality. A surah may be only one line but the Arabs (and non-Arabs too) could not succeed in their attempts to meet the standing challenge. The beauty of the Quran, the strength of its conviction, its logic and simplicity, and its depth and wisdom are far above what the Arabs or non-Arabs know or conceive. When the Quran was read, the idolaters used to close their ears; some used to make noise, whistling and chanting, in order not to hear the Quran; lest they be 'bewitched'. The nonbelievers could not give any reasonable explanation to this irresistible beauty and power of the Quran. However, they had to find some excuse to put people off and to justify their enmity. They invented lies and said, "The Quran is not but poetry or magic." That was the excuse they could find for their utter failure and helplessness!

God refuted this allegation in this 'ayah: "Therefore continue to remind, for by the grace of your Lord you are no soothsayer; nor are you one possessed." (52:29)

We also know that Arabs waged war upon war to silence the Holy Prophet. But the easiest way would have been to produce a short surah (like al-Kawthar) of equal standard and the claim of the Prophet would have been refuted. No sane person would use sword when a few words could serve his purpose in a more effective way. But the Arabs preferred war and by doing so they practically acknowledged that they could not produce the like of the Quran.

Not that they did not try to produce its equal. There is a short surah (al-Qari'ah) describing the Day of Judgement the opening ayat of which are:

"The great calamity! What is the great calamity? And what should make thee know what the great calamity is? The day when mankind will be like moths scattered about; and the mountains will be like carded wool..." (101:1-5)

A pagan Arab tried to reply it and produced these sentences:

"The elephant, and what is the elephant? And what should make thee know what is the elephant is? It has a heavy body and short tail and long trunk."

Needless to say that all he earned in gratitude from his fellows was ridicule.

Likewise, in the days of Imam Ja'far As-Sadiq (a.s.), Ibn Abi 'l-'Awjâ', Abu Shakirad-Daysani, 'Abdu 'l-Malik al-Basri and Ibnu 'l-Muqaffa' planned to write the reply of the Qur'ân. They decided to write the reply of one-fourth of the Book each. The time and place of their next meeting: during the hajj next year in the precincts of the Ka'bah.

When they gathered together next year, Ibn Abi 'l-'Awjâ' said: "Since we dispersed (last year), I have been pondering upon the verse, 'And when they despaired of him, they retired whispering' (12:80); and I found myself unable to write something comparable to its eloquence and meaning; I was too engrossed in this verse to look at the others."

'Abdu 'l-Malik said that the same happened to him about the verse, "O you people! A parable is set forth, so listen you unto it! Verily, those whom you call upon besides Allah can never create (even) a fly, even though they all gather together for it; and should the fly carry away any thing from them, they cannot take it back from it; (how) weak the invoker and the invoked!" (22:73) and he could not compose anything like it.

Abu Shâkir said: "Since I left you (last year), I am pondering on the verse, 'Had there been in them [the heavens and the earth] gods except Allah, they both had been in disorde' (21:22); and have been unable to write its like."

Ibnu 'l-Muqaffa' said: O people! This Quran is not from man's speech; I too since leaving you had been thinking about the verse, "And it was said, 'O Earth! Swallow down thy water, and O sky! Withhold; and the water was made to subside, and the matter was ended; and it [the Ark] rested on the (mountain) Judi; and the word went forth: 'Away with those who do wrong.'" (11:44) The fact is I could not fathom its beauty and could not produce equal to it.

They were thus engrossed in this secret talk when Imam Ja'far as-Sâdiq (a.s.) passed by them and read the following 'ayah:

"Say, if the whole of mankind and jinns gathered together to produce the likeness of this Quran, they could not produce the like thereof even if they were helpers of each other" (17:88)

This challenge and the prophecy that they could never bring its equal is the most prominent feature of the miracle of the Quran. It is admitted even by non-Muslims.

F.F. Arbuthnot writes: "From the literary point of view, the Koran is regarded as a specimen of the purest Arabic, written in half poetry and half prose. It has been said that in some cases grammarians have adopted their rules to agree with certain phrases and expressions used in it, and that, though several attempts have been made to produce a work equal to it as far as elegant writing is concerned, none has as yet succeeded."

J. Christy Wilson writes: "Much of the Koran is in a sort of rhymed cadence that resembles poetry but may still be termed prose. From the point of view of literature, it is considered supreme in Arabic and has no doubt influenced the language to an even greater extent than the King James Version of the Bible has influenced English. Being thus the absolute model for literary style and diction, as well as the authoritative pronouncement of Allah, it is considered the one great miracle of Mohammed; in fact he repeatedly challenged his adversaries to produce anything like it."

H.A.R. Gibb, writes: "Well then, if the Koran were his own composition other men could rival it. Let them produce ten verses like it. If they could not (and it is obvious that they could not) then let them accept the Koran as an outstanding evidential miracle."

Hany Gaylord Dorman writes: "It (Quran) is a literal revelation of God, dictated to Muhammad by Gabriel, perfect in every letter. It is an ever-present miracle witnessing to itself and to Muhammad, the Prophet of God. Its miraculous quality resides partly in its style, so perfect and lofty that neither men nor Jinn could produce a single chapter to compare with its briefest chapter, and partly in its content of teachings, prophecies about the future, and amazingly accurate information such as the illiterate Muhammad could never have gathered of his own accord."

And Paul Casanova wrote: "Whenever Muhammad was asked a miracle, as a proof of the authenticity of his mission, he quoted the composition of the Quran and its incomparable excellence as proof of its Divine origin. And, in fact, even for those who are non-Muslims nothing is more marvelous than its language which with such a prehensile plenitude and a grasping sonority with its simple audition ravished with admiration those primitive peoples so fond of eloquence. The ampleness of its syllables with a grandiose cadence and with a remarkable rhythm have been of much moment in the conversion of the most hostile and the most skeptic."