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wa-la-qad naʿlamu ʾannahum yaqūlūna ʾinnamā yuʿallimuhū basharun lisānu lladhī yulḥidūna ʾilayhi ʾaʿjamiyyun wa-hādhā lisānun ʿarabiyyun mubīnun
We certainly know that they say, ‘It is only a human that instructs him.’ The language of him to whom they refer is non-Arabic, while this is a clear Arabic language.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah An-Nahl – Verse 103
103. “And certainly We know that they say: ‘Only a mortal teaches him’. The language of him at whom they hint is outlandish, while this (Qur’an) is clear Arabic.”
It seems apparently there was a non-Arab person living in Mecca and the pagans accused the blissful Prophet (S) of receiving the Qur’anic instructions from him and he ascribed them to Allah, while one may raise the issue as how could a person teach the other if they did not know each other’s language? And how is it that no one claimed at that time that he had been the instructor of the Prophet? And how is it that the words which were revealed in the course of 23 years and under various circumstances did not contradict one another?
And why is it that the said instructor himself did not claim to be a prophet himself? And how is it that no one has answered the challenge of the Qur’an that were even one Surah to be produced by anyone, the Qur’an would take its claim back? And how is it that words uttered during the ‘Age of Ignorance’ have not been even partially discovered and their secrets revealed by the scientists even to-day? And how is it that a Book, a Surah of which has not even been produced by the dissident Arabs, could have been brought forward and taught by a non-Arab?
At any rate, this noble verse refers indirectly and in a correct way to the pretexts for accusations set forth by the opponents to the Prophet (S) of Islam, saying that Allah knows that they claim a man instructs these verses to him. The Holy Qur’an obliterates all these unfounded and groundless accusations and claims with a decisive response, implying that they are heedless of the fact that: the language of him to whom they ascribe the Qur’an is not Arabic, while this Qur’an is revealed through the Arabic language which is eloquent and explicit.
The verse says:
“And certainly We know that they say: ‘Only a mortal teaches him’. The language of him at whom they hint is outlandish, while this (Qur’an) is clear Arabic.”
One can infer from this verse that the miracle performed by the Qur’an is not confined to its content. On the contrary, the words employed by the Qur’an are also reaching the heights of miracle, while attraction, sweetness, and particular harmony are to be found in its words and structural forms of sentences are beyond the power of men. To sum up, the Arabic term /yalhadūn/ is derived from /’ilh ad/ which signifies deviation of the right toward what is wrong, and sometimes it refers to all kinds of deviation. In this context, it alludes to the fact that professional accusers and liars sought to ascribe the Qur’an to a man and considered him to be the teacher of the Prophet (S).
The Qur’anic terms /’i‘jam/ and /‘ajmah/ originally means ambiguity and /’a‘jami/ refers to the person who has shortcoming in his expression, whether an Arab or a non-Arab. As the Arabs were faced with lack of information from the part of non-Arabs, they used to call others as /‘ajam/.