What are the key features of the Qurʾān?

The Qurʾān is truly unparalleled by any other book since the beginning of time. To begin with, it affirms Allāh’s attributes and exalts Him, commands people to believe in the Prophets as His infallible Messengers, and urges them to perform lasting good deeds and to stay away from sins and wrongdoing. Moreover, its words—from the first sentence to the last—are beautifully and harmoniously woven together, and its message is so powerful that even a listener opposed to it cannot help but be captivated by the very sound of its words. When the Arabs first heard the Qurʾān, they were amazed by its eloquence and listened in awe, for they had never heard such a powerful and eloquent discourse. More than 1400 years have passed since its revelation, yet the Qurʾān remains the finest specimen of its language, and no other book comes close to it.¹ However, the Qurʾān’s unmatched literary style, its perfect grammatical structure, and its rhythmic and poetic excellence are not, as atheists think, its only aspect of miraculousness. It is also unique in its perfect meanings, which encompass all aspects of existence. In other words, the Qurʾān addresses the reality of the world and lays out a comprehensive way of life, encompassing beliefs, acts of worship, morality, human conduct, and how societies are organised. It does so with certainty because its Author is the One who has full knowledge of all reality. Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah said: “There is nothing in the Torah or the Bible that matches the uniqueness of the meanings of the Qurʾān, neither in terms of the truth it conveys nor in the effective way it presents it. The vast difference is evident to anyone who contemplates the Qurʾān and reflects on the other Scriptures.”² Doubtlessly, the Qurʾān’s meanings are unsurpassable. Attempts to imitate the Qurʾān have been made throughout the ages, especially when the incentive to do so was strongest during the time of its revelation, when literary skill was at its peak. Nevertheless, all such attempts have failed. Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah said: “The miraculousness of the meanings of the Qurʾān is far greater than the miraculousness of its language and wording. The wise people of all nations and all times will not succeed in imitating its unique meanings, just as the Arabs at the time of revelation failed to match its astounding eloquence.”³