Tafsir of Al-Muddathir 74:25

Al-Muddaththir (74): Verse 25

Original Text Segment: إن هذا إلا . . . . .

Translation & Exegesis:

The meaning here is that this statement (referring to the Qur'an) is attributed by them [the disbelievers] to be something gathered from the speech of others.

If what they claimed—that it was merely human speech—were true, they would have been capable of challenging it, given that their methods for understanding language were similar.

Know that this statement indicates that Al-Walid [Ibn al-Mughirah] only uttered this claim out of obstinacy and defiance.

It is narrated that when he heard Surah Ha Mim As-Sajdah from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and left the Prophet's presence, he said: "I heard from Muhammad a speech that is neither the speech of humans nor the speech of jinn. It possesses sweetness, it has eloquence, and it is sublime and cannot be surpassed."

Since he admitted this in the beginning, we know that what he said here—that it is the speech of humans—was stated merely as a matter of stubbornness and rebellion, not based on genuine belief.

Then He said: