قُل لَّئِنِ ٱجْتَمَعَتِ ٱلْإِنسُ وَٱلْجِنُّ عَلَىٰٓ أَن يَأْتُوا۟ بِمِثْلِ هَٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانِ لَا يَأْتُونَ بِمِثْلِهِۦ وَلَوْ كَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ ظَهِيرًا
Qul la-ini'jtamaʿati'l-insu wa'l-jinnu ʿalā an yaʾtū bi-mithli hādha'l-qurʾāni lā yaʾtūna bi-mithlihi wa law kāna baʿḍuhum li-baʿḍin ẓahīrā
"Say: 'If mankind and jinn were to gather together to bring the like of this Qurʾān, they could not bring the like of it, even if they backed one another.'"
| Stage | Expression | What it widens |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-insu wa'l-jinn | The agent — all rational beings |
| 2 | Ijtamaʿat | Their being together — not one by one but all at once |
| 3 | Wa law kāna baʿḍuhum li-baʿḍin ẓahīrā | Division of labour — backing one another |
I record this as an observation about the structure: the verse grants the other side every possibility — number, unity and mutual support. And it states the denial only after the possibilities have been granted.
The challenge was treated in detail at 2/23-24 in al-Baqara (fa'tū bi-sūratin min mithlih). I rely on that treatment.
| Place | What is asked | From whom |
|---|---|---|
| al-Baqara 2/23 | One sūra | Shuhadāʾakum — call your witnesses |
| al-Isrāʾ 17/88 | The like of the whole | Al-insu wa'l-jinn — all of them together |
The two verses build the same claim at two different scales. This is an overlap between sūras that can be verified.
The word was treated at 25/55 in al-Furqān, and two readings were tabulated there: the denier's backing against his Lord, or ẓahīr carrying the sense "cast behind the back, disregarded". No preference was imposed there; I rely on that treatment.
The usage here, however, is plain and not disputed: baʿḍuhum li-baʿḍin ẓahīrā — backing one another.
| Place | Ẓahīr | Who to whom |
|---|---|---|
| al-Furqān 25/55 | Wa kāna'l-kāfiru ʿalā rabbihi ẓahīrā | Disputed |
| al-Isrāʾ 17/88 | Baʿḍuhum li-baʿḍin ẓahīrā | Plain — to one another |
The same word, disputed in one place and plain in the other. I record this as an observation: the usage in al-Isrāʾ supplies a datum as to which is the word's lexical sense — because here the construction leaves no ambiguity.