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Quran imitations represent literary attempts to replicate thestyle,form and content of theQuran. Historically, they emerge in a dialectic with the doctrine of thei'jaz (inimitability) of the Quran, which asserts that the literary and/or semantic nature of the Quran cannot be reproduced by a human. Both Muslims and non-Muslims have written Quran imitations for various reasons, including as literary exercises, means to express one's admiration for the Quran, or attempts to meet the Quran challenge (the Islamic challenge for someone who doubts the Quran to create something that is like it).
Quran itself has challenged opponents to produce something like it (the concept is known asal-taḥaddī) and Muslims employ the termmuʿāraḍāt ("assaults [against the Quran]") to attempts to contestinimitability of the Quran.[1] Islamic traditions suggest that the first attempts at imitation wereblasphemous or aimed at asserting claims ofdivine revelation.[2] However, historically, not all imitations were meant to contest the Quran's preeminence or supremacy; some were simplyliterary exercises.[3] There are also instances of authors who intended to admire the Quran by imitating it.[1]
Towards the end of Muhammad's life and after his death several men and a woman appeared in various parts of Arabia and claimed to be prophets.Musaylimah, a contemporary of Muhammad, claimed that he received revelations; some of his revelations are recorded.[1]Ibn al-Muqaffa' was a critic of the Qur'an and reportedly made attempts to imitate it.Bashshar ibn Burd (d. 784),Abul Atahiya (d. 828),Al-Mutanabbi (d. 965), andAl-Maʿarri (d. 1058) produced imitations of the Qur'an.[1]
A famous case was the blind poetAl-Ma'arri, particularly in his work titledParagraphs and Periods. Included in his imitation were sections includingsaj' (a type ofrhymed prose), series of rhyming oaths, messages about the punishment of unbelievers, hortatory and declarative statements, the frequent use of divine epithets, etc.[4][5]
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