69.44 – If he had forged any (false) words against Us

This passage seems to anticipate that the listeners would call the recitation “forged.” Verse 43 claims rather that the speech of the messenger is “a sending down from the Lord of the worlds,” and verses 45–47 add an interesting argument: if the messenger had invented his speech, Allah would have killed him (vv. 45–47)!

The concern that the message is invented or “forged” is one of the central questions of the Quran. Are these recitations sent down by God, or are they the compositions of one or more human “messengers”? The listeners ask this question or accuse at 10.38; 11.13; 16.101; 21.5; 25.4; 32.3; 34.8, 43; 46.8; and 52.33. The Quran generally answers the charge with strong denials (e.g., 10.37; 25.4–6; 32.3; 46.8) or with challenges to produce a similar text (e.g., 10.38; 11.13; 52.33–34). At 16.102 the Quran claims that “the holy spirit has brought it down.” Is it so? Believing or disbelieving this claim makes one a Muslim or a non-Muslim.