Sourate 16 An-Nahl — Verset 103
وَلَقَدْ نَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُمْ يَقُولُونَ إِنَّمَا يُعَلِّمُهُۥ بَشَرٌۭ ۗ لِّسَانُ ٱلَّذِى يُلْحِدُونَ إِلَيْهِ أَعْجَمِىٌّۭ وَهَٰذَا لِسَانٌ عَرَبِىٌّۭ مُّبِينٌ
Et Nous savons parfaitement qu'ils disent: «Ce n'est qu'un être humain qui lui enseigne (le Coran)». Or, la langue de celui auquel ils font allusion est étrangère [non arabe], et celle-ci est une langue arabe bien claire.
walaqad naʿlamu annahum yaqūlūna innamā yuʿallimuhu basharun lisānu alladhī yul'ḥidūna ilayhi aʿjamiyyun wahādhā lisānun ʿarabiyyun mubīnun
Mot à mot
- وَلَقَدْ walaqad And certainly
- نَعْلَمُ naʿlamu We know
- أَنَّهُمْ annahum that they
- يَقُولُونَ yaqūlūna say
- إِنَّمَا innamā Only
- يُعَلِّمُهُۥ yuʿallimuhu teaches him
- بَشَرٌۭ ۗ basharun a human being
- لِّسَانُ lisānu (The) tongue
- ٱلَّذِى alladhī (of) the one
- يُلْحِدُونَ yul'ḥidūna they refer
- إِلَيْهِ ilayhi to him
- أَعْجَمِىٌّۭ aʿjamiyyun (is) foreign
- وَهَـٰذَا wahādhā while this
- لِسَانٌ lisānun (is) a language
- عَرَبِىٌّۭ ʿarabiyyun Arabic
- مُّبِينٌ mubīnun clear
Tafsîr · Ibn Kathir (Abridged)
The Idolators' Claim that the Qur'an was taught by a Human, and the Refutation of their Claim
Allah tells us about the idolators' lies, allegations, and slander when they claimed that this Qur'an which Muhammad had recited for them, was actually taught to him by a human. They referred to a foreign (i.e., non-Arab) man who lived among them as the servant of some of the clans of Quraysh and who used to sell goods by As-Safa. Maybe the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to sit with him sometimes and talk to him a little, but he was a foreigner who did not know much Arabic, only enough simple phrases to answer questions when he had to. So in refutation of their claims of fabrication, Allah said:
لِّسَانُ الَّذِى يُلْحِدُونَ إِلَيْهِ أَعْجَمِىٌّ وَهَـذَا لِسَانٌ عَرَبِىٌّ مُّبِينٌ
(The tongue of the man they refer to is foreign, while this (the Qur'an) is a (in) clear Arabic tongue.) meaning, how could it be that this Qur'an with its eloquent style and perfect meanings, which is more perfect than any Book revealed to any previously sent Prophet, have been learnt from a foreigner who hardly speaks the language No one with the slightest amount of common sense would say such a thing.