وَمَا كُنتَ تَتْلُوا۟ مِن قَبْلِهِۦ مِن كِتَٰبٍ وَلَا تَخُطُّهُۥ بِيَمِينِكَ ۖ إِذًا لَّٱرْتَابَ ٱلْمُبْطِلُونَ
42:53.
Commentary:
Alluding to the two great principles mentioned in v. 47 above, the present verse purports to say that it is unimaginable that a man who could neither read nor write and therefore conceivably had no knowledge of the other revealed Scriptures should have been able to produce a Book which not only contains all that is of permanent value in these Scriptures but is also a compendium of all the universal teachings that are calculated to satisfy all the moral and spiritual needs and requirements of humanity for all time. The fact of the Holy Prophet being illiterate, and being born in a country, and having lived among a people, cut off from all contact with civilized humanity, indeed constitutes an infallible proof of the Quran being a revealed Book. That the Holy Prophet could neither read nor write before he was commissioned as a Divine Messenger admits of no difference of opinion. Towards the end of his life he may have been able to decipher a few simple words but he never learned to read or write. See also 16:104.
42:53.
The fact that a man who could neither read nor write, and, who being born in a country, and having lived among a people, cut off from all contact with civilized humanity, could conceivably have no knowledge of the other revealed Scriptures, should have been able to produce a Book which not only contains all that is of permanent value in those Scriptures but is also a compendium of all the universal teachings that are calculated to satisfy the moral and spiritual needs and requirements of humanity for all time, does constitute an infallible proof of the Qur’an being a revealed Book and the Holy Prophet being a Divine Teacher.