THREAD: The various ways in which the Quran is inimitable. [Al Juwayni] 
1. In a previous thread, we discussed the miraculous nature of the Quran. Among this miraculousness, is its inimitability. Imam Al Haramayn Al Juwayni presents the various ways in which this is the case, and its profoundness.
2. If it is said, explain to us how and in what way the Quran is inimitable, we respond: The Quran is inimitable because it combines eloquence with an elegance of form in arrangement distinct from the ordinary speech of Arabs.
3. Hence, the arrangement of words by itself does not portray inimitability, nor does its eloquence alone. Proving this, lets suppose it is simply its eloquence that is inimitable.
4. Someone may say that if the Quran were to be compared to some of the Arabs' prose and poetry, the language of the masters of eloquence and rhetorical talents, would not, in a manner that is clear and decisive, be judged inferior to the eloquence of the Quran.
5. On the other hand, if we claim that its inimitability lies solely in its form and arrangement, differing from other speech, one may direct against us examples of feeble utterances that resemble the order in Quranic diction, such as in the speech of Musaylama the impostor:
6. When he said: "The elephant! What is the elephant? And how can one grasp the elephant with its small thin tail and long trunk?" This is not inimitable but is merely the condoning of absurdities and vile utterances designed to shock the ears.
7. The sum of what he have just argued leads us to tie together the inimitability in the Quran's wondrous order and in its eloquence.
8. Someone may say, what sort of rhetorical eloquence does the Quran contain, and in what way does its order differ from ordinary modes of speech? We answer: With respect to rhetorical eloquence, this is quite evident and obvious.
9. Eloquence consists of expressing an appropriate meaning with a noble, apt and clear phrase, indicating what is to be said without superfluous additions. Moreover, eloquence in speaking is comprised of several types.
10. Of them all, one consists of a discourse that indicates a multiplicity of meanings in few expressions. There are innumerable examples of this type in the Quran.
11. One such example is God's providing, in only part of a verse, a lesson in the stories of bygone peoples about the future outcome reserved for those who exaggerate and the punishments for those who wreak destruction.
12. He, the Mighty and Glorious, says: "[Each we seized for his sin]; and of them, against some We sent a storm of stones, some were caught by a mighty cry, some we caused the Earth to swallow and some We drowned, God would never harm them but they wronged themselves." [11:41-44]
13. God also teaches about the dead, the grief of separation, the life everlasting and its rewards and punishments, the good fortune of those who succeed, and the misfortune of those who commit sins, and warns against the deceptions of this world and describes its....
14. .... insignificance in relationship to that abode of permanent life. All of this he provides in his statement: "Every soul will taste death, and only on the day of resurrection you will be paid your wages" [3:185]
15. Another type of eloquent speech consists in telling a story without losing the elements of eloquence. Most masters of eloquence use an elevated style when they compose amorous praises of a beloved. But, if they are giving an intimate account of internal states, they....
16. .... employ threadbare language and scrawny words. If they were to try to use eloquent speech, one will be unable to perceive it in what they want to say in such a case.
17. Note, however, the story of Joseph, God bless him, which, despite comprising diverse and complex elements, was put together in the most pleasing arrangement and most elegant language, well ordered throughout, nicely assembled, as its verses stood one on the neck of the other.
18. Moreover, stories cannot be devoid of ambiguity and redundancy, especially if the meanings are identical.
19. Among the most valid signs of the eloquence of the Qur'an is its acknowledgement by the Arabs without exception, explicitly or implicitly. If there were in the Quran the least inelegance, the specialists in the language would have charged it with this weakness.
20. There are two other areas of the Quran's inimitability. One is relating the stories of bygone peoples that are found to be in conformity to what exists in other books that God revealed and yet the apostle of God pbuh was neither a scholar nor proficient at absorbing books.
21. He was born among the Arabs and he had not undertaken trips abroad in which he could absorb knowledge and study literature. This is the truest of signs of his veracity.
22. The Qur'an moreover contains predictions that apply to future events and information about unseen matters, which might ordinarily come to pass once, perhaps, or twice. But when they follow in unerring succession, it constitutes a supernatural break in the habitual order.
23. An example is God's statement, "Say, if men and the jinn joined together..." (To the end of the verse)[17:88] and "But if you do not - and certainly you will not..." [2:24] and the exhalted saying, "You will enter the sacred mosque" [48:27],
24. His saying, "Alif, lam, mim, the Roman empire has been defeated" [30:2], His saying, "God has promised you many spoils" [48:20] and others it would take too long to enumerate.
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