أَمْ يَقُولُونَ افْتَرَاهُ قُلْ فَأْتُوا بِسُورَةٍ مِثْلِهِ وَادْعُوا مَنِ اسْتَطَعْتُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ ﴿۳۸﴾ بَلْ كَذَّبُوا بِمَا لَمْ يُحِيطُوا بِعِلْمِهِ وَلَمَّا يَأْتِهِمْ تَأْوِيلُهُ كَذَلِكَ كَذَّبَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ فَانْظُرْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الظَّالِمِينَ ﴿۳۹﴾ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يُؤْمِنُ بِهِ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ لَا يُؤْمِنُ بِهِ وَرَبُّكَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُفْسِدِينَ ﴿۴۰﴾

﴾38﴿ 'Am yaqooloonaf taraahu qul fa'too bi sooratin mislihee wad'oo manis tata'tum min doonil laahi in kuntum saadiqeen
﴾39﴿ Bal kazzaboo bimaa lam yuheetoo bi'ilmihee wa lammaa ya'tihim ta'weeluh; kazaalika kazzabal lazeena min qablihim fanzur kaifa kaana 'aaqibatuz zaalimeen
﴾40﴿ Wa minhum mai yu 'minu bihee wa minhum mal laa yu'minu bih; wa Rabbuka a'lamu bilmufsideen

﴾38﴿ Or do they say, He has forged it Say, Then bring a surah like it and call upon whomever you can except Allah, if you are truthful
﴾39﴿ They deny it (the Quran) because they have not comprehended its knowledge and because its ultimate reality has not yet reached them. Similarly, those before them denied (their prophets). So, see how the end of the wrongdoers was
﴾40﴿ And among them are those who believe in the Quran, and among them are those who do not believe in it. And your Lord knows best the condition of the corrupters

[38] In this verse, there is a warning to the deniers of the Qur’an through a challenge—asking them to bring forth a single surah like it. This is known as tahaddi (challenge), and within it lies the proof of the miraculous nature (i‘jaz) of the Qur’an.
The word (مِثْلِهِ) – “like it” – the pronoun refers to the Qur’an. The similarity being challenged lies in its eloquence, clarity, beautiful structure, truthfulness, and accurate prophecies.
In Surah Al-Baqarah, the phrase (مِن مِثلِهِ) is used instead, because there it could be interpreted that the pronoun refers to the Prophet (peace be upon him), or it could mean from something that came before, like the Torah and the Gospel.
[39] In this verse, after affirming the miraculous nature of the Qur’an, there is a warning directed at its deniers, and two reasons for their denial are mentioned:
1. They do not accept it—as similarly mentioned in verse 84 of Surah An-Naml and verse 11 of Surah Al-Ahqaf.
2. The consequence of their denial (i.e., the punishment) has not yet become evident to them, and because of that, they continue to deny.
(لَمْ يُحِيطُوا بِعِلْمِهِ) – The word “بِ” may be extra (emphasizing), and the object of “كَذَّبُوا” (they denied) is implied. Or “بِ” may be causative, and the hidden object would be “the Qur’an.”
The first intended meaning: No one can encompass the full knowledge of the Qur’an.
The second: The Qur’an contains mention of Paradise, Hell, and other things that have not yet entered their realm of knowledge.
The third: The Qur’an contains knowledge and subjects that they were unfamiliar with and had never heard before. And as the famous saying goes: “People are enemies to what they are ignorant of.”
(وَلَمَّا يَأْتِهِمْ تَأْوِيلُهُ) – The pronoun refers to the Qur’an, and ta’wīl (interpretation) means the deep understanding or explanation of the Qur’an. Meaning: they have not pondered or reflected upon the meanings of the Qur’an, but instead, denied it merely by blindly following their elders. This explanation is mentioned in Tafsīr al-Madārik.
Another interpretation: the pronoun refers to “denial,” and ta’wīl here means the consequence—that is, the punishment for their denial has not yet come to them.
[40] In this verse too, there is a warning to the deniers, and it is a proof that whoever denies the Qur’an is a corrupter (mischief-maker).
(يُؤْمِنُ أَوْ لَا يُؤْمِنُ) – This phrase can either be interpreted in the future tense (i.e., "whether he will believe or not") or in the past tense (i.e., "whether he believed or not").
The message is that belief or denial of the Qur’an reveals the true state of a person’s heart—those who deny it are not simply disbelievers but also corrupters on the earth.