Meaning
What does the pronoun "it/him" in the expression "like it/him" refer to in this verse?
Answer
Imām Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597 AH / 1201 CE) summarized the scholars' opinions in his book "Zād al-Masīr":
- It refers to what had been revealed so far of the Qurʾān. [Qatādah, al-Farrāʾ, Muqātil]
- It refers to the Prophet (ﷺ), so the meaning would be: "Bring a sūrah from someone like this unlettered servant (of Ours)." [Abū ʿUbaydah, al-Zajjāj, and Ibn al-Qāsim]