It is worth noting that the Qur’an has itself recorded all claims and attacks made against it and against the Prophet in his lifetime, but for many of Muhammad’s contemporaries the fact that the first word of the Qur’an was an imperative addressed to the Prophet (‘Read’) linguistically made the authorship of the text outside Muhammad. Indeed, this mode is maintained throughout the Qur’an: it talks to the Prophet or talks about him; never does the Prophet pass comment or speak for himself.
