The Divinity of the Language of the Quran and the Issue of Understanding; A Critique of Mojtahid Shabestari Views

Is the Quran the word of God or the word of human? This question has been raised since the era of descent of the Quran. Each of the deniers of prophethood has somehow repudiated the divinity of the language of the Quran. The contemporary orientalists and some of those who claim intellectuality in the Muslim world have also discussed this question seriously. Following some philosophical hermeneutists, Mohammad Mojtahid Shabestari argues that a concept is understandable only if it belongs to human. He accordingly claims that if the Quran is God's word, then it cannot be understood and interpreted by human. In this paper, using an analytical and philosophical method, this claim as well as its proofs was investigated through basic and internal criticism. The findings show that there is no relation between understanding the Quran and considering it as being human. The proofs presented for this claim all include a variety of logical fallacies.