“If you are in doubt of what We have revealed to Our Messenger, then produce one chapter like it, call upon all your helpers, besides Allah, if you are truthful. [Quran 2:23]

“Or do they say: “He (Prophet Muhammad) has forged it (this Qur’an)?” Nay! They believe not! Let them then produce a recitation like it (the Qur’an) if they are truthful.” [Quran 52:33-34]

Now there's a problem here. Allah does not specify what he meant by "recitation like it" or "chapter like it". Is He speaking in terms of eloquence? Is He speaking in terms of the way it sounds? What is He talking about? If I were to accept this challenge and write a book like the Quran, which criteria does the book have to meet? Allah did not specify.

If I wrote a book as eloquent as the Quran, other muslims will say "No it does not meet the challenge because it doesn't sound like the Quran". Or if my book was like the Quran in terms of both eloquence AND sound, muslims will say "No, it does not meet the challenge because of some other reason".

So what exactly does Allah mean when he challenges us to "write something like the Quran"?