Quran Universe
16:103

وَلَقَدۡ نَعۡلَمُ أَنَّهُمۡ يَقُولُونَ إِنَّمَا يُعَلِّمُهُۥ بَشَرٞۗ لِّسَانُ ٱلَّذِي يُلۡحِدُونَ إِلَيۡهِ أَعۡجَمِيّٞ وَهَٰذَا لِسَانٌ عَرَبِيّٞ مُّبِينٌ

Walaqad naAAlamu annahum yaqooloona innama yuAAallimuhu basharun lisanu allathee yulhidoona ilayhi aAAjamiyyun wahatha lisanun AAarabiyyun mubeenun

And We certainly know that they say, "It is only a human being who teaches the Prophet." The tongue of the one they refer to is foreign, and this Qur'an is [in] a clear Arabic language.

Word by word
  1. وَلَقَدۡAnd certainly
  2. نَعۡلَمُWe know
  3. أَنَّهُمۡthat they
  4. يَقُولُونَsay
  5. إِنَّمَاOnly
  6. يُعَلِّمُهُۥteaches him
  7. بَشَرٞۗa human being
  8. لِّسَانُ(The) tongue
  9. ٱلَّذِي(of) the one
  10. يُلۡحِدُونَthey refer
  11. إِلَيۡهِto him
  12. أَعۡجَمِيّٞ(is) foreign
  13. وَهَٰذَاwhile this
  14. لِسَانٌ(is) a language
  15. عَرَبِيّٞArabic
  16. مُّبِينٌclear
An-Nahl · 16:103Makkah

They said a man teaches him, a man who barely spoke Arabic.

An accusation that falls apart on its own

The claim
a human teaches himthe idolators' claim
pointing to
a foreign servantsold goods by As-Safa
versus
clear Arabicthe Quran's perfect style
Does it make sense
he learned it therefrom simple phrases
impossibleno common sense allows it

Ibn Kathir says the idolators pointed to a non-Arab servant who sold goods by As-Safa. The Prophet ﷺ may have sat and talked with him a little, but the man knew only simple Arabic phrases. How could the Quran, with its eloquent style and perfect meanings, come from him?

When you want to dismiss something, you grab any explanation, even one that makes no sense. A colleague's success? Must be connections. A rushed accusation often says more about us than them.

If I can find any explanation, I don't have to accept it.

An explanation that makes no sense is just a way to avoid the truth.

Try this

Before you dismiss something today, ask if your reason would convince a fair person.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

And indeed We know that they (polytheists and pagans) say: "It is only a human being who teaches him." The tongue of the man they refer to is foreign, while this (the Qur'an) is (in) a clear Arabic tongue (103)

The Idolators' Claim that the Qur'an was taught by a Human, and the Refutation of their Claim

Allah tells us about the idolators' lies, allegations, and slander when they claimed that this Qur'an which Muhammad ﷺ had recited for them, was actually taught to him by a human. They referred to a foreign (i.e., non-Arab) man who lived among them as the servant of some of the clans of Quraysh and who used to sell goods by As-Safa. Maybe the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to sit with him sometimes and talk to him a little, but he was a foreigner who did not know much Arabic, only enough simple phrases to answer questions when he had to. So in refutation of their claims of fabrication, Allah said:

لِّسَانُ الَّذِي يُلْحِدُونَ إِلَيْهِ أَعْجَمِيٌّ وَهَٰذَا لِسَانٌ عَرَبِيٌّ مُّبِينٌ

(The tongue of the man they refer to is foreign, while this (the Qur'an) is a (in) clear Arabic tongue.) meaning, how could it be that this Qur'an with its eloquent style and perfect meanings, which is more perfect than any Book revealed to any previously sent Prophet, have been learnt from a foreigner who hardly speaks the language? No one with the slightest amount of common sense would say such a thing.