Sura 74 of the Quran is entitled The Hidden Secret (Al-Muddath-thir / الـمـدثـر). In this Sura, it discusses a person who refused to accept the proofs of the Quran and claims that the Quran is manmade.
74:11 Let Me deal with one I created as an individual. 74:12 I provided him with lots of money. 74:13 And children to behold. 74:14 I made everything easy for him. 74:15 Yet, he is greedy for more.
74:16 He stubbornly refused to accept these proofs.
Verses 18-20 make a statement three times regarding the person using the term “ qaddara” ( قَدَّرَ). While this word is translated as “he decided,” it has a richer meaning that may not be as clear in the translation.
74:18 For he reflected, then he decided.
74:19 Miserable is what he decided.
74:20 Miserable indeed is what he decided.
The Arabic of the Quran uses multiple words that can be translated as “decided,” and each has a slightly different connotation. For example, there is ʿazama ( عَزَمَ), qaḍā ( قَضَىٰ), and ḥakama ( حَكَمَ). Each of these words has a slightly different flavor when used in the context of deciding. Such that ʿazama ( عَزَمَ) is a decision based on an intention, qaḍā ( قَضَىٰ) is a decision in the form of a decree, ḥakama ( حَكَمَ) is a decision based on a judgment or ruling.
The term qaddara, used in verses 74:18-20, does not just mean to make a decision but specifically to make a calculated or measured decision. This word comes from the root “q-d-r” ( ق د ر), and we see this meaning reflected in Lanes Lexicon as well.
Aside from these three occurrences, this word occurs five other times in the Quran. Below are each of these occurrences. Every time it is used it is in the context of making a calculated decision.
80:19 From a tiny drop, He creates him and designs him.
10:5 He is the One who rendered the sun radiant, and the moon a light, and He designed its phases that you may learn to count the years and to calculate. GOD did not create all this, except for a specific purpose. He explains the revelations for people who know.
25:2 The One to whom belongs all sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. He never had a son, nor does He have any partners in sovereignty. He created everything in exact measure; He precisely designed everything.
41:10 He placed on it stabilizers (mountains), made it productive, and He calculated its provisions in four days, to satisfy the needs of all its inhabitants.
In conjunction with the mathematical miracle of the Quran, this makes sense because a disbeliever will be able to calculate, measure, and analyze the 19-based phenomenon of the Quran yet be baffled by what they see only to make the claim that:
74:24 He said, “This is but clever magic!
74:25 “This is human made.”