Al-Qur'an Surah Taha Verse 133

Mufti Taqi Usmani

They say, “Why does he not bring to us a sign from his Lord?” Has there not come to them the clear sign of what is contained in the earlier Scriptures?

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

They demand, “If only he could bring us a sign from his Lord!”[[ The pagans of Mecca were not satisfied with a literary miracle in the form of the Quran, so they asked for a tangible miracle (see {17:90}-91) similar to the staff of Moses. ]] Have they not ˹already˺ received a confirmation of what is in earlier Scriptures?[[ This either refers to the Biblical stories confirmed by the Quran or the prophecies of Muḥammad (ﷺ) in the Bible. Some Muslim scholars cite Deuteronomy {18:15}-18 and {33:2}, Isaiah 42, and John {14:16} as examples of the description of Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ) in the Bible. However, Bible scholars interpret these verses differently. ]]

Ruwwad Translation Center

They say, “Why does he not bring us a sign from his Lord?” Has there not come to them [the Qur’an as] a confirmation of what is in the earlier Scriptures?

A. J. Arberry

They say, 'Why does he not bring us a sign from his Lord?' Has there not come to them the clear sign of what is in the former scrolls?

Abdul Haleem

The disbelievers say, ‘Why does he not bring us a sign from his Lord?’ Have they not been given clear proof confirming what was in the earlier scriptures?

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And they Say: wherefore bringeth he not unto us a sign from his Lord? Hath not there came unto them the evidence of that which is in the former Scriptures?

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

They say; "Why does he not bring us a sign from his Lord?" Has not a Clear Sign come to them of all that was in the former Books of revelation?

Abul Ala Maududi

They ask: "Why does he not bring us a (miraculous) sign from his Lord?" Has there not come to them a Book containing the teachings of the previous scriptures?

Ahmed Ali

Yet they say: "Why does he not bring a sign from his Lord?" Have not clear proofs come to them in what is contained in the earlier Books?

Ahmed Raza Khan

And the disbelievers said, “Why does he not bring to us a sign from his Lord?”; did not the explanation of what is in the former Books, come to them?

Ali Quli Qarai

They say, ‘Why does he not bring us a sign from his Lord?’ Has there not come to them a clear proof in that which is in the former scriptures?

Ali Ünal

And they say: "If only he brought us a miracle from his Lord!" Has there not come to them (as a sufficient miracle) a Clear Evidence of (the truth) in what is (to be found) in the former Scriptures?

Amatul Rahman Omar

And these (opponents) say, `Why does he bring us no sign from his Lord?´ Has there not come to them a clear evidence (about the advent of this Prophet) from what is (contained) in the former scriptures?

English Literal

And they said: "If only, he comes/brings to us with a verse/evidence/sign from his Lord." Did not an evidence (of) what is in the written leaves/sheets/pages (books/scriptures) the first/beginning come to them?

Faridul Haque

And the disbelievers said, "Why does he not bring to us a sign from his Lord?"; did not the explanation of what is in the former Books, come to them?

Hamid S. Aziz

Bid your people worship, and persevere in it; We do not ask you to provide, it is We Who will provide for you. But the sequel is for righteousness.

Hilali & Khan

They say: "Why does he not bring us a sign (proof) from his Lord?" Has there not come to them the proof of that which is (written) in the former papers [Scriptures, i.e. the Taurat (Torah), and the Injeel (Gospel), etc. about the coming of the Prophet Muhammad SAW].

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And enjoin prayer on thy people, and steadily adhere to it. We ask not of thee a sustenance. We provide for thee. And the (good) end is for guarding against evil.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And they say: Why does he not bring to us a sign from his Lord? Has not there come to them a clear evidence of what is in the previous books?

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

And they say: If only he would bring us a miracle from his Lord! Hath there not come unto them the proof of what is in the former scriptures?

Muhammad Sarwar

They have said, "Why has he, (Muhammad), not brought some miracle from his Lord?" Have they not received the previously revealed heavenly Books as the evidence of the Truth.

Qaribullah & Darwish

They say: 'Why does he not bring us a sign from his Lord' Did not a clear sign come to them in the preceding Scrolls?

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

And they say, "Why does he not bring us a sign from his Lord?" Has there not come to them evidence of what was in the former scriptures?

Wahiduddin Khan

They say, "Why does he not bring us a sign from his Lord?" Have they not been given sufficient proof in previous scriptures?

Talal Itani

And they say, “Why does he not bring us a miracle from his Lord?” Were they not given enough miracles in the former scriptures?

Tafsir jalalayn

And they, the idolaters, say, `Why does he, Muhammad (s), not bring us a sign from his Lord?', of the sort which they request. Has there not come to them (read ta'tihim or ya'tihim) the clear proof, the statements, of what is in the former scriptures?, the tales contained in the Qur'n relating to past communities and [the details of] their destruction for denying the messengers?

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

The Request of the Polytheists for Proofs while the Qur'an is itself a Proof

Allah, the Exalted, informs about the disbelievers in their statement,

وَقَالُوا لَوْلَا يَأْتِينَا بِأيَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّهِ

They say;"Why does he not bring us a Sign from His Lord?"

This means, `Why doesn't Muhammad bring us some proof from his Lord?' They meant a sign that was proof of his truthfulness in his claim that he was the Messenger of Allah.

Allah, the Exalted, said,

أَوَلَمْ تَأْتِهِم بَيِّنَةُ مَا فِي الصُّحُفِ الاُْولَى



Has there not come to them the proof of that which is in the former papers (Scriptures)!

This means the Qur'an which Allah revealed to him while he was an unlettered man who could not write well and who did not study with the People of the Book. Yet, the Qur'an contains information about the people of the past that tells of their events from times long ago and it agrees with the authentic information in the previous Books concerning these matters. The Qur'an is the supervisor of these other Books. It verifies what is correct and explains the mistakes that were falsely placed in these Books and attributed to them.

This Ayah is similar to Allah's statement in Surah Al-`Ankabut,

وَقَالُواْ لَوْلَا أُنزِلَ عَلَيْهِ ءايَـتٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِ قُلْ إِنَّمَا الاٌّيَـتُ عِندَ اللَّهِ وَإِنَّمَأ أَنَاْ نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ

أَوَلَمْ يَكْفِهِمْ أَنَّأ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَـبَ يُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ فِى ذلِكَ لَرَحْمَةً وَذِكْرَى لِقَوْمٍ يُوْمِنُونَ

And they say;"Why are not signs sent down to him from his Lord!"

Say;"The signs are only with Allah, and I am only a plain warner."

It is not sufficient for them that We have sent down to you the Book which is recited to them! Verily, herein is mercy and a reminder for a people who believe. (29;50-51)

In the Two Sahihs, it is recorded that the Messenger of Allah said,

مَا مِنْ نَبِيَ إِلاَّ وَقَدْ أُوتِيَ مِنَ الاْاياتِ مَا امَنَ عَلَىىِمثْلِهِ الْبَشَرُ وَإِنَّمَا كَانَ الَّذِي أُوتِيتُهُ وَحْيًا أَوْحَاهُ اللهُ إِلَيَّ فَأَرْجُو أَنْ أَكُونَ أَكْثَرَهُمْ تَابِعًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَة

There was not any Prophet except that he was given signs that caused men to believe. That which I have been given is a revelation that Allah has revealed to me, so I hope that I have the most followers among them (the Prophets) on the Day of Resurrection.

In this Hadith, the Prophet only mentioned the greatest of the signs that he was given, which is the Qur'an. However, he did have other miracles, which were innumerable and limitless. These miracles have all been recorded in the books that discuss them, and they have been affirmed in the places that mention them.

Then Allah says