For they say: "How Is it no signs were sent down to him from his Lord?" Say: "The signs are with God. I am only a warner, plain and simple."
And they said, “Why did not signs come down to him from his Lord?” Say, “Signs are only with Allah; and I am purely a Herald of plain warning.”
They say, 'Why have signs not been gent down upon him from his Lord?' Say: 'The signs are only with God, and I am only a plain warner.
And yet they say, “Why have no miraculous signs ever been bestowed upon him from on high by his Sustainer?” Say: “Miracles are in the power of God alone; and as for me - I am but a plain warner.”
And they say: wherefore are not signs sent down upon him from his Lord! Say thou: signs are with Allah only, and I am but a manifest warner.
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."
And they said, “If only a miracle from his Lord was sent down to him.” Say, “Miracles are only with God, and I am only a clear warner.”
They say: “Why were Signs from his Lord not sent down upon him?” Say: “The Signs are only with Allah. As for me, I am no more than a plain warner.”
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."
And they say: Why are not portents sent down upon him from his Lord? Say: Portents are with Allah only, and I am but a plain warner.
They say, ‘Why has not some sign been sent down to him from his Lord?’ Say, ‘These signs are only from Allah, and I am only a manifest warner.’
They ask: 'Why has not a sign been sent down upon him from his Lord' Say: 'The signs are only with Allah. I am only a clear warner'
But 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 clear warner."
They say, "Why a miracle is not sent to him from his Lord." Say, "Miracles are in the hands of God. I am simply a warner."
And they say: Why are not signs sent down upon him from his Lord? Say: The signs are only with Allah, and I am only a plain warner.
Waq<u>a</u>loo lawl<u>a</u> onzila AAalayhi <u>a</u>y<u>a</u>tun min rabbihi qul innam<u>a</u> al<u>a</u>y<u>a</u>tu AAinda All<u>a</u>hi wainnam<u>a</u> an<u>a</u> na<u>th</u>eerun mubeen<b>un</b>
They say, "Why has no sign been given to him by his Lord?" Say, "The signs are in the hands of God. I am but a plain warner."
Ye they say: "Why are not Signs sent down to him from his Lord?" Say: "The signs are indeed with Allah: and I am indeed a clear Warner."
وَقَالُوا۟ لَوْلَآ أُنزِلَ عَلَيْهِ ءَايَٰتٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِۦ قُلْ إِنَّمَا ٱلْءَايَٰتُ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ وَإِنَّمَآ أَنَا۠ نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ
The idolaters said, “Why have no miracles been given to Muhammad from his Lord, like those miracles given to the messengers before him?” O Messenger! say to them: “Miracles are only in the control of Allah, may He be glorified; He grants them whenever He wishes. It is not in my power to bring them; I am only a clear warner to you of the punishment of Allah.”
The idolaters said, “Why have no miracles been given to Muhammad from his Lord, like those miracles given to the messengers before him?” O Messenger! say to them: “Miracles are only in the control of Allah, may He be glorified; He grants them whenever He wishes. It is not in my power to bring them; I am only a clear warner to you of the punishment of Allah.”
<h2 class="title">The Idolators' demand for Signs, and the Response</h2><p>Allah tells us how the idolators stubbornly demanded signs, meaning that they wanted signs to show them that Muhammad was indeed the Messenger of Allah, just as Salih was given the sign of the she-camel. Allah says:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">قُلْ</div><p>(Say) -- `O Muhammad' --</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">إِنَّمَا الاٌّيَـتُ عِندَ اللَّهِ</div><p>(The signs are only with Allah) meaning, `the matter rests with Allah, and if He knew that you would be guided, He would respond to your request, because it is very easy for Him to do that. Yet He knows that you are merely being stubborn and putting me to the test, so He will not respond to you.' This is like the Ayah,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَمَا مَنَعَنَآ أَن نُّرْسِلَ بِالاٌّيَـتِ إِلاَّ أَن كَذَّبَ بِهَا الاٌّوَّلُونَ وَءَاتَيْنَا ثَمُودَ النَّاقَةَ مُبْصِرَةً فَظَلَمُواْ بِهَا</div><p>(And nothing stops Us from sending the Ayat but that the people of old denied them. And We sent the she-camel to Thamud as a clear sign, but they did her wrong) (17:59).</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَإِنَّمَآ أَنَاْ نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ</div><p>(and I am only a plain warner) means, `I have been sent to you only as a warner to bring a clear warning; all I have to do is convey the Message of Allah to you. '</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">مَن يَهْدِ اللَّهُ فَهُوَ الْمُهْتَدِ وَمَن يُضْلِلْ فَلَن تَجِدَ لَهُ وَلِيًّا مُّرْشِدًا</div><p>(He whom Allah guides, he is the rightly-guided; but he whom He sends astray, for him you will find no guide to lead him.) (18:17)</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">لَّيْسَ عَلَيْكَ هُدَاهُمْ وَلَـكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِى مَن يَشَآءُ</div><p>(Not upon you is their guidance, but Allah guides whom He wills) (2:272). Then Allah shows us how ignorant and foolish they were when they demanded a sign to prove to them that what Muhammad had brought to them was true. He brought them a great Book which falsehood cannot reach, neither from before it or behind it, it was greater than all other miracles, for the most eloquent of men could not match it or produce ten Surahs, or even one Surah like it.</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">أَوَلَمْ يَكْفِهِمْ أَنَّآ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَـبَ يُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ</div><p>(Is it not sufficient for them that We have sent down to you the Book which is recited to them) means, `is it not sufficient as a sign for them that We have sent down to you this great Book which tells them about what happened before their time, what will happen after they are gone, and passes judgement between them. Even though you are an unlettered man who can neither read nor write, and you have not mixed with any of the People of the Book. Yet you brought them news of what was said in the first Scriptures showing what is right in the matters that they dispute over, and bringing clear and obvious truth. ' As Allah says:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">أَوَلَمْيَكُن لَّهُمْ ءَايَةً أَن يَعْلَمَهُ عُلَمَاءُ بَنِى إِسْرَءِيلَ</div><p>(Is it not a sign to them that the learned scholars of the Children of Israel knew it (to be true)) (26:197)</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَقَالُواْ لَوْلاَ يَأْتِينَا بِـَايَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّهِ أَوَلَمْ تَأْتِهِمْ بَيِّنَةُ مَا فِى الصُّحُفِ الاٍّولَى </div><p>(They say: "Why does he not bring us a sign from his Lord" Has there not come to them the proof of that which is in the former Scriptures) (20:133) Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The Messenger of Allah said:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">«مَا مِنَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ مِنْ نَبِيَ إِلَّا قَدْ أُعْطِيَ مِنَ الْآيَاتِ مَا مِثْلُهُ آمَنَ عَلَيْهِ الْبَشَرُ، وَإِنَّمَا كَانَ الَّذِي أُوتِيتُهُ وَحْيًا أَوْحَاهُ اللهُ إِلَيَّ، فَأَرْجُو أَنْ أَكُونَ أَكْثَرَهُمْ تَابِعًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَة»</div><p>(There is no Prophet who was not given some miracles that would make the people believe in him. What I have been given is revelation which Allah reveals to me, and I hope that I will have the greatest number of followers on the Day of Resurrection.)" It was also recorded by Al-Bukhari and Muslim. Indeed Allah has said:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">إِنَّ فِى ذلِكَ لَرَحْمَةً وَذِكْرَى لِقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ</div><p>(Verily, herein is mercy and a reminder for a people who believe.) In this Qur'an there is mercy, that is, explanation of the truth and removal of falsehood, and a reminder to the believers of the punishment that is to come to the disbelievers and sinners. Then Allah says:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">قُلْ كَفَى بِاللَّهِ بَيْنِى وَبَيْنَكُمْ شَهِيداً</div><p>(Say: "Sufficient is Allah for a witness between me and you...") `He knows best the words of denial that you utter, and he knows what I am telling you about Him and that He has sent me. If I were telling lies about Him, He would have executed His vengeance upon me,' as Allah says elsewhere:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَلَوْ تَقَوَّلَ عَلَيْنَا بَعْضَ الاٌّقَاوِيلِ - لأَخَذْنَا مِنْهُ بِالْيَمِينِ - ثُمَّ لَقَطَعْنَا مِنْهُ الْوَتِينَ - فَمَا مِنكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ عَنْهُ حَـجِزِينَ </div><p>g(And if he had forged a false saying concerning Us, We surely would have seized him by his right hand, and then We certainly would have cut off his aorta, and none of you could have withheld Us from (punishing) him.) (69:44-47). `But I am telling the truth in what I say to you about Him, so He has supported me with clear miracles and definitive evidence.'</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">يَعْلَمُ مَا فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ</div><p>(He knows what is in the heavens and the earth.) means, nothing is hidden from Him at all.</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَالَّذِينَ ءامَنُواْ بِالْبَـطِلِ وَكَفَرُواْ بِاللَّهِ أُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْخَـسِرُونَ</div><p>(And those who believe in falsehood, and disbelieve in Allah, it is they who are the losers.) means, on the Day of Resurrection, they will be punished for what they did, and will get what they justly deserve for rejecting the truth and following falsehood, for disbelieving in the Messengers of Allah even when there was proof that they were telling the truth, and for worshipping false gods with no evidence. Allah will punish them for all that, for He is All-Wise and All-Knowing.</p>
The Idolators' demand for Signs, and the ResponseAllah tells us how the idolators stubbornly demanded signs, meaning that they wanted signs to show them that Muhammad was indeed the Messenger of Allah, just as Salih was given the sign of the she-camel. Allah says:قُلْ(Say) -- `O Muhammad' --إِنَّمَا الاٌّيَـتُ عِندَ اللَّهِ(The signs are only with Allah) meaning, `the matter rests with Allah, and if He knew that you would be guided, He would respond to your request, because it is very easy for Him to do that. Yet He knows that you are merely being stubborn and putting me to the test, so He will not respond to you.' This is like the Ayah,وَمَا مَنَعَنَآ أَن نُّرْسِلَ بِالاٌّيَـتِ إِلاَّ أَن كَذَّبَ بِهَا الاٌّوَّلُونَ وَءَاتَيْنَا ثَمُودَ النَّاقَةَ مُبْصِرَةً فَظَلَمُواْ بِهَا(And nothing stops Us from sending the Ayat but that the people of old denied them. And We sent the she-camel to Thamud as a clear sign, but they did her wrong) (17:59).وَإِنَّمَآ أَنَاْ نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ(and I am only a plain warner) means, `I have been sent to you only as a warner to bring a clear warning; all I have to do is convey the Message of Allah to you. 'مَن يَهْدِ اللَّهُ فَهُوَ الْمُهْتَدِ وَمَن يُضْلِلْ فَلَن تَجِدَ لَهُ وَلِيًّا مُّرْشِدًا(He whom Allah guides, he is the rightly-guided; but he whom He sends astray, for him you will find no guide to lead him.) (18:17)لَّيْسَ عَلَيْكَ هُدَاهُمْ وَلَـكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِى مَن يَشَآءُ(Not upon you is their guidance, but Allah guides whom He wills) (2:272). Then Allah shows us how ignorant and foolish they were when they demanded a sign to prove to them that what Muhammad had brought to them was true. He brought them a great Book which falsehood cannot reach, neither from before it or behind it, it was greater than all other miracles, for the most eloquent of men could not match it or produce ten Surahs, or even one Surah like it.أَوَلَمْ يَكْفِهِمْ أَنَّآ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَـبَ يُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ(Is it not sufficient for them that We have sent down to you the Book which is recited to them) means, `is it not sufficient as a sign for them that We have sent down to you this great Book which tells them about what happened before their time, what will happen after they are gone, and passes judgement between them. Even though you are an unlettered man who can neither read nor write, and you have not mixed with any of the People of the Book. Yet you brought them news of what was said in the first Scriptures showing what is right in the matters that they dispute over, and bringing clear and obvious truth. ' As Allah says:أَوَلَمْيَكُن لَّهُمْ ءَايَةً أَن يَعْلَمَهُ عُلَمَاءُ بَنِى إِسْرَءِيلَ(Is it not a sign to them that the learned scholars of the Children of Israel knew it (to be true)) (26:197)وَقَالُواْ لَوْلاَ يَأْتِينَا بِـَايَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّهِ أَوَلَمْ تَأْتِهِمْ بَيِّنَةُ مَا فِى الصُّحُفِ الاٍّولَى (They say: "Why does he not bring us a sign from his Lord" Has there not come to them the proof of that which is in the former Scriptures) (20:133) Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The Messenger of Allah said:«مَا مِنَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ مِنْ نَبِيَ إِلَّا قَدْ أُعْطِيَ مِنَ الْآيَاتِ مَا مِثْلُهُ آمَنَ عَلَيْهِ الْبَشَرُ، وَإِنَّمَا كَانَ الَّذِي أُوتِيتُهُ وَحْيًا أَوْحَاهُ اللهُ إِلَيَّ، فَأَرْجُو أَنْ أَكُونَ أَكْثَرَهُمْ تَابِعًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَة»(There is no Prophet who was not given some miracles that would make the people believe in him. What I have been given is revelation which Allah reveals to me, and I hope that I will have the greatest number of followers on the Day of Resurrection.)" It was also recorded by Al-Bukhari and Muslim. Indeed Allah has said:إِنَّ فِى ذلِكَ لَرَحْمَةً وَذِكْرَى لِقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ(Verily, herein is mercy and a reminder for a people who believe.) In this Qur'an there is mercy, that is, explanation of the truth and removal of falsehood, and a reminder to the believers of the punishment that is to come to the disbelievers and sinners. Then Allah says:قُلْ كَفَى بِاللَّهِ بَيْنِى وَبَيْنَكُمْ شَهِيداً(Say: "Sufficient is Allah for a witness between me and you...") `He knows best the words of denial that you utter, and he knows what I am telling you about Him and that He has sent me. If I were telling lies about Him, He would have executed His vengeance upon me,' as Allah says elsewhere:وَلَوْ تَقَوَّلَ عَلَيْنَا بَعْضَ الاٌّقَاوِيلِ - لأَخَذْنَا مِنْهُ بِالْيَمِينِ - ثُمَّ لَقَطَعْنَا مِنْهُ الْوَتِينَ - فَمَا مِنكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ عَنْهُ حَـجِزِينَ g(And if he had forged a false saying concerning Us, We surely would have seized him by his right hand, and then We certainly would have cut off his aorta, and none of you could have withheld Us from (punishing) him.) (69:44-47). `But I am telling the truth in what I say to you about Him, so He has supported me with clear miracles and definitive evidence.'يَعْلَمُ مَا فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ(He knows what is in the heavens and the earth.) means, nothing is hidden from Him at all.وَالَّذِينَ ءامَنُواْ بِالْبَـطِلِ وَكَفَرُواْ بِاللَّهِ أُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْخَـسِرُونَ(And those who believe in falsehood, and disbelieve in Allah, it is they who are the losers.) means, on the Day of Resurrection, they will be punished for what they did, and will get what they justly deserve for rejecting the truth and following falsehood, for disbelieving in the Messengers of Allah even when there was proof that they were telling the truth, and for worshipping false gods with no evidence. Allah will punish them for all that, for He is All-Wise and All-Knowing.