Taha · Makki · ayah 133 of 135

Taha 20:133

وَقَالُوا۟ لَوْلَا يَأْتِينَا بِـَٔايَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّهِۦٓ ۚ أَوَلَمْ تَأْتِهِم بَيِّنَةُ مَا فِى ٱلصُّحُفِ ٱلْأُولَىٰ

“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?[868]”

Saheeh International

Essence

They demanded a sign, while the greatest sign was being recited to them: a book that made plain what every earlier scripture held.

A reflection

‘Show me one miracle’

The demand in this ayah is still heard today. If he is a prophet, why not a sign? Why not something undeniable: a split sea, a dead man raised, a camel from a rock?

The commentaries say the Makkans wanted a sign of their own choosing, like those given to earlier prophets. One adds that they had in fact been given many signs, and still asked.

Then the ayah answers with a question. Has there not come to them the clear proof of what was in the former scriptures? The commentaries say this is the Quran itself. One classical commentator calls it the mother of signs, the greatest of them.

Sahih al-Bukhari records the Prophet ﷺ explaining why. Every prophet before him was given signs that people believed on seeing. What he had been given was revelation. So, he said, I hope to have the most followers of them all on the Day of Resurrection.

The logic is striking. A split sea convinces those standing on the shore. A revelation can be read in every century, by every person who opens it. The earlier signs were witnessed once. This one is still here.

Picture a university debate on religion. A confident second-year student closes his speech: 'Show me one verifiable miracle, and I'll convert tonight.' Afterwards, over coffee, someone asks whether he has read the Quran. He laughs. Not a page. He has asked for a sign while ignoring the one sitting on the library shelf.

That is the Makkans' position, repeated. The ayah does not mock the desire for evidence. It points out that the evidence is already here, in a form designed to last.

What remains open for any sceptic is what they will make of that book once they read it. But the demand 'show me a sign' is only honest from someone who has looked at the one already given.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.