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wa-qālū law-lā nuzzila ʿalayhi ʾāyatun min rabbihī qul ʾinna llāha qādirun ʿalā ʾan yunazzila ʾāyatan wa-lākinna ʾaktharahum lā yaʿlamūna
They say, ‘Why has not a sign been sent down to him from his Lord?’ Say, ‘Allah is indeed able to send down a sign,’ but most of them do not know.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Al-‘An’am, Verse 37
37. "And they say: While has not a Sign been sent down to him (Muhammad) from his Lord?' Say: 'Verily Allah is able to send down a Sign, but most of them do not know'."
Upon the occasion of revelation of the verse, it has been cited that some of the chiefs of the Quraysh, seeking for excuses, told the Prophet (S) that merely the Qur'an was not enough to work as his miracle. They wanted him to bring some miracles similar to what Jesus, Moses, Salih and Prophets like them had brought.8 The Prophet (S) who reminds people of the miracles of the former prophets, of course, can surely bring the like of those miracles himself; otherwise he might not remind people of them so that they ask him for something similar to them.
Moreover, as the Islamic literature, that he recorded by Shi'ites and Sunnites scholars denote, the Messenger of Allah had some other miracles besides the Qur'an, too. The main purpose of bringing miracles is showing the sign of Allah’s infinite Power and the particular relation between Allah and His Messenger, not necessarily responding to the endless wishes of the obstinate people. Of course, sometimes miracles come forth to answer to people's request, too. The verse says:
However, a great deal of pretexts should not be listened to. The Qur'an says:
By the way, it should be noted that if these sorts of demands, which are produced obstinately, be replied fully and then they do not believe, all of them will be faced with the Divine punishment and will be destroyed. The reason is that this manner is the utmost dishonour unto the Holy Presence of Allah, His Messenger, His revelations, and His miracles. So, at the end of the verse, it says:
Footnotes