Surah 10. Yunus, Ayah 20
| وَيَقُولُونَ لَوْلَا أُنْزِلَ عَلَيْهِ آيَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِ ۖ فَقُلْ إِنَّمَا الْغَيْبُ لِلَّهِ فَانْتَظِرُوا إِنِّي مَعَكُمْ مِنَ الْمُنْتَظِرِينَ |
| Transliteration | : | wa- yaqolon law-laa unzila calay -hi 'aayah min rabb -hi fa- qul 'inna-maa al- ghayb li- 'allaah fa- intaz.iro 'inni -y maca -kum min al- muntaz.iren |
| Pickthall | : | And they will say: If only a portent were sent down upon him from his Lord! Then say (O Muhammad): The Unseen belongeth to Allah. So wait! Lo, I am waiting with you. |
| Asad | : | NOW THEY [who deny the truth] are wont to ask, "Why has no miraculous sign ever been bestowed upon him from on high by his Sustainer?"30 Say, then: "God's alone is the knowledge of that which is beyond the reach of human perception.31 Wait, then, [until His will becomes manifest:] verily, I shall wait with you!" |
| Malik | : | In regards to their saying: "Why has not a sign been sent down to him (Muhammad) from his Rabb?" Tell them: " Allah Alone has the knowledge of the unseen. Wait if you will: I too shall wait with you." |
| Yusuf Ali | : | They say: "Why is not a Sign sent down to him from his Lord?" Say: "The Unseen is only for Allah (to know). Then wait ye: I too will wait with you." 1408 |
Note - 30I.e., on Muhammad, in order to "prove" that he is truly a
bearer of God's message (a sceptical objection which
resumes the theme enunciated in verses {1-2} and {15-17}
above); see also 6:37 and {109} and the corresponding
notes, especially note [94]. The pronoun "they" refers to
both categories of deniers of the truth spoken of in the
preceding passages: the atheists or agnostics "who do not
believe that they are destined to meet God", as well as
those who, while believing in God, "ascribe a share in
His divinity" to all manner of imaginary intercessors or
mediators (see verse {18} above).
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Note - 31This answer relates not merely to the question as to why
God has not bestowed on Muhammad a "miraculous sign" of
his prophethood, but also to the "why" of his having been
chosen for his prophetic mission. See in this connection
2:105 ("God singles out for His grace whom He wills")
and {3:73-74} ("God is infinite, all-knowing, singling
out for His grace whom He wills").
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Note - 1408Their demand for a Sign is disingenuous. All nature and
revelation furnishes them with incontestable Signs. What
they want is the Book of the Unseen opened out to them
like the physical leaves of a book. But they forget that
a physical Book is on a wholly different plane from
Allah's Mysteries, and that their physical natures cannot
apprehend the mysteries. They must wait. Truth will also
wait. But the waiting in the two cases is in quite
different senses. Cf. vi. 158 and ix. 52.
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I.e., on Muhammad, in order to "prove" that he is truly a bearer of God's message (a sceptical objection which resumes the theme enunciated in verses {1-2} and {15-17} above); see also 6:37 and {109} and the corresponding notes, especially note [94]. The pronoun "they" refers to both categories of deniers of the truth spoken of in the preceding passages: the atheists or agnostics "who do not believe that they are destined to meet God", as well as those who, while believing in God, "ascribe a share in His divinity" to all manner of imaginary intercessors or mediators (see verse {18} above). |
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This answer relates not merely to the question as to why God has not bestowed on Muhammad a "miraculous sign" of his prophethood, but also to the "why" of his having been chosen for his prophetic mission. See in this connection 2:105 ("God singles out for His grace whom He wills") and {3:73-74} ("God is infinite, all-knowing, singling out for His grace whom He wills"). |
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Their demand for a Sign is disingenuous. All nature and revelation furnishes them with incontestable Signs. What they want is the Book of the Unseen opened out to them like the physical leaves of a book. But they forget that a physical Book is on a wholly different plane from Allah's Mysteries, and that their physical natures cannot apprehend the mysteries. They must wait. Truth will also wait. But the waiting in the two cases is in quite different senses. Cf. vi. 158 and ix. 52. |
