Surah 20. Ta-Ha, Ayah 133

I.e., in proof of his prophetic mission: cf. 6:109 and many other instances in which the deniers of the truth are spoken of as making their belief in the Qur'anic message dependent on tangible "miracles".

I.e., "Does not the Qur'an express the same fundamental truths as were expressed in the revelations granted to the earlier prophets?" Beyond this, the above rhetorical question contains an allusion to the predictions of the advent of Muhammad to be found in the earlier scriptures, e.g., in Deuteronomy xviii, 15 and 18 (discussed in my note [33] on 2:42 ) or in John xiv, 16, xv, 26 and xvi, 7, where Jesus speaks of the "Comforter" who is to come after him. (Regarding this latter prediction, see my note on 61:6 .)

 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.

 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.

The question or plea of the Unbelievers is disingenuous. Many Signs have come with this Revelation. But the one that should have appealed to those who believed in former revelations and should have convinced them was what was in their own books.