قَالَ إِن كُنتَ جِئْتَ بِـَٔايَةٍ فَأْتِ بِهَآ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ ٱلصَّـٰدِقِينَ 106
Translations
[Pharaoh] said, "If you have come with a sign, then bring it forth, if you should be of the truthful."
Transliteration
Qala in kunta ji'ta bi-ayatin fa'ti biha in kunta mina as-sadiqin
Tafsir (Explanation)
Pharaoh responds to Moses' call to worship Allah alone by demanding he produce a miraculous sign (ayah) if he truly speaks the truth. This ayah captures Pharaoh's arrogant challenge, testing whether Moses can substantiate his prophetic claim. Classical scholars like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir note that Pharaoh's demand, while superficially reasonable, stemmed from his spiritual blindness and denial, as he had already witnessed numerous signs and refused to believe.
Revelation Context
This verse occurs within the dialogue between Moses and Pharaoh in Surah Al-A'raf, which recounts the historical encounter when Moses came to Pharaoh with the message of monotheism. The broader context shows Pharaoh's successive rejections and demands for miracles, representing the archetypal conflict between divine truth and human arrogance and disbelief.
Related Hadiths
While no specific hadith directly quotes this ayah, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) mentioned in various ahadith (Sahih Muslim and others) that Moses performed clear miracles including the staff turning into a serpent and the splitting of the sea, validating the Quranic account of these events.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds us that those who deny truth often demand endless signs while remaining spiritually hardened; we should recognize that true guidance comes from sincere hearts willing to accept evidence, not from obstinate demands for proof when one's ego refuses submission to Allah's will.
Related Ayahs
وَلَوْ أَنَّ أَهْلَ ٱلْقُرَىٰٓ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَٱتَّقَوْا۟ لَفَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِم بَرَكَـٰتٍ مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَـٰكِن كَذَّبُوا۟ فَأَخَذْنَـٰهُم بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَكْسِبُونَ
And if only the people of the cities had believed and feared Allāh, We would have opened [i.e., bestowed] upon them blessings from the heaven and the earth; but they denied [the messengers], so We seized them for what they were earning.
فَإِذَا جَآءَتْهُمُ ٱلْحَسَنَةُ قَالُوا۟ لَنَا هَـٰذِهِۦ ۖ وَإِن تُصِبْهُمْ سَيِّئَةٌ يَطَّيَّرُوا۟ بِمُوسَىٰ وَمَن مَّعَهُۥٓ ۗ أَلَآ إِنَّمَا طَـٰٓئِرُهُمْ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
But when good [i.e., provision] came to them, they said, "This is ours [by right]." And if a bad [condition] struck them, they saw an evil omen in Moses and those with him. Unquestionably, their fortune is with Allāh, but most of them do not know.
قُلْ إِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ رَبِّىَ ٱلْفَوَٰحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ وَٱلْإِثْمَ وَٱلْبَغْىَ بِغَيْرِ ٱلْحَقِّ وَأَن تُشْرِكُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ مَا لَمْ يُنَزِّلْ بِهِۦ سُلْطَـٰنًا وَأَن تَقُولُوا۟ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
Say, "My Lord has only forbidden immoralities - what is apparent of them and what is concealed - and sin, and oppression without right, and that you associate with Allāh that for which He has not sent down authority, and that you say about Allāh that which you do not know."
۞ وَٱكْتُبْ لَنَا فِى هَـٰذِهِ ٱلدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ إِنَّا هُدْنَآ إِلَيْكَ ۚ قَالَ عَذَابِىٓ أُصِيبُ بِهِۦ مَنْ أَشَآءُ ۖ وَرَحْمَتِى وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَىْءٍ ۚ فَسَأَكْتُبُهَا لِلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ وَيُؤْتُونَ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَٱلَّذِينَ هُم بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
And decree for us in this world [that which is] good and [also] in the Hereafter; indeed, we have turned back to You." [Allāh] said, "My punishment - I afflict with it whom I will, but My mercy encompasses all things." So I will decree it [especially] for those who fear Me and give zakāh and those who believe in Our verses-