أَوْ يَكُونَ لَكَ بَيْتٌ مِّن زُخْرُفٍ أَوْ تَرْقَىٰ فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَلَن نُّؤْمِنَ لِرُقِيِّكَ حَتَّىٰ تُنَزِّلَ عَلَيْنَا كِتَـٰبًا نَّقْرَؤُهُۥ ۗ قُلْ سُبْحَانَ رَبِّى هَلْ كُنتُ إِلَّا بَشَرًا رَّسُولًا 93
Translations
Or you have a house of ornament [i.e., gold] or you ascend into the sky. And [even then], we will not believe in your ascension until you bring down to us a book we may read." Say, "Exalted is my Lord! Was I ever but a human messenger?"
Transliteration
Aw yakūnu laka baytun min zukhrufin aw tarqā fī as-samāʾi wa lan nuʾmina li-ruqiyyika ḥattā tunazzila ʿalaynā kitāban naqraʾuhū. Qul subḥāna rabbī hal kuntu illā basharān rasūlā
Tafsir (Explanation)
The disbelievers of Mecca challenged the Prophet (ﷺ) to perform miracles such as building a house of gold or ascending to heaven, claiming they would only believe if he brought down a written scripture they could read. The Prophet's response, "Glory be to my Lord! Am I not but a human messenger?" affirms his humanity and reiterates that his prophethood rests on the message he conveys, not on supernatural feats at the demand of skeptics. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari note that this ayah establishes the principle that messengers are humans chosen to deliver God's message, and their validity comes from the truth of their message, not from performing arbitrary miracles on demand.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of the Meccan period and addresses the obstinate demands of Meccan polytheists who rejected the Prophet's message despite his clear signs and moral character. The context reflects the hardship of early Islamic preaching when the disbelievers constantly made unreasonable demands for miracles as proof of prophethood, testing the Prophet's patience and resolve during the difficult Meccan years.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'Every prophet was given miracles because of which people believed, but what I have been given is the Qur'an, which Allah revealed to me' (Sahih Muslim 152). Additionally, 'The difference between me and the other prophets is that I have been sent to all mankind' (Sahih Bukhari 335), emphasizing the universality of his message over supernatural displays.
Themes
Key Lesson
True faith is built upon understanding and accepting divine guidance through the message, not upon demanding miracles or supernatural feats as proof. Muslims should recognize that the greatest miracle is the Qur'an itself and the practical transformation it brings to human life and society, and should avoid the trap of seeking extraordinary signs while neglecting the clear signs already present.