مَآ أَنتَ إِلَّا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُنَا فَأْتِ بِـَٔايَةٍ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ ٱلصَّـٰدِقِينَ 154
Translations
You are but a man like ourselves, so bring a sign, if you should be of the truthful."
Transliteration
Mā anta illā basharun mithlunā fa'ti bi-āyatin in kunta mina aṣ-ṣādiqīn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah records the objection of the people of 'Ād against the Prophet Hūd, who claimed they were merely human like themselves and therefore demanded a miraculous sign as proof of his prophethood. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari note that this represents a common refrain of disbelievers who rejected the messengers—they denied the possibility that Allah could send a human as a messenger, despite this being central to Islamic theology. The demand for a sign reflects their arrogance and spiritual blindness rather than a genuine quest for truth.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah Ash-Shu'ara (The Poets), a Meccan surah that recounts multiple accounts of earlier prophets and their rejecting peoples. The specific context is the dialogue between Prophet Hūd and the people of 'Ād, illustrating the recurring pattern of disbelief and the demand for miracles despite the clear message brought by the messenger.
Related Hadiths
The Quranic principle reflected here connects to Sahih Muslim's hadith where the Prophet ﷺ stated that he was sent as a human to humans, and his greatest miracle was the Quran itself. Additionally, hadiths about the rejection of messengers in Surah Al-An'ām (6:109) parallel this theme of demanding signs while persisting in disbelief.
Themes
Key Lesson
Believers should recognize that prophets being human does not diminish their divine mission, and that spiritual arrogance—demanding signs while refusing to reflect on clear signs already present—is the true barrier to faith, not the lack of evidence.