وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلًا مِّن قَبْلِكَ مِنْهُم مَّن قَصَصْنَا عَلَيْكَ وَمِنْهُم مَّن لَّمْ نَقْصُصْ عَلَيْكَ ۗ وَمَا كَانَ لِرَسُولٍ أَن يَأْتِيَ بِآيَةٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ ۚ فَإِذَا جَاءَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ قُضِيَ بِالْحَقِّ وَخَسِرَ هُنَالِكَ الْمُبْطِلُونَ (78)
(40:78) Indeed We sent many Messengers before you: of them there are some whose account We have narrated to you and there are others whose account We have not narrated to you. *107 It did not lie in any Messenger's power to bring any Sign *108 except with Allah's leave. So when Allah's decree came, the matter was decided with justice, and those steeped in error courted utter loss, *109 then and there.
*107) A new theme starts from here. The disbelievers of Makkah said to the Holy Prophet, "We would not believe you to be Allah's Messenger unless you showed us the miracle that we ask you to show us." In the following verses an answer is being given to this very demand without mentioning it. (For the type of the miracles they demanded, see Hud: 12, Al-Hijr 7, Bani Isra'il: 90-93, Al-Furqan: 21 and the E.N.'s thereof).
*108) That is, "No Prophet ever showed a miracle by his own will and desire, nor had any Prophet the power to show a miracle by himself. Whenever a miracle was shown through a Prophet, it was shown when Allah willed it to be shown through him to the disbelievers." This is the first answer to the disbelievers' demand.
*109) That is, "A miracle has never been shown for the mere fun of it. It is a decisive thing. If a nation does not believe even after a miracle has been shown, it is destroyed. You are demanding a miracle only for the sake of fun, but you have no idea that by making such a demand you arc, in fact, inviting yow own doom. " This is the second answer to their demand. (For details, please sec AIHijr: 8, 58-60, Bani Isra'il 59, AI-Anbiya': 5-9, Al-Furqan: 22-23, Ash-Shua`ra': 66-67 and the E.N.'s thereof ).