Al-An'aam • EN-ASBAB-AL-NUZUL-BY-AL-WAHIDI
﴿ وَأَقْسَمُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَٰنِهِمْ لَئِن جَآءَتْهُمْ ءَايَةٌۭ لَّيُؤْمِنُنَّ بِهَا ۚ قُلْ إِنَّمَا ٱلْءَايَٰتُ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ ۖ وَمَا يُشْعِرُكُمْ أَنَّهَآ إِذَا جَآءَتْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ ﴾
“Now they swear by God with their most solemn oaths that if a miracle were shown to them, they would indeed believe in this [divine writ]. Say: "Miracles are in the power of God alone." And for all you know, even if one should be shown to them, they would not believe”
(And they swear a solemn oath by Allah that if there come unto them a portent they will believe therein...) [6:109] up to (Howbeit, most of them are ignorant) [6:111]. Muhammad ibn Musa ibn al-Fadl informed us> Muhammad ibn Ya�qub al-Umawi> Ahmad �Abd al-Jabbar> Yunus ibn Bukayr> Abu Ma�shar> Muhammad ibn Ka�b who said: �The Quraysh spoke to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace. They said: �You inform us that Moses, peace be upon him, had a staff with which he struck a stone and twelve springs gushed forth, and that Jesus, peace be upon him, revived the dead, and that Thamud had a camel; why do you not bring us some of those signs so that we believe in you?� The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, asked them: �What sign do you want me to bring you?� They said: �Turn [mount] al-Safa into gold�. He said: �Would you believe in me if I did as you ask?� They said: �Yes, by Allah, if you do, we will all follow you�. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, stood up and began supplicating. Then, Gabriel, peace be upon him, came to him and said: �If you wish, I can turn al-Safa into gold. However, never did I send a sign that people disbelieved in except that I sent chastisement after it. If you wish, I will leave them until some of them decide to repent�. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: �Leave them until some of them decide to repent�. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed (And they swear a solemn oath by Allah that if there come unto them a portent they will believe therein) up to His words (� they would not believe unless Allah so willed�) [6:111]�.