Tafsir of Ta-Ha 20:133

"And they said, 'Why does he not bring us...'"

They proposed—as was their habit of obstinacy—a sign for his prophethood. It was said to them: "Has there not come to you a sign that is the mother of all signs and the greatest of them in the category of inimitability?"

He means the Qur’an. It is the proof of what is contained in all other revealed scriptures and the evidence of their validity. This is because the Qur’an is a miracle, whereas those [previous scriptures] are not miracles in themselves. Thus, they are in need of its testimony regarding the validity of what they contain, just as one against whom an argument is brought is in need of the testimony of the proof.

It was read: al-ṣuḥuf (the scriptures) with the takhfīf (lightening of the ḥā). The pronoun referring back to al-bayyina (the clear evidence) is masculine because it carries the meaning of al-burhān (the proof) and al-dalīl (the evidence).

"And if We had destroyed them with a punishment before it, they would have said, 'Our Lord, why did You not send to us a messenger so we could have followed Your verses before we were humiliated and disgraced?'"