And when he ﷺ consoled him regarding what I informed him of their sayings, which pleased his heart and made him happy, and informed him as a relief that their matter is indeed in His hands, he reminded him of some of their words leading to denial after informing him of the gathering in which each will be recompensed for what he does. He said, in reference to his saying: ﴿And they said, 'There is nothing but our worldly life'﴾ [Al-An'am: 29] and his saying: ﴿And they said, 'Why has a messenger not been sent down to him?'﴾ [Al-An'am: 8], expressing astonishment at them in another way: ﴿And they said﴾, meaning: in contradiction or stubbornness or denial. ﴿Why﴾, meaning: why not. ﴿Be sent down﴾, meaning: gradually. ﴿To him﴾, meaning: specifically. ﴿A sign﴾, meaning: one that is established gradually and does not cease. This indicates that they do not consider the Qur'an a sign or anything of what they saw from him ﷺ other than that, such as the splitting of the moon. ﴿From his Lord﴾, meaning: the One who is gracious to him regarding what he claims, so that we may use it as evidence for what he says about monotheism and resurrection.

And when there was in this - as previously mentioned - an indication from them that he had not brought a sign of this nature, either in denial or contradiction, he commanded him to respond by saying: ﴿Say, 'Indeed, Allah'﴾, meaning: the One to whom all matters belong. ﴿Is capable of﴾, and he indicated by emphasizing the verb to the repeated verse of the Qur'an that calls them to challenge and defies them with exaggeration and impossibility. He said: ﴿He sends down﴾, and the reading of Ibn Kathir with lightening indicates that they have reached the utmost in audacity. If they had said: 'Why not send down', meaning: once, it would have been lighter in audacity. Or that it was sent down to them any sign that would compel and force them to it at once, as He, the Exalted, said: ﴿If We will, We could send down upon them a sign from the heavens, and their necks would remain humbled to it﴾ [Ash-Shu'ara: 4]. However, He does not ask for that except gradually, as indicated by the form of the verb in the reading of others that reminds that the verse of the Qur'an does not cease. Rather, whenever anyone among them or others hears it throughout time, it is sent down to him due to its continuity reaching him. Thus, it is more eloquent than their request for a single verse to be sent down to him alone. The result is that they requested a lasting and pure sign. He hinted to them at a sign that, while being specific to him regarding the honor he received, is general for everyone who reaches it, lasting throughout time. ﴿A sign﴾, meaning: of what they proposed and otherwise, nothing can incapacitate Him. In everything, He has signs that defy description, and the great Qur'an is enough as an example of that. ﴿But most of them do not know﴾, meaning: there is no receptivity to knowledge among them, so they do not reflect on anything of what He creates to guide them to the fact that He is capable of all things. Therefore, there is no benefit for them in sending down what they requested. As for the majority, He - glorified is He - responds to them with a verse of the Qur'an or otherwise from what they did not propose.