The Quran

Preface

وَلَقَد أَرسَلنا رُسُلًا مِن قَبلِكَ مِنهُم مَن قَصَصنا عَلَيكَ وَمِنهُم مَن لَم نَقصُص عَلَيكَ ۗ وَما كانَ لِرَسولٍ أَن يَأتِيَ بِآيَةٍ إِلّا بِإِذنِ اللَّهِ ۚ فَإِذا جاءَ أَمرُ اللَّهِ قُضِيَ بِالحَقِّ وَخَسِرَ هُنالِكَ المُبطِلونَ

Yusuf Ali

We did aforetime send messengers before thee: of them¹ there are some whose story We have related to thee, and some whose story We have not related to thee. It was not (possible) for any messenger to bring a sign except by the leave of God. but when the Command² of God issued, the matter was decided in truth and justice, and there perished, there and then those who stood on Falsehoods.

Cf. 4:164. God sent Messengers of His Truth to every people. There are some whose names are known to us through the Holy Qur' an, but there are a large number whose names are not made known to us through that medium. We must recognise the Truth wherever we find it.
The Signs of God are everywhere, and can be seen by the discerning eye at all times. But if any extraordinary Signs are demanded by cynics or Unbelievers, they will not be granted merely because they are demanded. It is God’s Will that issues them, not merely the desire of human beings, even if he be a Messenger of God. But when an extraordinary Sign does issue by the Command of God, it means that the cup of the iniquitous is full; that their case is decided, and their time of respite is past; and that Justice takes the place of Mercy, and evil is blotted out.