Surah 3

Surah 3:183

"Those (are the same people) who said, ‘Surely God has made us promise not to believe in any messenger until he brings a sacrifice which fire devours.’ Say: ‘Messengers have come to you before me with the clear signs, and with that which you spoke of. So why did you kill them, if you are truthful?’"

– Surely God has made us promise not to believe in any messenger until he brings a sacrifice which fire devours

The audience says that it will not accept the authority of the messenger unless he brings them a sign like that of the biblical Elijah (1 Kings 18:16–40). The Quran reassures the messenger that the audience denies him just as it denied messengers who brought signs in the past – and indeed killed many of them.

- from The Quran with Christian Commentary: A Guide to Understanding the Scripture of Islam