hātū burhānakum — the demand for proof
هَاتُوا۟ بُرْهَٰنَكُمْ
hātū burhānakum — Bring your conclusive proof / Bring your proof
The identical imperative-plus-noun pair هَاتُوا۟ بُرْهَٰنَكُمْ recurs across four different disputes, each time demanding proof from those who assert a claim, and in the one occurrence where a response is described, none is produced.
The expression هَاتُوا۟ بُرْهَٰنَكُمْ is textually identical in all four verses: a second-person masculine plural imperative of ه ا ت followed by burhān in the accusative with a second-person plural pronoun. In each case it is addressed to a group that has just made an assertion, and it converts the assertion into a demand for substantiation. In (2:111) the claim is that none will enter the Garden except those who were Jews or Christians; the demand follows the verdict "Those are their wishful fancies." In (21:24) the claim is the taking of gods apart from Him; the demand is followed by a contrast between the reminder of whoever is with the speaker and whoever was before him, and the statement that most of them do not know the truth. In (27:64) the claim is the existence of a god along with Allah, set against the one who originates creation and provides from sky and earth. In (28:75) the setting differs: the speaker is "We" ("We said, 'Bring your proof'") after a witness is pulled out from every community, and this verse alone reports an outcome — they realized that the truth belongs to God, and what they had been fabricating strayed away from them. Read together, the occurrences show the pair functioning as a fixed challenge formula whose addressee changes with each dispute, and whose burden of proof is placed on the claimants.
Where it occurs
- 2:111 Challenges the claim that the Garden will be entered only by those who were Jews or Christians, after the claim is called wishful fancies.
- 21:24 Challenges the taking of gods apart from Him; followed by the reminder contrast and the statement that most do not know the truth.
- 27:64 Challenges the assertion of a god along with Allah, set against the one who originates creation and provides from sky and earth.
- 28:75 Issued by 'We' after a witness is pulled out from every community; the only occurrence reporting the outcome — they realize the truth belongs to God.
All Qur'anic expressions