Surah Shuara ayat 199 Tafsir Quran 26:199

﴿فَقَرَأَهُ عَلَيْهِم مَّا كَانُوا بِهِ مُؤْمِنِينَ﴾
[ الشعراء: 199]

26:199 And he had recited it to them [perfectly], they would [still] not have been believers in it.

and had he recited it to them that is to the disbelievers of Mecca they would not have believed in it disdaining to follow it.

And had the prophet read it to them, they would not have understood it nor welcomed it or given credence to it

The Qur'an was mentioned in the Previous Scriptures Allah says: this Qur'an was mentioned and referred to in the previous Scriptures that were left behind by their Prophets who foretold it in ancient times and more recently.
Allah took a covenant from them that they would follow it, and the last of them stood and addressed his people with the good news of Ahmad: وَإِذْ قَالَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ يبَنِى إِسْرَءِيلَ إِنِّى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُم مُّصَدِّقاً لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَىَّ مِنَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَمُبَشِّراً بِرَسُولٍ يَأْتِى مِن بَعْدِى اسْمُهُ أَحْمَدُ ( And (remember ) when `Isa, son of Maryam, said: "O Children of Israel! I am the Messenger of Allah unto you, confirming the Tawrah before me, and giving glad tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad.) ( 61:6 ) Zubur here refers to Books; Zubur is the plural of Az-Zabur, which is also the name used to refer to the Book given to Dawud.
Allah says: وَكُلُّ شَىْءٍ فَعَلُوهُ فِى الزُّبُرِ ( And everything they have done is noted in the Az-Zubur. ) ( 54:52 ), meaning, it is recorded against them in the books of the angels.
Then Allah says: أَوَلَمْيَكُن لَّهُمْ ءَايَةً أَن يَعْلَمَهُ عُلَمَاءُ بَنِى إِسْرَءِيلَ ( Is it not a sign to them that the learned scholars of the Children of Israel knew it ) meaning, is it not sufficient witness to the truth for them that the scholars of the Children of Israel found this Qur'an mentioned in the Scriptures which they study The meaning is: the fair-minded among them admitted that the attributes of Muhammad ﷺ and his mission and his Ummah were mentioned in their Books, as was stated by those among them who believed, such as `Abdullah bin Salam, Salman Al-Farisi and others who met the Prophet .
Allah said: الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِىَّ الأُمِّىَّ ( Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write ... ) ( 7:157 ) The Intense Disbelief of Quraysh Then Allah tells us how intense the disbelief of Quraysh was, and how stubbornly they resisted the Qur'an.
If this Book with all its eloquence had been revealed to a non-Arab who did not know one word of Arabic, they still would not have believed in him.
Allah says: وَلَوْ نَزَّلْنَـهُ عَلَى بَعْضِ الاٌّعْجَمِينَ فَقَرَأَهُ عَلَيْهِم مَّا كَانُوا بِهِ مُؤْمِنِينَ- ( And if We had revealed it unto any of the non-Arabs, And he had recited it unto them, they would not have believed in it. ) And Allah says: وَلَوْ فَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِم بَاباً مِّنَ السَّمَاءِ فَظَلُّواْ فِيهِ يَعْرُجُونَ لَقَالُواْ إِنَّمَا سُكِّرَتْ أَبْصَـرُنَا ( And even if We opened to them a gate from the heaven and they were to keep on ascending thereto.
They would surely say: "Our eyes have been dazzled..." ) ( 15:14-15 ) وَلَوْ أَنَّنَا نَزَّلْنَآ إِلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَـئِكَةَ وَكَلَّمَهُمُ الْمَوْتَى ( And even if We had sent down unto them angels, and the dead had spoken unto them... ) ( 6:111 ) إِنَّ الَّذِينَ حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِمْ كَلِمَةُ رَبِّكَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ ( Truly, those, against whom the Word of your Lord has been justified, will not believe. ) ( 10:96 ) كَذَلِكَ سَلَكْنَاهُ فِي قُلُوبِ الْمُجْرِمِينَ - لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ حَتَّى يَرَوُاْ الْعَذَابَ الاٌّلِيمَ - فَيَأْتِيَهُم بَغْتَةً وَهُمْ لاَ يَشْعُرُونَ - فَيَقُولُواْ هَلْ نَحْنُ مُنظَرُونَ - أَفَبِعَذَابِنَا يَسْتَعْجِلُونَ - أَفَرَأَيْتَ إِن مَّتَّعْنَـهُمْ سِنِينَ - ثُمَّ جَآءَهُم مَّا كَانُواْ يُوعَدُونَ - مَآ أَغْنَى عَنْهُمْ مَّا كَانُواْ يُمَتَّعُونَ - وَمَآ أَهْلَكْنَا مِن قَرْيَةٍ إِلاَّ لَهَا مُنذِرُونَ

(26:199) and he had recited this (discourse in lucid Arabic) before them, they would still not have believed in it. *124

And he had recited it to them meaning

*124) That is, " Now when a man from among themselves is reciting to them this Divine Revelation in lucid Arabic, they say that he himself has composed it, and therefore it cannot be from Allah.
But if the same Revelation in eloquent Arabic had been sent down by Allah to a non-Arab as a miracle, and he had recited it before them in perfect Arabic accent, they would have invented some other excuse for not believing in him.
They would have said that he is under the power and influence of a jinn, who speaks Arabic through a non-Arab. " As a matter of fact, a lover of the truth considers the thing presented before him coolly and forms an opinion about it after due thought.
But an obdurate person who is unwilling to believe, pays no attention to it at all, but instead seeks all sorts of excuses to reject it, and will, in any case, invent an excuse for his denial.
This obduracy of the unbelieving Quraish has been exposed over and over again in the Qur'an, and they have been clearly told that even if a miracle were shown to them, they would certainly have found an excuse to deny it because they are not inclined to believe: " O Messenger, even if We had sent down to you a Book written on paper, and even if they had touched it with their own hands, the disbelievers would have said, `This is nothing but manifest sorcery'. " ( Al-An`am: 7 ).
" Even if We had opened a gate for them in heaven, and they had begun to ascend through it, they would have said, `Our eyes have been dazzled; nay, we have been bewitched' " ( Al-Hijr: 1415 ).

 

The Qur'an was mentioned in the Previous Scriptures Allah says: this Qur'an was mentioned and referred to in the previous Scriptures that were left behind by their Prophets who foretold it in ancient times and more recently.
Allah took a covenant from them that they would follow it, and the last of them stood and addressed his people with the good news of Ahmad: وَإِذْ قَالَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ يبَنِى إِسْرَءِيلَ إِنِّى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُم مُّصَدِّقاً لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَىَّ مِنَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَمُبَشِّراً بِرَسُولٍ يَأْتِى مِن بَعْدِى اسْمُهُ أَحْمَدُ ( And (remember ) when `Isa, son of Maryam, said: "O Children of Israel! I am the Messenger of Allah unto you, confirming the Tawrah before me, and giving glad tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad.) ( 61:6 ) Zubur here refers to Books; Zubur is the plural of Az-Zabur, which is also the name used to refer to the Book given to Dawud.
Allah says: وَكُلُّ شَىْءٍ فَعَلُوهُ فِى الزُّبُرِ ( And everything they have done is noted in the Az-Zubur. ) ( 54:52 ), meaning, it is recorded against them in the books of the angels.
Then Allah says: أَوَلَمْيَكُن لَّهُمْ ءَايَةً أَن يَعْلَمَهُ عُلَمَاءُ بَنِى إِسْرَءِيلَ ( Is it not a sign to them that the learned scholars of the Children of Israel knew it ) meaning, is it not sufficient witness to the truth for them that the scholars of the Children of Israel found this Qur'an mentioned in the Scriptures which they study The meaning is: the fair-minded among them admitted that the attributes of Muhammad ﷺ and his mission and his Ummah were mentioned in their Books, as was stated by those among them who believed, such as `Abdullah bin Salam, Salman Al-Farisi and others who met the Prophet .
Allah said: الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِىَّ الأُمِّىَّ ( Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write ... ) ( 7:157 ) The Intense Disbelief of Quraysh Then Allah tells us how intense the disbelief of Quraysh was, and how stubbornly they resisted the Qur'an.
If this Book with all its eloquence had been revealed to a non-Arab who did not know one word of Arabic, they still would not have believed in him.
Allah says: وَلَوْ نَزَّلْنَـهُ عَلَى بَعْضِ الاٌّعْجَمِينَ فَقَرَأَهُ عَلَيْهِم مَّا كَانُوا بِهِ مُؤْمِنِينَ- ( And if We had revealed it unto any of the non-Arabs, And he had recited it unto them, they would not have believed in it. ) And Allah says: وَلَوْ فَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِم بَاباً مِّنَ السَّمَاءِ فَظَلُّواْ فِيهِ يَعْرُجُونَ لَقَالُواْ إِنَّمَا سُكِّرَتْ أَبْصَـرُنَا ( And even if We opened to them a gate from the heaven and they were to keep on ascending thereto.
They would surely say: "Our eyes have been dazzled..." ) ( 15:14-15 ) وَلَوْ أَنَّنَا نَزَّلْنَآ إِلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَـئِكَةَ وَكَلَّمَهُمُ الْمَوْتَى ( And even if We had sent down unto them angels, and the dead had spoken unto them... ) ( 6:111 ) إِنَّ الَّذِينَ حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِمْ كَلِمَةُ رَبِّكَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ ( Truly, those, against whom the Word of your Lord has been justified, will not believe. ) ( 10:96 ) كَذَلِكَ سَلَكْنَاهُ فِي قُلُوبِ الْمُجْرِمِينَ - لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ حَتَّى يَرَوُاْ الْعَذَابَ الاٌّلِيمَ - فَيَأْتِيَهُم بَغْتَةً وَهُمْ لاَ يَشْعُرُونَ - فَيَقُولُواْ هَلْ نَحْنُ مُنظَرُونَ - أَفَبِعَذَابِنَا يَسْتَعْجِلُونَ - أَفَرَأَيْتَ إِن مَّتَّعْنَـهُمْ سِنِينَ - ثُمَّ جَآءَهُم مَّا كَانُواْ يُوعَدُونَ - مَآ أَغْنَى عَنْهُمْ مَّا كَانُواْ يُمَتَّعُونَ - وَمَآ أَهْلَكْنَا مِن قَرْيَةٍ إِلاَّ لَهَا مُنذِرُونَ

( And he had read it unto them ) unto Quraysh, ( they would not have believed in it ) i.e. in the Qur’an, because they did not believe in what was in their own language, so how were they to believe in something which is in a different language?

And he had recited it unto them, they would not have believed in it.

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