The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 456
CH. 6 AL-AN'ĀM PT. 7 وَهُذَا كِتَب أَنْزَلْنَهُ مُبرَ مُصَدِّقُ And this is a Book which. 93 We have revealed, full of الَّذِي بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَلِتُنْذِرَ اُمَّ الْقُرى blessings, to fulfil that which وَمَنْ حَوْلَهَا وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُوْنَ بِالْآخِرَةِ preceded it, and to enable thee bto warn the Mother of towns يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ وَهُمْ عَلى صَلَاتِهِمْ and those around her. And those who believe in the Hereafter "6:156; 21:51; 38:30. 42:8. God and worshipped idols. To the second class belonged the People of the Book. As the words, Allah has not revealed anything to any man, may mean: (1) that God has never revealed anything to any man; or (2) that He has not revealed anything to any man in the present age, so they may be ascribed to both idol worshippers and the People of the Book. In the foregoing verses only the former were addressed, but now the latter have also been included in the address. As regards the People of the Book, the Quran specifically states: Say, Who revealed the Book which Moses brought, a light and guidance for the people, though you treat it as scraps of paper which you show while you conceal much, i. e. you have split up the Book of Moses into parts, disclosing one part and concealing the other which contains prophecies and signs of the advent of the Holy Prophet. You deny the Quranic revelation, but your own Book contains evidence of its truth which you suppress. The above reply, however, could not satisfy the idol-worshippers who did not believe in the Book of Moses 896 or, for that matter, in any revealed Book. The Quran, therefore, gives them a rational answer. It says, And you have been taught that which neither you nor your fathers knew. This is an argument which is meant to prove the Divine origin of the Quran rationally and is meant not merely for the People of the Book but also for idol-worshippers. The argument may be put thus: "If this Book (the Quran) has not been revealed by God, then who embodied in it such wise and comprehensive teachings as were known neither to you nor to your forefathers teachings which it was beyond your power to produce? Such teachings could not proceed from a man. Only God could give such teachings. " The last words of the verse, i. e. leave them to amuse themselves with their vain discourse, do not mean that you should abandon preaching to disbelievers. The meaning is, "Tell them and make clear to them that the Quran is the Word of God, for it is superhuman and full of wisdom; but if they still persist in ridiculing it, then leave them alone while they thus amuse themselves. " This injunction is similar to the one given in 6:69 above.