The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 507
PT. 8 AL-AN'ĀM CH. 6 أَنْ تَقُولُوا إِنَّمَا اُنْزِلَ الْكِتَبُ عَلى Lest You should say, The. 157 Book was sent down only to two peoples before us, and we were indeed unaware of their reading'; 896 طَابِفَتَيْنِ مِنْ قَبْلِنَا وَإِنْ كُنَّا عَنْ دِرَاسَتِهِمْ لَغُفِلِينَ ) أَوْ تَقُولُوا لَوْ أَنَّا اُنْزِلَ عَلَيْنَا الكتب Or lest you should say. 158 الْكِتُبُ 'Had the Book been sent down لَكُنَّا أَهْدَى مِنْهُمْ فَقَدْ جَاءَكُمُ to us, we should surely have been better guided than they. ' There has now come to you a بَيْنَةٌ مِنْ رَّبِّكُمْ وَهُدًى وَرَحْةٌ فَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنْ كَذَّبَ بِايَتِ اللهِ وَصَدَفَ clear evidence from your Lord and a guidance and a mercy. "35:43. teachings of all the other Scriptures (for an explanation of the word see note on 6:93 above). The verse purports to say (1) that as the Quran is a revealed Book, so you should accept it and thereby become recipients of all the favours attached to revealed Books; (2) that as it comprises in itself the teachings of all other revealed Scriptures, so you should leave all other Books and follow it alone. 896. Important Words: call (unaware) is the plural of wanting which also means requisite knowledge (Lane). Commentary: in This and the succeeding verses are addressed to the pagan tribes of Arabia and give the reason why the Quran has been revealed to a Prophet of that country. If the Quran had not been sent down to the pagan Arabs, they might have justly offered the 947 excuse that Books had been sent down to two other peoples (explained below) in tongues which the Arabs could not understand, and that if a Book had been sent down to them, they would have acted upon its teachings more faithfully. To meet this excuse the Quran has been revealed to a Prophet from among the Arabs in their own tongue; so now they cannot offer that excuse. The "two peoples" mentioned in the verse are (1) the Jews to whom was given the Book of Moses and whose religion originated in the north of Arabia; and (2) the Zoroastrians to whom was given the Zend-Avesta and who lived on the east side of Arabia. The Christians were given no separate Law, for both Jesus and his disciples followed the Law of Moses; hence, so far as religious Laws are concerned, they do not form a separate people but must be classed with the Jews.