Surah Al-Ahqaf (46) — Ayah 11

(Ayah 11) ➊ In {وَ قَالَ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْا لِلَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا لَوْ كَانَ خَيْرًا … : ’’ لِلَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا ‘‘}, the meaning of "lam" is not that it was said addressing them, but rather that it was said about them. In the previous verse, the reason for the polytheists not believing was mentioned as their arrogance; now, an example of their arrogance and self-conceit is mentioned, due to which they were deprived of the blessing of faith: they are so proud of the worldly blessings given by Allah Almighty that they consider themselves the only ones deserving of every blessing. They did not consider poor and weak Muslims like Bilal, Ammar, Abdullah bin Mas'ud, Sumayyah, and Zunairah (may Allah be pleased with them) worthy of any favor from Allah Almighty, so they fabricated the argument that if there were any goodness in Islam, these people would not have preceded us towards it. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) defined arrogance in these words: [ اَلْكِبْرُ بَطَرُ الْحَقِّ وَغَمْطُ النَّاسِ ] [ مسلم، الإیمان، باب تحریم الکبر و بیانہ : ۹۱ ] "Arrogance is rejecting the truth and looking down on people." The extent to which the polytheists considered the Muslims insignificant can also be gauged from this verse: « وَ كَذٰلِكَ فَتَنَّا بَعْضَهُمْ بِبَعْضٍ لِّيَقُوْلُوْۤا اَهٰۤؤُلَآءِ مَنَّ اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مِّنْۢ بَيْنِنَا» [ الأنعام : ۵۳ ] "And thus We have tried some of them through others, so that they say, 'Are these the ones upon whom Allah has favored among us?'" Observe the contemptuous attitude of the chiefs of the people of Noah (peace be upon him); they said to Noah (peace be upon him): « مَا نَرٰىكَ اِلَّا بَشَرًا مِّثْلَنَا وَ مَا نَرٰىكَ اتَّبَعَكَ اِلَّا الَّذِيْنَ هُمْ اَرَاذِلُنَا بَادِيَ الرَّاْيِ وَ مَا نَرٰى لَكُمْ عَلَيْنَا مِنْ فَضْلٍۭ بَلْ نَظُنُّكُمْ كٰذِبِيْنَ» [ ھود : ۲۷ ] "We do not see you but as a man like ourselves, and we do not see that anyone has followed you except those who are the lowest among us, with superficial opinion, and we do not see any superiority in you over us; rather, we think you are liars."

➋ In { وَ اِذْ لَمْ يَهْتَدُوْا بِهٖ فَسَيَقُوْلُوْنَ…:}, the statements of the disbelievers mentioned here all aimed to deny the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Quran, such as saying that it is magic, fabrication, that there is no goodness in it, etc. It is said that when they could not obtain the straight path through this Quran, they will continue to say that this is ancient falsehood. That is, if they persist in stubbornness and hostility, they will not believe in any way, nor will they accept any rational or transmitted evidence; rather, even if the testimony of previous prophets and people of knowledge is presented to them, they will reject all the prophets and books by saying that this is ancient falsehood that has been passed down from before. The cause of this attitude is only their disbelief and arrogance; as long as they persist in it, they will continue to say this, as it is said: «وَ قَالَ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْۤا اِنْ هٰذَاۤ اِلَّاۤ اِفْكٌ افْتَرٰىهُ وَ اَعَانَهٗ عَلَيْهِ قَوْمٌ اٰخَرُوْنَ فَقَدْ جَآءُوْ ظُلْمًا وَّ زُوْرًا (4) وَ قَالُوْۤا اَسَاطِيْرُ الْاَوَّلِيْنَ اكْتَتَبَهَا فَهِيَ تُمْلٰى عَلَيْهِ بُكْرَةً وَّ اَصِيْلًا» [ الفرقان : ۴، ۵ ] "And those who disbelieved said, 'This is nothing but a lie he has fabricated, and other people have helped him in it.' So they have come with injustice and falsehood. And they said, 'These are tales of the former people, which he has had written down, and they are read to him morning and evening.'"

11. 1. The disbelievers of Makkah, upon seeing Muslims like Bilal, Ammar, Suhaib, and Khabbab (may Allah be pleased with them), who were poor and destitute people but had the honor of being the first to accept Islam, used to say that if there was any goodness in this religion, then people of honor and status like us would have been the first to accept it, not these people who believed before us. That is, in their own way, they assumed about themselves that they had a great status with Allah. Therefore, if this religion was also from Allah, then Allah would not have left us behind in accepting it, and since we did not adopt it, it means that this is an old lie, that is, they declared the Quran to be an old lie, just as they used to call it tales of the ancients (Asatir-ul-Awwalin). Whereas being distinguished in worldly wealth and riches is not proof of acceptance with Allah (as they were deluded or Satan deluded them). For acceptance with Allah, faith and sincerity are required, and He bestows this wealth of faith and sincerity upon whomever He wills, just as He gives wealth and riches as a test to whomever He wills.

11. And the disbelievers say to those who believe, "If this (religion) were any good, they (the believers) would not have preceded us [15] in accepting it." And since they have not been guided by it (the Quran), they will surely say, "This is an ancient lie [16]."

[15]
The Jews’ Misconception About Themselves:

Despite all this, they are under the impression that the standard of truth is their own exalted selves. Only that can be true which they declare to be true. Then, if they themselves do not consider it true, how can something become true just because a few weak people consider it so? If this religion were something good, how could intelligent and honorable people like us lag behind these slaves and maidservants?
[16] They called it a lie because they considered themselves the standard of truth, and the Quran was against their standard. And they called it old because the teachings of the previous prophets were exactly the same as those of this Last Prophet. They could not call it a new lie, nor were they willing to say that it was an old truth, because from the beginning the prophets have always given this true teaching.