Surah Yunus (10) — Ayah 16

(Ayah 16){قُلْ لَّوْ شَآءَ اللّٰهُ مَا تَلَوْتُهٗ …: ’’ تَلَوْتُ ‘‘ ’’ تَلاَ يَتْلُوْ تِلَاوَةً ‘‘} (ن) is the singular first person active past tense verb. In {’’ مَا تَلَوْتُهٗ‘‘}, it means "I would not recite it." {’’ أَدْرٰي ‘‘} this {’’ دَرٰي يَدْرِيْ ‘‘} (ض) (to know, to be informed) is the active past tense singular third person verb from the form IV of {’’اَدْرٰي يُدْرِيْ‘‘}. {’’ وَ لَاۤ اَدْرٰىكُمْ بِهٖ ‘‘} "And nor would He inform you of it," or "nor would He make you know it." The meaning is that before prophethood, I lived an age among you, that is, forty years, and during all that time you all know that I neither knew how to read nor write, as Allah Almighty said: «{ وَ مَا كُنْتَ تَتْلُوْا مِنْ قَبْلِهٖ مِنْ كِتٰبٍ وَّ لَا تَخُطُّهٗ بِيَمِيْنِكَ اِذًا لَّارْتَابَ الْمُبْطِلُوْنَ}» [ العنکبوت : ۴۸ ] "And before this, you did not recite any book, nor did you write it with your right hand; otherwise, the falsifiers would have doubted." And see Surah Ash-Shura (52, 53). And you all also agree upon my truthfulness and trustworthiness. See Surah Al-An'am (33). So do you not understand that this Qur'an, of which the entire universe besides Allah is unable to produce even the like of its smallest surah, how could I have composed it? And why do you not believe that if Allah had willed, He would not have revealed it to me, nor would I have recited it to you, nor would He have informed you of it? Now, from where can I bring another Qur'an, or how can I make any change in it from myself? This matter is neither within my ability nor within my power.