“And it was not possible for this Quran to have been fabricated by anyone other than Allah; rather, it is a confirmation of what came before it and a detailed exposition of the Book, in which there is no doubt, from the Lord of the worlds. (37) Or do they say, ‘He has fabricated it’? Say, ‘Then bring forth a surah like it, and call upon whomever you can besides Allah, if you are truthful.’ (38) Rather, they have denied that which they have not encompassed in knowledge and whose ultimate outcome has not yet come to them. Thus did those before them deny; so consider how the end of the wrongdoers was. (39) Among them are those who believe in it, and among them are those who do not believe in it. And your Lord knows best the corrupters. (40) And if they deny you, then say, ‘For me are my deeds, and for you are your deeds. You are free of what I do, and I am free of what you do.’ (41)”
His saying, Most High, “And it was not possible for this Quran to have been fabricated by anyone other than Allah”: al-Farra’ said: Its meaning is that it does not befit a Quran such as this to be fabricated by anyone other than Allah, as in His saying, Most High: “It is not for a prophet to act dishonestly” (Aal ‘Imran, 161).
It is also said that the particle an has the meaning of li; that is, this Quran could not have been fabricated by anyone other than Allah.
His saying, “rather, it is a confirmation of what came before it”: that is, of the Torah and the Gospel that preceded the Quran. It is also said that it confirms what lies ahead of the Quran, namely the Resurrection and the rising again. “And a detailed exposition of the Book”: that is, an explanation of what the Book contains of the lawful and unlawful, obligatory duties, and rulings. “In which there is no doubt, from the Lord of the worlds.”
“Or do they say”: Abu ‘Ubaydah said that the particle am has the sense of wa; that is, “And they say, ‘He has fabricated it’”—meaning that Muhammad invented the Quran of his own accord. “Say, ‘Then bring forth a surah like it’”: one resembling the Quran. “And call upon whomever you can”: among those whom you worship, “besides Allah,” to assist you in doing so, “if you are truthful” in claiming that Muhammad fabricated it.
Then He said: “Rather, they have denied that which they have not encompassed in knowledge”: that is, the Quran. They denied it without encompassing it in knowledge. “And whose ultimate outcome has not yet come to them”: that is, the consequence of what Allah promised in the Quran—the punishment to which their affair will lead. In other words, they did not know the outcome to which their affair would lead. “Thus did those before them deny”: that is, just as these disbelievers denied the Quran, so too did the disbelievers among the bygone nations before them deny. “So consider how the end of the wrongdoers was”: that is, the final outcome of the polytheists, namely their destruction.
“Among them are those who believe in it”: that is, among your people are those who believe in the Quran. “And among them are those who do not believe in it,” because of Allah’s prior knowledge concerning them. “And your Lord knows best the corrupters” ⦗170/a⦘—those who do not believe.
“And if they deny you,” O Muhammad, “then say, ‘For me are my deeds,’” and their recompense, “and for you are your deeds,” and their recompense. “You are free of what I do, and I am free of what you do.” This is like His saying, Most High: “For us are our deeds, and for you are your deeds” (al-Qasas, 55).