(11–12) “Those who disbelieve say of those who believe, ‘Had it been good, they would not have preceded us to it.’ Since they were not guided by it, they will say, ‘This is an ancient fabrication.’ Before it came the Scripture of Moses as a guide and mercy; and this is a confirming Scripture in an Arabic tongue, to warn those who do wrong and to bring glad tidings to those who do good.”

That is, those who disbelieved in the truth said, stubbornly opposing it and rejecting its call: “Had it been good, they would not have preceded us to it.” That is, the believers would not have preceded us to it; rather, we would have been the first to embrace it and outstrip others in doing so. This is utterly specious reasoning. What proof is there that the mark of truth is that those who deny it must embrace it before the believers? Are their souls purer, their minds more perfect, or guidance in their hands? They uttered these words merely to console themselves, like someone unable to obtain something who then begins to disparage it. Thus He says, “Since they were not guided by it, they will say, ‘This is an ancient fabrication.’” What prompted them to say this was that, when they were not guided by this Quran and thus missed the greatest gifts and most sublime objects of desire, they impugned it as a lie—though it is the truth about which there is no doubt or uncertainty.

It accords with the heavenly scriptures, especially the most complete and excellent of them after the Quran: the Torah, which Allah revealed to Moses “as a guide and mercy.” That is, the Children of Israel followed it as their guide and were directed by it, thereby attaining the good of this world and the Hereafter. “And this” Quran “is a confirming Scripture” of the previous scriptures: it testifies to their truth and confirms them through its agreement with them. Allah made it “in an Arabic tongue” so that it could be readily understood and easily remembered, “to warn those who do wrong”—those who wrong themselves through disbelief, wickedness, and disobedience—of a grievous punishment if they persist in their wrongdoing; and to bring glad tidings of an abundant reward in this world and the Hereafter to those who excel in worshiping the Creator and benefiting His creatures. It also identifies the deeds against which warning is given and those for which glad tidings are promised.