Tafseer Ibn Kathir of ASY SYU'ARAA' [196]

196. And verily, it is in the Zubur of the former people. 197. Is it not a sign to them that the learned scholars of the Children of Israel knew it 198. And if We had revealed it unto any of the non-Arabs, 199. And he had recited it unto them, they would not have believed in it.   Allah says: this Qur'an was mentioned and referred to in the previous Scriptures that were left behind by their Prophets who foretold it in ancient times and more recently. Allah took a covenant from them that they would follow it, and the last of them stood and addressed his people with the good news of Ahmad:

(And (remember) when `Isa, son of Maryam, said: ”O Children of Israel! I am the Messenger of Allah unto you, confirming the Tawrah before me, and giving glad tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad.) (61:6) Zubur here refers to Books; Zubur is the plural of Az-Zabur, which is also the name used to refer to the Book given to Dawud. Allah says:

(And everything they have done is noted in the Az-Zubur.) (54:52), meaning, it is recorded against them in the books of the angels. Then Allah says:

(Is it not a sign to them that the learned scholars of the Children of Israel knew it) meaning, is it not sufficient witness to the truth for them that the scholars of the Children of Israel found this Qur'an mentioned in the Scriptures which they study The meaning is: the fair-minded among them admitted that the attributes of Muhammad and his mission and his Ummah were mentioned in their Books, as was stated by those among them who believed, such as `Abdullah bin Salam, Salman Al-Farisi and others who met the Prophet . Allah said:

(Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write ...) (7:157) Then Allah tells us how intense the disbelief of Quraysh was, and how stubbornly they resisted the Qur'an. If this Book with all its eloquence had been revealed to a non-Arab who did not know one word of Arabic, they still would not have believed in him. Allah says:

(And if We had revealed it unto any of the non-Arabs, And he had recited it unto them, they would not have believed in it.) And Allah says:

(And even if We opened to them a gate from the heaven and they were to keep on ascending thereto. They would surely say: ”Our eyes have been dazzled...'') (15:14-15)

(Truly, those, against whom the Word of your Lord has been justified, will not believe.) (10:96)