Overall meaning : Allah, Exalted be He, states that He gave Moses the Torah complete in its laws, to reward him for doing good and showing his obedience to Him, and to complete His favour upon him, stating that He clearly explained all the religious laws to his people in detail, so that they may believe in the meeting with their Lord on the Day of Judgement and prepare for that day.
He also explains that He has revealed this blessed Qur’an, containing abundant good and knowledge, and commands His servants to follow it and to fear their Lord and be mindful of Him so that they may be shown mercy and be saved from His punishment.
He then declares that He has revealed the Qur’an to refute the Quraysh idolaters’ argument that no divine book has been sent down to them, that the previous divine books (the Torah and the Gospel) were revealed only to two communities before them, namely the Jews and the Christians, and that they were unaware of their teachings, nor were they able to understand them as these scriptures were not in their language, nor were they given any commandments in them. He has also sent down the Qur’an so that they would not argue, saying had a book, like the ones revealed to the Jews and the Christians, been sent down to them, they would have been better guided than they. Allah then explains that a manifest proof—the Qur’an—has now come to them from their Lord, which is a criterion distinguishing truth from error, as well as guidance and mercy. He points out that no one does greater wrong than those who reject His revelations and proofs and turn away from them after they have come to them, warning those who deny His revelations and proofs and disdainfully turn away from of a painful punishment for having thus turned away.
Are these idolaters, who associate partners with Him, only waiting for the angels to come to them and take away their souls while still in a state of unbelief, or for Allah to come and judge among people on Judgement Day, or for the sun to rise in the west—which is one of the portents of the Day of Judgement? For when it rises in the west, faith will not benefit anyone who has not previously believed, nor will sinners’ repentance be accepted, nor will any righteous deeds avail anyone if he did not do them before the sun starts rising in the west. 'Wait, then, for any of these things to take place,’ Allah directs His Prophet to tell them, 'we, too, are waiting.’
The Almighty then declares that His Prophet, Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, has nothing whatsoever to do with those who differ about His religion and renounce it or split it up into different creeds and sects, stating that their case rests solely with Him and that they will all be returned to Him and He will inform them on the Day of Judgement what they have done in this world and repay them accordingly.