Overall meaning : The Quraysh unbelievers scornfully say of the faithful, ‘Had this Qur’an been any good, these poor and lowly people would certainly not have believed and followed it before us, given our honourable status!’ Now since they stubbornly refuse to be guided by it, they are bound to say, ‘This Qur’an is one of the ancients’ fabrications!’
They say so despite the fact that before this Qur’an, the Torah—which they know very well—was revealed to Moses as a guide and mercy for the Children of Israel; and this Qur’an is a book confirming the truth of the Torah clearly in the Arabic tongue, to warn those who wrong themselves by reason of their unbelief and sin and to give good news of all good in this world and the hereafter to those who do good.