Zeg: "Als Allah het had gewild, dan had ik het niet aan jullie voorgedragen en had Hij hem niet aan jullie bekend gemaakt. En voorzeker, ik heb een leeftijd lang vóór hem (de Koran) temidden van jullie geleefd. Denken jullie dan niet na?"
“If God so willed, I would not have recited it to you, and (so) He would not have made it known to you”
This reading has a particle of negation which reinforces the preceding negation by mā.
وَلَأَدْرَاكُم
wa-la-adrākumū bihī
“If God so willed, I would not have recited it to you, and He would have made it known to you (through other means)”
In this reading, one alif is unpronounced, so this phrase is affirmed (as the apodosis of the conditional), not negated. NB: another narration from al-Bazzī has alif like the majority reading.
Uitleg
These readings are complementary, as each describes a hypothetical scenario: God could have decided to send another messenger or none at all, but instead He has sent Muhammad (ﷺ) to recite the Quran to them [al-Alusi].
He has revealed to you ˹O Prophet˺ the Book in truth, confirming what came before it, as He revealed the Torah and the Gospel
Uitleg
These readings are complementary, as each describes a hypothetical scenario: God could have decided to send another messenger or none at all, but instead He has sent Muhammad (ﷺ) to recite the Quran to them [al-Alusi].