وَإِنَّهُ لَفِي زُبُرِ الْأَوَّلِينَ ﴿۱۹۶﴾ أَوَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُمْ آيَةً أَنْ يَعْلَمَهُ عُلَمَاءُ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ ﴿۱۹۷﴾ وَلَوْ نَزَّلْنَاهُ عَلَى بَعْضِ الْأَعْجَمِينَ ﴿۱۹۸﴾ فَقَرَأَهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مَا كَانُوا بِهِ مُؤْمِنِينَ ﴿۱۹۹﴾ كَذَلِكَ سَلَكْنَاهُ فِي قُلُوبِ الْمُجْرِمِينَ ﴿۲۰۰﴾ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ حَتَّى يَرَوُا الْعَذَابَ الْأَلِيمَ ﴿۲۰۱﴾ فَيَأْتِيَهُمْ بَغْتَةً وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ ﴿۲۰۲﴾

﴾196﴿ Wa innahoo lafee Zuburil awwaleen
﴾197﴿ Awalam yakul lahum Aayatan ai ya'lamahoo 'ulamaaa'u Baneee Israaa'eel
﴾198﴿ Wa law nazzalnaahu 'alaa ba'dil a'jameen
﴾199﴿ Faqara ahoo 'alaihim maa kaanoo bihee mu'mineen
﴾200﴿ Kazaalika salaknaahu fee quloobil mujrimeen
﴾201﴿ Laa yu'minoona bihee hattaa yarawul 'azaabal aleem
﴾202﴿ Fayaatiyahum baghtatanw wa hum laa yash'uroon

﴾196﴿ And indeed, this Qur'an is mentioned in the scriptures of the former peoples
﴾197﴿ Is it not a sign for them that the scholars of the Children of Israel know [of it]
﴾198﴿ And if We had revealed this Qur'an to some of the non-Arabs
﴾199﴿ And if he had recited it to them, they would not have been believers in it
﴾200﴿ Thus do We insert it into the hearts of the criminals
﴾201﴿ They will not believe in this Qur'an until they see the painful punishment
﴾202﴿ Then it will come upon them suddenly while they are unaware

[196] In this verse, the eighth proof is mentioned.
The meaning is that the mention of this Qur’an is found in previous scriptures, or that the truth of it is affirmed in earlier books, or that the content and message of the Qur’an is present in those scriptures as well.
As for those who claimed that the exact Qur’an itself exists in previous scriptures (though in different wording), and therefore concluded that “Qur’an” refers only to the meaning, not the exact words — this view is incorrect.
Even Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him) retracted this opinion.
[197] In this verse, the ninth proof of the Qur’an’s truthfulness is mentioned:
That the scholars of Bani Isra’il were witnesses to the truth of this revelation and of the Prophet’s knowledge.
They recognized and affirmed its authenticity, as it aligned with what was revealed in their own scriptures.
[198,199] In these verses is the tenth proof, which is that the Arab identity of the Prophet is a clear reason for them to believe — since he is from among them, speaks their language, and the Qur’an is in clear Arabic.
Yet, despite this, they still do not believe — this is also a rebuke to them.
Had the Qur’an been recited in a non-Arabic language, they would not have believed either — due to their pride and prejudice, or because a non-Arabic language lacks the eloquence and perfection found in Arabic.
For this reason, Arabic was chosen specifically for the final Book and final Messenger.
[200,201] “We insert it into the hearts of the criminals...” — this is a rebuke for denying the Qur’an.
It means that when a person is already a criminal — either through outright denial or doubt — then the rejection of the Qur’an enters his heart, and he never believes unless he sees the punishment.
This shows that one act of disbelief leads to another.
(سَلَكْنَاهُ) — “We insert it” — is attributed to Allah the Exalted, just like خَتَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ (Allah has sealed their hearts).
The pronoun (ه) refers to denial, as indicated by the phrase مَا كَانُوا بِهِ مُؤْمِنِينَ — that which they never believed in.
[202,203] This is a worldly warning.
(فَيَأْتِيَهُمْ) is the response to لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ — meaning: they will not believe until punishment comes to them.
The particle "أن" is implied (muqaddar) before it.
The same applies to (فَيَقُولُوا) — it too is dependent on the implied "أن", completing the structure of the conditional sentence.