[Laqad wu'idna hadha nahnu wa aba'una min qabl] (We have been promised this, we and our forefathers before) — this is the statement of the Arab polytheists, meaning: Our forefathers were promised resurrection before, just as Muhammad promised us, yet we did not see them resurrected; he means: those among the Arabs who lived during the time of Moses. [In hadha illa asatir al-awwalin] (This is nothing but the legends of the ancients) — meaning: the lies of the ancients and their falsehoods.
﴿لَقَدْ وُعِدْنَا هَذَا نَحْنُ وَآبَاؤُنَا من قبل﴾ هَذَا قَوْلُ مُشْرِكِي الْعَرَبِ، أَيْ: قَدْ وُعِدَتْ آبَاؤُنَا مِنْ قَبْلُ بِالْبَعْثِ كَمَا وَعَدَنَا مُحَمَّدٌ، فَلَمْ نَرَهَا بُعِثَتْ؛ يَعْنِي: مَنْ كَانَ مِنَ الْعَرَبِ عَلَى عَهْدِ مُوسَى. ﴿إِنْ هَذَا إِلا أَسَاطِيرُ الأَوَّلِينَ﴾ أَي: كذب الْأَوَّلين وباطلهم.
