Dis : "Si Allah l'avait voulu, je ne vous l’aurais pas récité et Il ne vous l’aurait pas non plus fait connaître. Je suis bien resté, avant cela, tout un âge parmi vous. Ne raisonnez-vous donc pas ?" 1
“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.
Explication:
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
Explication:
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].