And when it became evident that their abandonment of faith was nothing but a deliberate act of injustice out of arrogance, He turned to their saying, "Indeed, it is magic," which indicated their arrogance. So He, exalted is He, said: ﴿And those who disbelieved said﴾ meaning: they deliberately sought to cover the truth ﴿for those﴾ meaning: for the sake of the faith of those ﴿who believed﴾ since they preceded them in faith: ﴿If their faith﴾ in the Qur'an and in this Messenger ﴿is better﴾ meaning: among all that is good ﴿than what we have preceded them to﴾ and we are more noble than them, and we have more wealth and children, and we are more knowledgeable in acquiring honor and superiority, which is the basis of goodness. It is as if they did not precede us to any of these good things of which we are the winners, while they are nothing of it. However, it is not good, and for that reason they preceded to it [so their condition in it was like their condition in what is tangible of their affairs in wealth and status].

And when He informed about what they said when others preceded them, He informed about what they say when they deliberately turn away from Him. So He said: ﴿And when﴾ meaning: and at the time ﴿they did not guide themselves by it﴾ they say out of stubbornness, arrogance, and disbelief: "If it were guidance, we would have seen it." And they did not know that it is not the eyes that are blind, but it is the hearts that are in the chests that are blind.

And when the implication is: if it is said to them: what is it? He answered with His saying, causing this implication to be known as one of the signs of Prophethood: ﴿Then they will say﴾ with a promise that there is no contradiction in it, for indeed people are enemies of what they do not know, and because they did not find any evidence for what they claim that if it were good, they would have preceded others to it: ﴿This﴾ meaning: that which you have preceded to ﴿is a fabrication﴾ meaning: something diverted from its face to its back ﴿ancient﴾, its fabrication is other than it, and he stumbled upon it and brought it and attributed it to Allah.