Tafsir of Al-Mutaffifeen 83:13

"When Our verses, which speak clearly of this, are recited to him, he says—due to the excess of his ignorance and his turning away from the Truth from which there is no escape—'Tales of the ancients.' That is, they are the stories of the ancients. It means they are falsehoods brought forth by the ancients, over which a long period of time has passed without their truth ever becoming manifest, or they are falsehoods that were cast upon our forefathers, which they rejected; we are not the first to reject them, such that our rejection would be considered haste or a departure from the path of prudence and caution. The former interpretation is more evident.

It is said that this verse was revealed regarding al-Nadr ibn al-Harith, while al-Kalbi narrated that it was revealed regarding al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah. Regardless of which is the case, the statement is general in its application. Abu Haywah and Ibn Muqsim recited idhā yutlā (when it is recited) with the verb in the masculine form. It was also recited as a-idhā tutlā (Is it when it is recited?) as an interrogative of denial."