Tafsir of Al-Ahqaf 46:11

وقال الذين كفروا للذين آمنوا لو كان خيرا ما سبقونا إليه

And those who disbelieve say of those who believe: "Had it been good, they (the weak and poor) would not have preceded us to it!'' which means that those who disbelieve say of those who believe in the Qur'an: "Had it (the Qur'an) been any good, they (the weak and poor) would not have preceded us to it!'' By that, they meant Bilal, `Ammar, Suhayb, Khabbab, may Allah be pleased with them, and others like them of the weak, the male servants, and female servants. The pagans said this only because they thought that they held a high status with Allah, and that He took special care of them. By that, they made a great and obvious error, as Allah says:

وكذلك فتنا بعضهم ببعض ليقولوا أهوﻻء من الله عليهم من بيننا

Thus have We tried some of them with others, that they might say: "Is it these whom Allah has favored from among us?'' (6:53) meaning, they wonder how could those weaklings be the ones who were guided from among them. Thus, Allah says,

لو كان خيرا ما سبقونا إليه

(Had it been good, they (the weak and poor) would not have preceded us to it!) Contrary to this is the position of Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jama`ah: They say about any act or saying that has not been reported from the Companions: "It is an innovation. If there was any good in it, they would have preceded us in doing it, because they have not left off any of the good characteristics except that they hurried to perform them.'' Allah continues,

وإذ لم يهتدوا به

And when they have not been guided by it, (meaning, the Qur'an).

فسيقولون هذا إفك قديم

they say: "This is an ancient falsehood!'' meaning, an old lie. They mean by this that the Qur'an has been quoted and taken from the ancient people, thereby belittling the Qur'an and its followers. This is clear arrogance, as Allah's Messenger said:

بطر الحق وغمط الناس

(Arrogance is) rejecting the truth and belittling the people. Allah then says,