“Zaalika” means “that”. It is used to refer to something that is far away.
“Kitaab” means “book”.
But the Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) orally, so why did Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) still call it kitaab?
“Kataba” in modern Arabic means to write. But in the old days pen was very rare, so the writing would happen by carving into a stone or etching into wood or stitching into leather. The idea is that once it’s written it cannot be erased/modified. No options of cut, copy, paste etc, that exist in digital writing today. By using the word kitaab, Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) tells a profound reality about the Quran. There is no room to edit or modify. The order of every single Surah in the entire Quran was meant to be set in stone. If the order was flexible, it would be called kalam, and not kitaab.
The word Quran comes from the word Qara’a, it means to read out loud. The recitation of the book happens in this world but the writing happened up in seven heavens. When something is close, we call it “this”, but when something is far away, we use “that”. Hence, Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) uses that book.
Also, Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) was never seen with the book. So, the ones who were curious about where the book is, from where he was learning the letters, the answer is in this ayat.
No doubts, just truth:
“Raib” refers to the doubt that causes disturbance. It is the kind of doubt causes confusion and does not allow you to sleep.
“Laa raib” means “no doubt”. There is no room for doubt at all.
“Feehi” means “in it”.
If the sentence is paused at “laa raib”, then it can be interpreted as a response to our ask for guidance. We asked Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) for guidance and the response is, “That is the book, no doubt”. In other words, no doubt this is the book for guidance.
If the sentence is paused at “feehi”, then the sentence can be interpreted as describing the quality of the book – “That is the book” and there is a special quality about it, that is, there is “no doubt in it”. There is no room for any skepticism.
Another way to look at this ayat is by connecting “laa raiba feehi hudan” – “That is the book, no doubt in it (is) guidance”.
Quran – the miracle for ears
Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) gave miracles for the eyes for people during the time of other Prophets. For example, Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) asked Musa (alaihissalam) to strike his staff and the rivers parted; and Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) blessed Isa (alaihissalam) with the miracle where a clay bird converted to a real one and flew. However, Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala), through Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) blessed us with the Quran, which is a miracle for ears. But this miracle is not free. It means that anyone who reads the Quran may not see it as miraculous. People who were skeptical may become more skeptical if they read a translation. The only way to find a miracle in this book is if we come looking for it, if we reflect on it, if we dig and ponder over it. If the Quran is read in a shallow way, we will find contradictions. If we actually reflect, we will find that there are no contradictions, we will be convinced that this can only be the word of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala).
The miracles given to other Prophets were a miracle for the people that lived during the time of those Prophets. For the next generation, those miracles were just like stories. In other words, the next generation didn’t actually get to see those miracles. But Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) blessed Prophet Muhammad (salllallahu alaihi wasallam) with the miracle of Quran, that has lived on for generations. The generations before, the current generation, and the future generations will all witness it.