Sam Gerrans - The Qur'an: A Complete Revelation

And had We destroyed them with a punishment before him, they would have said: “Our Lord: oh, that Thou hadst but sent to us a messenger, so we might have followed Thy proofs before we were humiliated and disgraced!”

وَلَوْ اَنَّٓا اَهْلَكْنَاهُمْ بِعَذَابٍ مِنْ قَبْلِه۪ لَقَالُوا رَبَّنَا لَوْلَٓا اَرْسَلْتَ اِلَيْنَا رَسُولاً فَنَتَّبِعَ اٰيَاتِكَ مِنْ قَبْلِ اَنْ نَذِلَّ وَنَخْزٰى
Walaw anna ahlaknahum biAAathabinmin qablihi laqaloo rabbana lawla arsaltailayna rasoolan fanattabiAAa ayatika minqabli an nathilla wanakhza
#wordmeaningroot
1walawAnd if
2annāWe
3ahlaknāhum(had) destroyed themهلك
4biʿadhābinwith a punishmentعذب
5minbefore him
6qablihibefore himقبل
7laqālūsurely they (would) have saidقول
8rabbanāOur Lordربب
9lawlāwhy not
10arsaltaYou sentرسل
11ilaynāto us
12rasūlana Messengerرسل
13fanattabiʿaso we (could) have followedتبع
14āyātikaYour signsايي
15minbefore
16qablibeforeقبل
17an[that]
18nadhillawe were humiliatedذلل
19wanakhzāand disgracedخزي
  • Aisha Bewley

    If We had destroyed them with a punishment before this, they would have said, ‘Our Lord, why did You not send us a Messenger, so we could follow Your Signs before we were humbled and disgraced?’

  • Progressive Muslims

    And if We had destroyed them with retribution before this, they would have said: "Our Lord, if only You had sent us a messenger so we could follow Your revelations before we are humiliated and shamed!"

  • Shabbir Ahmed

    Had Our Law annihilated them with some punishment before this, they would have said, "Our Lord! If only you had sent a Messenger, so that we might have followed Your Messages before we were thus humbled and disgraced!" (5:19).

  • Sam Gerrans The Qur'an: A Complete Revelation

    And had We destroyed them with a punishment before him, they would have said: “Our Lord: oh, that Thou hadst but sent to us a messenger, so we might have followed Thy proofs before we were humiliated and disgraced!”

  • The Monotheist Group The Quran: A Monotheist Translation

    And if We had destroyed them with a retribution before this, they would have said: "Our Lord, if only You had sent us a messenger so we could follow Your revelations before we are humiliated and shamed!"

  • Edip-Layth Quran: A Reformist Translation

    If We had destroyed them with retribution before this, they would have said, "Our Lord, if only You had sent us a messenger so we could follow Your signs before we are humiliated and shamed!"

  • Rashad Khalifa The Final Testament

    Had we annihilated them before this, they would have said, "Our Lord, had You sent a messenger to us, we would have followed Your revelations, and would have avoided this shame and humiliation."

  • Mohamed Ahmed - Samira

    If We had destroyed them by some calamity sooner than this, they would have surely said: "O Lord, if You had sent to us a messenger we would have followed Your command before being humbled and disgraced. "

  • Sahih International (Umm Muhammad, Mary Kennedy, Amatullah Bantley)

    And if We had destroyed them with a punishment before him, they would have said, "Our Lord, why did You not send to us a messenger so we could have followed Your verses before we were humiliated and disgraced?"

  • Muhammad Asad

    For had We destroyed them by means of a chastisement ere this , they would indeed say : "O our Sustainer! If only Thou hadst sent an apostle unto us, we would have followed Thy messages rather than be humiliated and disgraced !"

  • Marmaduke Pickthall

    And if we had destroyed them with some punishment before it, they would assuredly have said: Our Lord! If only Thou hadst sent unto us a messenger, so that we might have followed Thy revelations before we were (thus) humbled and disgraced!

  • Abul A'la Maududi Tafhim commentary

    Had We destroyed them through some calamity before his coming, they would have said: "Our Lord! Why did You not send any Messenger to us that we might have followed Your signs before being humbled and disgraced?"

  • Abdel Khalek Himmat Al- Muntakhab

    If We had reduced them to a useless form before this Book -the Quran- was revealed, they would have said: "O Allah, our Creator, if only You had sent to us a Messenger with the spirit of truth guiding into all truth we would have acknowledged Your revelations and authoritative signs and followed Your path of righteousness before We were humbled and put to shame!"

  • Bijan Moeinian

    Had I destroyed them before (in account of their wrongdoings, ) they would have said: "Our Lord, if you had sent any Prophet to us, we would have definitely followed him so that we would not be so ashamed and humiliated at your present. "

  • Al-Hilali & Khan

    And if We had destroyed them with a torment before this (i.e. Messenger Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم and the Qur’ân), they would surely have said: "Our Lord! If only You had sent us a Messenger, we should certainly have followed Your Ayât (proofs, evidence, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), before we were humiliated and disgraced."

  • Abdullah Yusuf Ali

    And if We had inflicted on them a penalty before this, they would have said: "Our Lord! If only Thou hadst sent us a messenger, we should certainly have followed Thy Signs before we were humbled and put to shame."

  • Mustafa Khattab The Clear Quran

    Had We destroyed them with a torment before this ˹Prophet came˺, they would have surely argued, "Our Lord! If only You had sent us a messenger, we would have followed Your revelations before being humiliated and put to shame."

  • Taqi Usmani

    And if We had destroyed them with a punishment before it, they would have said, "Our Lord, why did you not send a messenger to us, so that we might have followed Your signs before we were humiliated and put to disgrace?"

  • Abdul Haleem

    If We had destroyed them through punishment before this Messenger came, they would have said, ‘Lord, if only You had sent us a messenger, we could have followed Your revelations before we suffered humiliation and disgrace!’

  • Arthur John Arberry

    Had We destroyed them with a chastisement aforetime, they would have said, 'Our Lord, why didst Thou not send us a Messenger, so that we might have followed Thy signs before that we were humiliated and degraded?'

  • E. Henry Palmer

    But had we destroyed them with torment before it, they would have said, 'Unless Thou hadst sent to us an apostle, that we might follow Thy signs before we were abased and put to shame. '

  • Hamid S. Aziz

    They say, "Unless he brings us a sign from his Lord.....". What! Has there not come to them the proof of what was in the former scriptures?

  • Mahmoud Ghali

    And if We had caused them to perish with a torment even before it, they would indeed have said, "Our Lord, if only You had sent a Messenger to us, so that we might have closely followed Your signs even before that we were humiliated and disgraced!"

  • George Sale

    If we had destroyed them by a judgment before the same had been revealed, they would have said, at the resurrection, O Lord, how could we believe since thou didst not send unto us an apostle, that we might follow thy signs, before we were humbled and covered with shame?

  • Syed Vickar Ahamed

    And if We had sent a penalty on them before now, surely, they would have said: "Our Lord! If only You had sent us a messenger, we should certainly have followed Your Sign before we were humiliated and put to shame. "

  • Amatul Rahman Omar

    Had We punished and destroyed them with a calamity before (the advent of) this (Prophet), they would have certainly said, `Our Lord! why did you not send a Messenger to us so that we might have followed your commandments before we were humiliated and disgraced?'

  • Ali Quli Qarai

    Had We destroyed them with a punishment before it, they would have surely said, ‘Our Lord! Why did You not send us an apostle so that we might follow Your signs before we were abased and disgraced?’