Yet they say, "Had [not] the Most Gracious so willed, we would never have worshipped them!" [But] they cannot have any knowledge of [His having willed] such a thing: they do nothing but guess.20
Asad Translation Note Number :
I.e., they cannot have any "knowledge" of something that is devoid of all reality - because, far from having "willed" their sin, God had left it to their free will to make a moral choice between right and wrong. (See in this connection surah {6}, note [143].)
Malik Quran Translation
They say: "Had it been the will of the Compassionate, We should never have worshipped them." They have no knowledge about that; they are merely guessing.
Yusuf Ali Quran Translation
("Ah!") they say "If it had been the will of (Allah) Most Gracious We should not have worshipped such (deities)!" of that they have no knowledge! They Do nothing but lie! 46254626
Yusuf Ali Translation Note Number :
Worsted in argument they resort to a dishonest sarcasm. 'We worship these deities: if Allah does not wish us to do so, why does He not prevent us?' In throwing the responsibility on Allah, they ignore the limited free-will on which their whole life is based. They are really playing with truth. They are arguing against their own knowledge. They have no authority in any scripture, and indeed they are so slippery that they hold fast to no scripture at all.
Cf. vi. 116.
Mustafa Khattab Quran Translation
And they argue, “Had the Most Compassionate willed, we would have never worshipped them.” They have no knowledge ˹in support˺ of this ˹claim˺. They do nothing but lie.
Mustafa Khattab Translation Note Number :
Piktal Quran Translation
And they say: If the Beneficent One had (so) willed, we should not have worshipped them. They have no knowledge whatsoever of that. They do but guess.
Quran Transliteration
Waqaloo law shaa alrrahmanu ma AAabadnahum ma lahum bithalika min AAilmin in hum illa yakhrusoona
