Surah 28. Al-Qasas

BUT AS SOON as Moses came unto them with Our clear messages [Pharaoh and his great ones] said: "All this is nothing but spellbinding eloquence devised [by man]:³⁴ and never did we hear [the like of] this, [nor has it ever been heard of] in the time of our forebears of old!"

  - Mohammad Asad

See note [12] on 74:24 , which is the earliest Qur'anic instance of the term sihr in the above connotation.

When Musa (Moses) came to them (Fir'on and his chiefs) with Our clear signs and invited them to Islam, they said: "This is nothing but baseless sorcery; we never heard such a thing in the time of our forefathers."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But when Moses came to them with Our clear signs, they said 'arrogantly', 'This is nothing but conjured magic 'tricks'. We have never heard of this in 'the history of' our forefathers.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

But when Moses came unto them with Our clear tokens, they said: This is naught but invented magic. We never heard of this among our fathers of old.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

When Moses came to them with Our Clear Signs they said: "This is nothing but sorcery faked up: never did we hear the like among our fathers of old!" ^{3367 3368}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

This is what Moses was thinking of when he had said: "They may accuse me of falsehood". To accuse the purest Truth of lying is a favourite trick of those whose chief stock-in-trade is deception and sorcery and catching the attention of the vulgar by arts adapted to their ignorant minds!

'As to this higher talk of the worship of the One true God, why, our ancestors have worshipped power and patronage, as concentrated in Pharaoh, from the most ancient times!'

And Moses replied: "My Sustainer knows best as to who comes with guidance from Him, and to whom the future belongs!³⁵ Verily, never will evil-doers attain to a happy state!"

  - Mohammad Asad

For an explanation of the above phrase, see surah {6}, note [118].

Musa stated: "My Rabb knows best who it is that comes with guidance from Him and who will gain the reward of the hereafter; surely the wrongdoers will not attain felicity."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Moses responded, 'My Lord knows best who has come with 'true' guidance from Him and will fare best in the end. Indeed, the wrongdoers will never succeed.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

And Moses said: My Lord is best aware of him who bringeth guidance from His presence, and whose will be the sequel of the Home (of bliss). Lo! wrong-doers will not be successful.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Moses said: "My Lord knows best who it is that comes with guidance from Him and whose End will be best in the Hereafter: certain it is that the wrongdoers will not prosper." ³³⁶⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. vi. 135. The only argument in such a case is an appeal to Allah, and to the ultimate Future. Both of these appeals require Faith. But even if you do not rely on anything so high, you can see that Falsehood or evils crystallised in ancestral customs are not going to do any one any good.

Whereupon Pharaoh said: "O you nobles! I did not know that you could have any deity other than myself!³⁶ Well, then, O Haman, kindle me a fire for [baking bricks of] clay, and then build me a lofty tower, that haply I may have a look at the god of Moses³⁷ - although, behold, I am convinced that he is of those who [always] tell lies!"

  - Mohammad Asad

In view of the fact that the ancient Egyptians worshipped many gods, this observation is not to be taken literally; but since each of the Pharaohs was regarded as an incarnation of the divine principle as such, he claimed - and received - his people's adoration as their "Lord All-Highest" (cf. 79:24 ), combining within himself, as it were, all the qualities attributable to gods.

Or: "ascend to the god of Moses". Whichever of the two meanings is given to the verb ittali'u, Pharaoh's demand for a "lofty tower" is not only an allusion to the building of one of the great pyramids (see note [6] above), but also a derisory, contemptuous reference to Moses' concept of God as an all-embracing Power, inconceivably high above all that exists.

Fir'on said: "O Chiefs! You have no other god that I know of, except myself. O Haman! Bake for me bricks from clay and build me a high tower so that I may climb it to see the God of Musa; most surely I think him to be one of the liars."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Pharaoh declared, 'O chiefs! I know of no other god for you but myself. So bake bricks out of clay for me, O Haman, and build a high tower so I may look at the God of Moses, although I am sure he is a liar.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

And Pharaoh said: O chiefs! I know not that ye have a god other than me, so kindle for me (a fire) , O Haman, to bake the mud; and set up for me a lofty tower in order that I may survey the god of Moses; and lo! I deem him of the liars.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Pharaoh said: "O Chiefs! no god do I know for you but myself: therefore O Haman! light me a (kiln to bake bricks) out of clay and build me a lofty palace that I may mount up to the god of Moses: but as far as I am concerned I think (Moses) is a liar!" ^{3370 3371}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Pharaoh claimed, himself, to be God,-not only one god among many, but the only god: "I am your Lord Most High": lxxix. 24. At any rate he did not see why his people should worship any one but him.

I understand his speech to his minister Haman to be sarcastic. But some Commentators have taken it very seriously and imagined that he actually thought of reaching the heavens by building lofty towers.

Thus arrogantly, without the least good sense,³⁸ did he and his hosts behave on earth - just as if they thought that they would never have to appear before Us [for judgment]!³⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "without [any] truth" or "justification" (bi-ghayr al-haqq).

Lit., "and they thought that they would not be brought back to Us". There is no doubt that the ancient Egyptians did believe in a life after death, and that this belief included the concept of a divine judgment as well. Since, however, the particular Pharaoh whom Moses confronted is said to have behaved with an arrogance opposed to all good sense, the Qur'an - by implication - likens his attitude to that of a person who does not believe in resurrection and in man's ultimate responsibility before God: hence my rendering of the conjunctive particle wa at the beginning of the above clause as "just as if".

He and his warriors were arrogant in the land without any right; they thought that they would never be brought back to Us.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And so he and his soldiers behaved arrogantly in the land with no right, thinking they would never be returned to Us.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And he and his hosts were haughty in the land without right, and deemed that they would never be brought back to Us.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And he was arrogant and insolent in the land beyond reason he and his hosts: they thought that they would not have to return to Us! ³³⁷²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

They did not believe in the Hereafter. They did not understand that every deed must have its inevitable consequence, good, or evil, unless the Grace of Allah intervenes to save us from ourselves!

And so We seized him and his hosts and cast them into the sea: and behold what happened in the end to those evildoers:

  - Mohammad Asad

So We seized him and his warriors, and flung them into the sea. See what was the end of wrongdoers?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

So We seized him and his soldiers, casting them into the sea. See then what was the end of the wrongdoers!

  - Mustafa Khattab

Therefor We seized him and his hosts, and abandoned them unto the sea. Behold the nature of the consequence for evil-doers!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

So We seized him and his hosts and We flung them into the sea: now behold what was the End of those who did wrong! ³³⁷³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Pharaoh and his hosts were drowned in the sea in their pursuit of the Israelites: see vii. 130-136. They are the type of men who lead-only to Destruction. They invite, not to Peace and Happiness, but to the Fire of Wrath, mutual Envy, and Hatred.

[We destroyed them,] and We set them up as archetypes [of evil] that show the way to the fire [of hell];⁴⁰ and [whereas] no succour will come to them on Resurrection Day,

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "archetypes (a'immah) inviting to the fire". This is the pivotal sentence of the above fragment of the story of Moses. Just as verses {15-16} are meant to draw our attention to the sin of tribal or racial prejudice (see note [15]), the present reference to Pharaoh as an "archetype [of evil]" points to the fact that false pride (takabbur) and arrogance (istikbar) are truly "satanic" attitudes of mind, repeatedly exemplified in the Qur'an by Iblis's symbolic "revolt" against God (for the meaning of which see note [26] on 2:34 and note [31] on 15:41 ). Inasmuch as they are intrinsically evil these "satanic" impulses lead to evil actions and, consequently, to a weakening or even a total destruction of man's spiritual potential: which, in its turn, is bound to cause suffering in the hereafter.

We made them leaders who started calling people to hellfire, but on the Day of Resurrection they will not get any help.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

We made them leaders inviting 'others' to the Fire. And on the Day of Judgment they will not be helped.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And We made them patterns that invite unto the Fire, and on the Day of Resurrection they will not be helped.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And We made them (but) leaders inviting to the Fire; and on the Day of Judgment no help shall they find.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

We have caused a curse to follow them in this world as well;⁴¹ and on Resurrection Day they will find themselves among those who are bereft of all good.⁴²

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., in the pejorative connotation universally given to the adjective "pharaonic". It is to be noted that the term la'nah, here rendered as "curse", primarily denotes "estrangement" (ib'ad), i.e., from all that is good and, hence, really desirable.

I.e., among those who by their own actions will have removed themselves from God's grace: a meaning given to the term maqbuh, in this context, by most of the classical commentators and philologists (cf. Lisan al-'Arab, Taj al-'Arus, etc.).

We laid a curse on them in this world, and on the Day of Resurrection they will be of the despised.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

We caused a curse to follow them in this world. And on the Day of Judgment they will be among the outcasts.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And We made a curse to follow them in this world, and on the Day of Resurrection they will be among the hateful.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

In this world We made a Curse to follow them: and on the Day of Judgment they will be among the loathed (and despised). ³³⁷⁴

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Power and patronage may be lauded by sycophants and selfish place-hunters; but when they are misused, and when their exposure causes their fall, they suffer ignominy even in this life. If they manage to escape exposure while alive, it often happens that they are found out after their death, and the curses of many generations follow those whose oppressions and wrong-doing spoiled the fair face of Allah's earth. But even this is nothing to the true Punishment that will come in the Hereafter. There, true values will be restored, and some of the highest and mightiest will be in the lowest depths of degradation.

And [then,] indeed, after We had destroyed those earlier generations [of sinners], We vouchsafed unto Moses [Our] revelation as a means of insight for men,⁴³ and as a guidance and grace, so that they might bethink themselves [of Us].

  - Mohammad Asad

By virtue of its being the first instance of a divinely-inspired Law, the Torah inaugurated a new phase in mankind's religious history (cf. the reference to the children of Israel as "forerunners in faith" in verse {5} of this surah).

We gave Musa (Moses) the Book (Torah), after We had destroyed the former generations, an eye opener, a guide, and a blessing so that they may be reminded.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Indeed, We gave Moses the Scripture- after destroying earlier nations- as an insight for the people, a guide, and mercy so perhaps they would be mindful.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And We verily gave the Scripture unto Moses after We had destroyed the generations of old; clear testimonies for mankind, and a guidance and a mercy, that haply they might reflect.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

We did reveal to Moses the Book after We had destroyed the earlier generations (to give) Insight to men and Guidance and Mercy that they might receive admonition. ³³⁷⁵

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

After the destruction of the Pharaonic Tyranny and other similar Tyrannies before them, Allah began a new age of Revelation, the age of Moses and his Book. Humanity began as it were with a clean slate again. It was a full Revelation (or Shari'at) which may be looked at from three points of view: (1) as Light or Insight for men, so that they should not grope in darkness; (2) as a Guide to show them the Way, so that they should not be misled into wrong Paths; and (3) as a Mercy from Allah, so that by following the Way they may receive Allah's Forgiveness and Grace. In vi. 91, we have a reference to Light and Guidance in connection with the Revelation of Moses, and in vi. 154 we have a reference to Guidance and Mercy in the same connection. Here all three are combined, with the substitution of Basair for Nur. Basair is the plural of Basirat, and may also be translated Proofs, as I have done in vi. 104 Cf. also vii. 203, n. 1175, where the word is translated "Lights".

NOW [as for thee, O Muhammad,] thou wert not present on the sunset slope [of Mount Sinai] when We imposed the Law upon Moses, nor wert thou among those who witnessed [his times]:⁴⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

Implying that the story of Moses as narrated in the Qur'an could not have come to Muhammad's knowledge otherwise than through revelation: consequently, the Qur'an as such must obviously be a result of divine revelation. - The term al-amr, rendered above as "the Law", is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew word torah ("law" or "precept"), the commonly-accepted title of the revelation granted to Moses.

O Muhammad, you were not present on the western side of the mountain when We gave Musa the Law, nor did you witness that event.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

You were not there 'O Prophet' on the western side of the mountain when We entrusted the Commandments to Moses, nor were you present 'in his time'.¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 The pagans are reminded repeatedly in the Quran that the Prophet (ﷺ) did not witness any of these events that happened centuries before he was born. For example, the conspiracies that were made against Joseph (12:102), the dispute on who should be the guardian of young Mary (3:44), and the drowning of Noah’s son in the Flood (11:49). These details were not known to Arabs before the revelation of the Quran. So the only logical way that the Prophet (ﷺ) knew about these stories is through divine revelation.

And thou (Muhammad) wast not on the western side (of the Mount) when We expounded unto Moses the commandment, and thou wast not among those present;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Thou wast not on the Western Side when We decreed the commission to Moses nor wast thou a witness (of those events). ³³⁷⁶

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The Sinai Peninsula is in the north-west corner of Arabia. But the reference here is, I think, to the western side of the valley of Tuwa. Mount Tur, where Moses received his prophetic commission, is on the western side of the valley.

nay, but [between them and thee] We brought into being [many] generations, and long was their sup of life. And neither didst thou dwell among the people of Madyan, conveying Our messages unto them:⁴⁵ nay, but We have [always] been sending [Our message-bearers unto man].

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., "thou art not the first of Our apostles, O Muhammad: We have sent thee to the people of thy time just as We sent Shu'ayb to the people of Madyan" (Ad-Dahhak, as quoted by Razi).

We raised many generations and a long time has passed over them; you were not living among the people of Madyan, reciting to them Our revelations; but it is We Who are sending to you the news of that time.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But We 'later' raised 'several' generations, and the ages took their toll on them.¹ Nor were you living among the people of Midian, rehearsing Our revelations with them. But it is We Who have sent 'this revelation to you'.

  - Mustafa Khattab

 So they neglected the Commandments over time.

But We brought forth generations, and their lives dragged on for them. And thou wast not a dweller in Midian, reciting unto them Our revelations, but We kept sending (messengers to men).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But We raised up (new) generations and long were the ages that passed over them; but thou wast not a dweller among the people of Madyan rehearsing Our Signs to them; but it is We Who send apostles (with inspiration). ^{3377 3378}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

That is, there were many generations that passed between Moses and the holy Prophet. Yet he knew by inspiration of the events of those times. Even if he had lived then, he could not have known the events that took place among the Midianites, except by inspiration, as he did not dwell among them.

'Though thou wast not among the Midianites, Our inspiration has told thee of the momentous events that took place among them when Moses was with them. This is itself a Sign that should make thy people understand.'

And neither wert thou present on the slope of Mount Sinai when We called out [to Moses]:⁴⁶ but [thou, too, art sent] as an act of thy Sustainer's grace, to warn people to whom no warner has come before thee, so that they might bethink themselves [of Us];

  - Mohammad Asad

According to some of the classical commentators, this second reference to "the slope of Mount Sinai" contains an allusion to the divine assurance mentioned in 7:156 : "My grace overspreads everything ..." (Tabari, Razi). This interpretation is most plausible in view of the subsequent reference to Muhammad's mission as "an act of thy Sustainer's grace (rahmah)".

Nor were you at the side of the mountain of Tur when We called out to Musa, but it is your Rabb's mercy that you are being given this information so that you may forewarn a nation to whom no Warner had come before you. Maybe they will take heed,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And you were not at the side of Mount Ṭûr when We called out 'to Moses'. But 'you have been sent' as a mercy from your Lord to warn a people to whom no warner has come before you, so perhaps they may be mindful.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And thou wast not beside the Mount when We did call; but (the knowledge of it is) a mercy from thy Lord that thou mayest warn a folk unto whom no warner came before thee, that haply they may give heed.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Nor wast thou at the side of (the Mountain of) Tur when We called (to Moses) Yet (art thou sent) as a Mercy from thy Lord to give warning to a people to whom no warner had come before thee: in order that they may receive admonition. ³³⁷⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

This people was the Quraish. 'Though thou didst not see how Moses was invested with the prophetic office at Mount Tur, thou hast had similar experience thyself, and We have sent thee to the Quraish to warn them of all their sins, and to repent and come into the Faith'.

and [We have sent thee] lest they say [on Judgment Day], when disaster befalls them as an outcome of what their own hands have wrought, "O our Sustainer, if only Thou hadst sent an apostle unto us, we would have followed Thy messages, and would have been among those who believe!"

  - Mohammad Asad

so that they may not be able to say, when a disaster befalls them on account of their misdeeds: "Our Rabb, had You sent us a Rasool, we should have followed Your revelations and became the believers."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Also so they would not say, if struck by an affliction for what their hands have done: 'Our Lord! If only You had sent us a messenger, we would have followed Your revelations and become believers.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

Otherwise, if disaster should afflict them because of that which their own hands have sent before (them), they might say: Our Lord! Why sentest Thou no messenger unto us, that we might have followed Thy revelations and been of the believers?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

If (We had) not (sent thee to the Quraish) in case a calamity should seize them for (the deeds) that their hands have sent forth they might say: "Our Lord! why didst Thou not send us an apostle? We should then have followed the Signs and been amongst those who believe!" ³³⁸⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Now that a warner has come among them with all the authority that previous Messengers possessed and with all the knowledge which can only come by divine inspiration, they have no excuse left whatever. They cannot say, "No warner came to us." If any evil comes to them, as the inevitable result of their ill-deeds, they cannot blame Allah and say that they were not warned. Cf. xx. 134.

And yet, now that the truth has come unto them from Us, they say, "Why has he not been vouch-safed the like of what Moses was vouchsafed?"⁴⁷ But did they not also, before this, deny the truth of what Moses was vouchsafed? For] they do say, "Two examples of delusion, [seemingly] supporting each other!"⁴⁸ And they add, "Behold, we refuse to accept either of them as true!"

  - Mohammad Asad

As the Qur'an frequently points out, the basic ethical truths enunciated in it are the same as those of earlier revelations. It is this very statement which induced the opponents of Muhammad - in his own time as well as in later times - to question the authenticity of the Qur'an: "If it had really been revealed by God," they argue, "would so many of its propositions, especially its social laws, differ so radically from the laws promulgated in that earlier divine writ, the Torah?" By advancing this argument (and quite apart from the question of whether the text of the Bible as we know it today has or has not been corrupted in the course of time), the opponents of Muhammad's message deliberately overlook the fact, repeatedly stressed in the Qur'an, that the earlier systems of law were conditioned by the spiritual level of a particular people and the exigencies of a particular chapter of human history, and therefore had to be superseded by new laws at a higher stage of human development (see in this connection the second paragraph of 5:48 and the corresponding note [66]). However, as is evident from the immediate sequence - and especially from the last sentence of this verse - the above specious argument is not meant to uphold the authenticity of the Bible as against that of the Qur'an, but, rather, aims at discrediting both - and through them, the basic religious priciple against which the irreligious mind always revolts: namely, the idea of divine revelation and of man's absolute dependence on and responsibilty to God, the Ultimate Cause of all that exists.

A contemptuous allusion, on the one hand, to Old-Testament predictions of the coming of the Prophet Muhammad 9cf. surah {2}, note [33]), and, on the other, to the oft-repeated Qur'anic statement that this divine writ had been revealed to "confirm the truth of earlier revelations". As regards my rendering of the term sihr (lit., "magic" or "sorcery") as "delusion" - and occasionally as "spellbinding eloquence" - see note [12] on 74:24 .

Now that the Truth has come to them from Us, they are saying: "Why is he (Muhammad) not given the like of what was given to Musa?" Have they not rejected that which was given to Musa before? They claim: "These (Torah and Qur'an) are the two works of sorcery complementing each other!" And they say: "We believe in neither."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But when the truth came to them from Us, they said, 'If only he was given the like of what Moses had been given.'¹ Did they not deny what had been given to Moses earlier? They claimed, 'Both 'Scriptures' are works of magic, supporting each other!'² Adding, 'We truly deny both.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

 The pagans of Mecca demanded that the Quran should have been revealed all at once like the Torah, and the Prophet (ﷺ) should have had some tangible signs like the staff of Moses.

 Some Meccan pagans approached some Jewish authorities to inquire about the Prophet’s message and they were told that there are references of him in the Torah. So the pagans immediately rejected both the Torah and the Quran as two works of magic.

But when there came unto them the Truth from Our presence, they said: Why is he not given the like of what was given unto Moses? Did they not disbelieve in that which was given unto Moses of old? They say: Two magics that support each other; and they say: Lo! in both we are disbelievers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But (now) when the Truth has come to them from Ourselves they say "Why are not (Signs) sent to him like those which were sent to Moses?" Do they not then reject (the Signs) which were formerly sent to Moses? They say: "Two kinds of sorcery each assisting the other!" And they say: "For us we reject all (such things)!" ^{3381 3382}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

When a Revelation is sent to them, in the Qur-an, adapted to all their needs and the needs of the time they live in, they hark back to antiquity. The holy Prophet was in many respects like Moses, but the times in which he lived were different from the times of Moses, and his age did not suffer from the deceptions of sorcery, like that of Moses. The remedies which his age and future ages required (for his Message was universal) were different. His miracle of the Qur-an was different and most permanent than the Rod and the Radiant-White Hand of Moses. But supposing that the Quraish had been humoured in their insincere demands, would they have believed? Did they believe in Moses ? They were only put up by the Jews to make objections which they themselves did not believe in.

Moses was called a sorcerer by the Egyptians, and the wonderful words of the Qur-an were called sorcery by the Quraish. As the Qur-an confirmed the Message of Moses, the Quraish objectors said that they were in collusion. The Quraish did not believe in Allah's Revelation at all.

Say: "Produce, then, [another] revelation from God which would offer better guidance than either of these two⁴⁹ - [and] I shall follow it, if you speak the truth! "

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., the Torah and the Qur'an. The Gospel is not mentioned in this context because, as Jesus himself had stressed, his message was based on the Law of Moses, and was not meant to displace the latter.

Ask them: "Bring a Book from Allah which is a better guide than these two, I will follow it, if what you say be true!"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say, 'O Prophet,' 'Bring then a scripture from Allah which is a better guide than these two so I may follow it, if your claim is true.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

Say (unto them, O Muhammad): Then bring a Scripture from the presence of Allah that giveth clearer guidance than these two (that) I may follow it, if ye are truthful.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say: "Then bring ye a Book from Allah which is a better Guide than either of them that I may follow it! (Do) if ye are truthful!"

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

And since they cannot respond to this thy challenge,⁵⁰ know that they are following only their own likes and dislikes: and who could be more astray than he who follows [but] his own likes and dislikes without any guidance from God? Verily, God does not grace with His guidance people who are given to evildoing!

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "if they do not respond to thee", implying that they are unable to accept the above challenge.

So if they do not meet this demand, you should know that they only follow their own desires. And who is more misguided than the one who follows his own desires rather than the guidance from Allah? In fact, Allah does not guide such wrongdoing people.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

So if they fail to respond to you, then know that they only follow their desires. And who could be more astray than those who follow their desires with no guidance from Allah? Surely Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And if they answer thee not, then know that what they follow is their lusts. And who goeth farther astray than he who followeth his lust without guidance from Allah. Lo! Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But if they hearken not to thee know that they only follow their own lusts: and who is more astray than one who follows his own lusts devoid of guidance from Allah? For Allah guides not people given to wrongdoing. ³³⁸³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

They were challenged to produce something better, to be a guide in life. But as they could not, it was evident that their objections were fractious. They were only following their own selfish lusts of power, monopoly, and exploitation of the poor and ignorant. How can such people receive guidance?