Al-Qur'an Surah Al-A'raf Verse 173

Mufti Taqi Usmani

or you should say, “It was our forefathers who associated partners with Allah, and we were their progeny after them; would you then destroy us on account of what the erroneous did?”

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

Nor say, ‘It was our forefathers who had associated others ˹with Allah in worship˺ and we, as their descendants, followed in their footsteps. Will you then destroy us for the falsehood they invented?’”

Ruwwad Translation Center

Or that you say, “It was our forefathers before us who associated partners with Allah, and we are their offspring who came after them. Will you then destroy us for the falsehood that they invented?”

A. J. Arberry

or lest you say, 'Our fathers were idolaters aforetime, and we were seed after them. What, wilt Thou then destroy us for the deeds of the vain-doers?'

Abdul Haleem

or, ‘It was our forefathers who, before us, ascribed partners to God, and we are only the descendants who came after them: will you destroy us because of falsehoods they invented?’

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

Or lest ye should say: it Was only our fathers who associated afore, and we have been a posterity after them; wilt Thou then destroy us for that which the followers of falsehood did?

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Or lest ye should say; "Our fathers before us may have taken false gods, but we are (their) descendants after them; wilt Thou then destroy us because of the deeds of men who were futile?"

Abul Ala Maududi

Or say: 'Our forefathers before us who associated others with Allah in His divinity; we were merely their offspring who followed them. And would You destroy us for that which the unrighteous did?'

Ahmed Ali

Or, lest they should say: "It were our fathers who had ascribed compeers to God; we are only their offspring. Will You destroy us for the deeds of those who dealt in vanities?"

Ahmed Raza Khan

Or you may say, “It is our ancestors who first ascribed partners (to Allah) and we were (their) children after them; so will You destroy us on account of the deeds of the followers of falsehood?”

Ali Quli Qarai

or lest you should say, ‘Our fathers ascribed partners [to Allah] before [us] and we were descendants after them. Will You then destroy us because of what the falsifiers have done?’

Ali Ünal

Or lest you should say (in trying to excuse yourselves): "Our forefathers used to associate partners with God before us, and we were their offspring just following after them. Will You, then, ruin us for what those did who rejected Your Lordship and invented that false way (of associating partners with You)?"

Amatul Rahman Omar

Or (lest) you should say, `It were only our forefathers who associated partners (with God) in the past and we only happened to be their children who came after them (to follow in their footsteps). Will You then destroy us for the vain doings of the perpetrators of falsehood?´

English Literal

Or you say: "But our fathers shared/made partners (with God) from before, and we were descendants from after them, do you perish us/destroy us because (of) what the wasters/cancellors made/did ?"

Faridul Haque

Or you may say, "It is our ancestors who first ascribed partners (to Allah) and we were (their) children after them; so will You destroy us on account of the deeds of the followers of falsehood?"

Hamid S. Aziz

Or say, "Verily, our fathers associated others with Allah before us, and we were but their seed after them. Will you then destroy us for the futile deeds of the doers of futility (or vanities)?"

Hilali & Khan

Or lest you should say: "It was only our fathers afortime who took others as partners in worship along with Allah, and we were (merely their) descendants after them; will You then destroy us because of the deeds of men who practised Al-Batil (i.e. polytheism and committing crimes and sins, invoking and worshipping others besides Allah)?" (Tafsir At-Tabari).

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And when thy Lord brought forth from the children of Adam, from their loins, their descendants, and made them bear witness about themselves: Am I not your Lord? They said: Yes; we bear witness. Lest you should say on the day of Resurrection: We were unaware of this,

Mohammad Habib Shakir

Or you should say: Only our fathers associated others (with Allah) before, and we were an offspring after them: Wilt Thou then destroy us for what the vain doers did?

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

Or lest ye should say: (It is) only (that) our fathers ascribed partners to Allah of old and we were (their) seed after them. Wilt Thou destroy us on account of that which those who follow falsehood did?

Muhammad Sarwar

or say, "Our fathers worshipped idols before us and we as their descendants followed them. Would you then destroy us because of what the followers of falsehood have done?"

Qaribullah & Darwish

or you say: 'Our forefathers were idolaters before, and we were the descendants after them, will You destroy us for the deeds of the vaindoers'

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

Or lest you should say: "It was only our fathers aforetime who took others as partners in worship along with Allah, and we were (merely their) descendants after them; will You then destroy us because of the deeds of men who practiced falsehood"

Wahiduddin Khan

Or lest you say, "Our forefathers associated others with God before our time, and we are only the descendants who came after them. So are You going to destroy us for what those inventors of falsehood did?"

Talal Itani

Nor can you Say, “Our ancestors practiced idolatry before; and we are their descendants who came after them; will you destroy us for what the falsifiers did?”

Tafsir jalalayn

Or lest you should say, `It is merely that our fathers were idolaters before, that is, before our time, and we were descendants of theirs, and so we followed their example. Will You then destroy us, chastise us, for that which those who follow falsehood did?', from among our forefathers, by [their] establishing idolatry? The meaning is; they cannot use such arguments when they have been made to testify before their very selves to God's Oneness. To effect this reminder by the tongue of the bearer of the miracle [Muhammad (s)] equally serves [as a reminder] for every soul to remember this within itself.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

أَوْ تَقُولُواْ إِنَّمَا أَشْرَكَ ابَاوُنَا

مِن قَبْلُ

unaware. Or lest you should say;"It was only our fathers aforetime who took others as partners in worship along with Allah,"

وَكُنَّا ذُرِّيَّةً مِّن بَعْدِهِمْ

أَفَتُهْلِكُنَا بِمَا فَعَلَ الْمُبْطِلُونَ



and we were (merely their) descendants after them; will You then destroy us because of the deeds of men who practiced falsehood."

وَكَذَلِكَ نُفَصِّلُ الايَاتِ وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ