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."

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 sent us a messenger? We should then have followed Thy Signs and been amongst those who believe!"

假若在派遣他之前，我以刑罚毁灭他们，他们必定要说：“我们的主啊！你怎么不派遣一个使者来引导我们，以便我们在蒙受卑贱和耻辱之前，遵守你的迹象呢？”

若不是他们将为自己犯罪而遭殃，并且说：“我们的主啊！你怎么不派一个使者来教化我们，使我们遵守你的迹象，而为信士呢？……”