Surah An-Nahl 16:35 — translation and meaning
النحل · Verse 35 / 128 · Page 271
ۚ ۚ وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا لَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مَا عَبَدْنَا مِن دُونِهِ مِن شَيْءٍ نَّحْنُ وَلَا آبَاؤُنَا وَلَا حَرَّمْنَا مِن دُونِهِ مِن شَيْءٍ كَذَلِكَ فَعَلَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ فَهَلْ عَلَى الرُّسُلِ إِلَّا الْبَلَاغُ الْمُبِينُ
Word by Word
Transliteration
Wa qaalal lazeena ashrakoo law shaaa'al laahu ma 'abadnaa min doonihee min shai'in nahnu wa laaa aabaaa'unaa wa laa harramnaa min doonihee min shai'; kazaalika fa'alal lazeena min qablihim fahal 'alar Rusuli illal balaaghul mubeen
Translation
And those who associate others with Allah say, "If Allah had willed, we would not have worshipped anything other than Him, neither we nor our fathers, nor would we have forbidden anything through other than Him." Thus did those do before them. So is there upon the messengers except [the duty of] clear notification?
Verse interpretation (Tafsir)
Those who associated others with Allah in their worship said: Had Allah willed for us to worship Him alone and not to ascribe any partners to Him, we would not have worshipped anything besides Him, neither us, nor our ancestors before us. Had He willed for us not to prohibit anything we would not have done so. The disbelievers of the past also presented such false arguments. The duty of the Messengers is only to clearly communicate what they have been instructed to convey and they have done so. The disbelievers cannot present fate as an argument after Allah has given them free will and choice and sent to them His Messengers.
Source: Al-Mukhtasar Tafsir — Tafsir Center for Quranic Studies.
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