Those who associate [others with God] say, "If God had so willed we would not have worshipped anything besides Him, neither we nor our fathers, nor would we have forbidden anything without His sanction." So did those who went before them. The duty of the messengers is only to convey the message clearly.
و كسانى كه شرك ورزيدند گفتند: «اگر خدا مى‌خواست -نه ما و نه پدرانمان- هيچ چيزى را غير از او نمى‌پرستيديم و بدون [حكم‌] او چيزى را حرام نمى‌شمرديم.» پيش از آنان [نيز] چنين رفتار كردند، و[لى‌] آيا جز ابلاغ آشكار بر پيامبران [وظيفه‌اى‌] است؟