طه : ١٣٤

  • وَلَوۡ And if
  • أَنَّآ We
  • أَهۡلَكۡنَٰهُم (had) destroyed them
  • بِعَذَابٖ with a punishment
  • مِّن before him
  • قَبۡلِهِۦ before him
  • لَقَالُواْ surely they (would) have said
  • رَبَّنَا Our Lord
  • لَوۡلَآ why not
  • أَرۡسَلۡتَ You sent
  • إِلَيۡنَا to us
  • رَسُولٗا a Messenger
  • فَنَتَّبِعَ so we (could) have followed
  • ءَايَٰتِكَ Your signs
  • مِن before
  • قَبۡلِ before
  • أَن [that]
  • نَّذِلَّ we were humiliated
  • وَنَخۡزَىٰ and disgraced
And if We had destroyed them with a punishment before him,1 they would have said, "Our Lord, why did You not send to us a messenger so we could have followed Your verses [i.e., teachings] before we were humiliated and disgraced?"
Footnotes
1 - Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ). Also interpreted as "before it," i.e., the Qur’ān.
Had We destroyed them with a chastisement before him, before [the coming of] Muhammad may peace and salutation be upon him the Messenger, they would have said, on the Day of Resurrection: 'Our Lord, if only You had sent us a messenger, so that we might have followed those signs of Yours, given to the messengers [to convey], before we were [thus] abased, at the Resurrection, and disgraced?', in Hell.