ٱلزُّخْرُف : ٥٨

  • وَقَالُوٓاْ And they said
  • ءَأَٰلِهَتُنَا Are our gods
  • خَيۡرٌ better
  • أَمۡ or
  • هُوَۚ he
  • مَا Not
  • ضَرَبُوهُ they present it
  • لَكَ to you
  • إِلَّا except
  • جَدَلَۢاۚ (for) argument
  • بَلۡ Nay
  • هُمۡ they
  • قَوۡمٌ (are) a people
  • خَصِمُونَ argumentative
And they said, "Are our gods better, or is he?"1 They did not present it [i.e., the comparison] except for [mere] argument. But, [in fact], they are a people prone to dispute.
Footnotes
1 - Implying that they must all be the same.
And they say, 'Are our gods better or he?', Jesus. We are satisfied that our gods be [in the same predicament] with him. They only cite this, that is, the example, to you for the sake of contention, [merely] arguing with falsehood, for they know that [the particle] maa [of wa-maa ta'budoona, 'and what you worship'] refers [only] to non-rational beings and cannot therefore include Jesus, peace be upon him. Nay, but they are a contentious lot, an extremely disputatious folk.