14 Preface إِذ جاءَتهُمُ الرُّسُلُ مِن بَينِ أَيديهِم وَمِن خَلفِهِم أَلّا تَعبُدوا إِلَّا اللَّهَ ۖ قالوا لَو شاءَ رَبُّنا لَأَنزَلَ مَلائِكَةً فَإِنّا بِما أُرسِلتُم بِهِ كافِرونَYusuf AliBehold, the messengers came to them, from before them1 and behind them, (preaching): “Serve none but God.” They said, “If our Lord had so pleased, He would certainly have sent down angels2 (to preach). Now we reject your mission (altogether).” “'From before them and behind them”: i.e., from every side. They were warned from every point of view.Cf. l5:7, n.1941; 6:8-9 841-842. The ‘Ād had more power and material civilisation than the Pagan Arabs contemporary with the Prophet. But the greater the material civilization, the greater the arrogance as the besetting sin.