14 Preface إِذ جاءَتهُمُ الرُّسُلُ مِن بَينِ أَيديهِم وَمِن خَلفِهِم أَلّا تَعبُدوا إِلَّا اللَّهَ ۖ قالوا لَو شاءَ رَبُّنا لَأَنزَلَ مَلائِكَةً فَإِنّا بِما أُرسِلتُم بِهِ كافِرونَAli Quli QaraiWhen the apostles came to them, before them and in their own time,1 saying, ‘Worship no one except Allah!’ They said, ‘Had our Lord wished, He would certainly have sent down angels [to us]. We indeed disbelieve in what you have been sent with.’ That is, during the times of their forefathers and in their own time. Or ‘from their front and behind,’ that is, from all sides.