20 Preface وَقالوا لَو شاءَ الرَّحمٰنُ ما عَبَدناهُم ۗ ما لَهُم بِذٰلِكَ مِن عِلمٍ ۖ إِن هُم إِلّا يَخرُصونَYusuf Ali(“Ah!”) they say, “If it had been the Will1 of (God) Most Gracious, we should not have worshipped such (deities)!” Of that they have no knowledge! they do nothing but lie!2Worsted in argument they resort to a dishonest sarcasm. 'We worship these deities: if God does not wish us to do so, why does He not prevent us?” In throwing the responsibility on God, they ignore the limited free will on which their whole life is based. They are really playing with truth. They are arguing against their own knowledge. They have no authority in any scripture, and indeed they are so slippery that they hold fast to no scripture at all.Cf. 6:116.