134 Preface وَلَو أَنّا أَهلَكناهُم بِعَذابٍ مِن قَبلِهِ لَقالوا رَبَّنا لَولا أَرسَلتَ إِلَينا رَسولًا فَنَتَّبِعَ آياتِكَ مِن قَبلِ أَن نَذِلَّ وَنَخزىٰYusuf AliAnd if We had inflicted on them a penalty before this,1 they would have said: “Our Lord! If only Thou hadst sent us a messenger, we should certainly have followed Thy Signs before we were humbled and put to shame.”If the Signs mentioned in the last note did not convince them, it would mean that they were not true to their own faith. They were not straight with themselves. Injustice they should have been punished for their falsehood. But they were given further respite. Or they would again have argued in a circle, and said: “If only God had sent us a living messenger we should have believed!” The living messenger they flout because they want a Sign. The Sign they wish to ignore, because they want a living messenger!