قُل فَأتوا بِكِتابٍ مِن عِندِ اللَّهِ هُوَ أَهدىٰ مِنهُما أَتَّبِعهُ إِن كُنتُم صادِقينَ

Say, "Then bring a scripture from Allah which is more guiding than either of them that I may follow it, if you should be truthful."

فَإِن لَم يَستَجيبوا لَكَ فَاعلَم أَنَّما يَتَّبِعونَ أَهواءَهُم ۚ وَمَن أَضَلُّ مِمَّنِ اتَّبَعَ هَواهُ بِغَيرِ هُدًى مِنَ اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَهدِي القَومَ الظّالِمينَ

But if they do not respond to you - then know that they only follow their [own] desires. And who is more astray than one who follows his desire without guidance from Allah? Indeed, Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.

وَلَقَد وَصَّلنا لَهُمُ القَولَ لَعَلَّهُم يَتَذَكَّرونَ

And We have [repeatedly] conveyed to them the Qur'an that they might be reminded.

الَّذينَ آتَيناهُمُ الكِتابَ مِن قَبلِهِ هُم بِهِ يُؤمِنونَ

Those to whom We gave the Scripture before it - they are believers in it.

وَإِذا يُتلىٰ عَلَيهِم قالوا آمَنّا بِهِ إِنَّهُ الحَقُّ مِن رَبِّنا إِنّا كُنّا مِن قَبلِهِ مُسلِمينَ

And when it is recited to them, they say, "We have believed in it; indeed, it is the truth from our Lord. Indeed we were, [even] before it, Muslims [submitting to Allah]."

وَإِذا سَمِعُوا اللَّغوَ أَعرَضوا عَنهُ وَقالوا لَنا أَعمالُنا وَلَكُم أَعمالُكُم سَلامٌ عَلَيكُم لا نَبتَغِي الجاهِلينَ

And when they hear ill speech, they turn away from it and say, "For us are our deeds, and for you are your deeds. Peace will be upon you; we seek not the ignorant."

إِنَّكَ لا تَهدي مَن أَحبَبتَ وَلـٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهدي مَن يَشاءُ ۚ وَهُوَ أَعلَمُ بِالمُهتَدينَ

Indeed, [O Muhammad], you do not guide whom you like, but Allah guides whom He wills. And He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided.

وَقالوا إِن نَتَّبِعِ الهُدىٰ مَعَكَ نُتَخَطَّف مِن أَرضِنا ۚ أَوَلَم نُمَكِّن لَهُم حَرَمًا آمِنًا يُجبىٰ إِلَيهِ ثَمَراتُ كُلِّ شَيءٍ رِزقًا مِن لَدُنّا وَلـٰكِنَّ أَكثَرَهُم لا يَعلَمونَ

And they say, "If we were to follow the guidance with you, we would be swept from our land." Have we not established for them a safe sanctuary to which are brought the fruits of all things as provision from Us? But most of them do not know.

وَكَم أَهلَكنا مِن قَريَةٍ بَطِرَت مَعيشَتَها ۖ فَتِلكَ مَساكِنُهُم لَم تُسكَن مِن بَعدِهِم إِلّا قَليلًا ۖ وَكُنّا نَحنُ الوارِثينَ

And how many a city have We destroyed that was insolent in its [way of] living, and those are their dwellings which have not been inhabited after them except briefly. And it is We who were the inheritors.

وَما كانَ رَبُّكَ مُهلِكَ القُرىٰ حَتّىٰ يَبعَثَ في أُمِّها رَسولًا يَتلو عَلَيهِم آياتِنا ۚ وَما كُنّا مُهلِكِي القُرىٰ إِلّا وَأَهلُها ظالِمونَ

And never would your Lord have destroyed the cities until He had sent to their mother a messenger reciting to them Our verses. And We would not destroy the cities except while their people were wrongdoers.