وَلَوْ And if walaw We annā (had) destroyed them ahlaknāhum with a punishment biʿadhābin before him min before him qablihi surely they (would) have said laqālū Our Lord rabbanā why not lawlā You sent arsalta to us ilaynā a Messenger rasūlan so we (could) have followed fanattabiʿa Your signs āyātika before min before qabli [that] an we were humiliated nadhilla and disgraced wanakhzā
And if We had destroyed them with a punishment before him,1 they would have said, "Our Lord, why did You not send to us a messenger so we could have followed Your verses [i.e., teachings] before we were humiliated and disgraced?"