Popular Translations
Muhammad Asad
And thus it is: whenever We sent, before thy time, a warner to any community, those of its people who had lost themselves entirely in the pursuit of pleasures would always say, “Behold, we found our forefathers agreed on what to believe - and, verily, it is but in their footsteps that we follow!”
Arthur John Arberry
Even so We sent never before thee any warner into any city, except that its men who lived at ease said, 'We indeed found our fathers upon a community, and we are following upon their traces.
Yusuf Ali (Saudi Rev. 1985)
Just in the same way, whenever We sent a Warner before thee to any people, the wealthy ones among them said: "We found our fathers following a certain religion, and we will certainly follow in their footsteps."
Arabic
وَكَذَ ٰلِكَ مَاۤ أَرۡسَلۡنَا مِن قَبۡلِكَ فِی قَرۡیَةࣲ مِّن نَّذِیرٍ إِلَّا قَالَ مُتۡرَفُوهَاۤ إِنَّا وَجَدۡنَاۤ ءَابَاۤءَنَا عَلَىٰۤ أُمَّةࣲ وَإِنَّا عَلَىٰۤ ءَاثَـٰرِهِم مُّقۡتَدُونَ ٢٣
Transliteration (2021)
wakadhālika mā arsalnā min qablika fī qaryatin min nadhīrin illā qāla mut'rafūhā innā wajadnā ābāanā ʿalā ummatin wa-innā ʿalā āthārihim muq'tadūn