عَنِ

If only there were, among the generations before you, people with wisdom, who spoke against corruption on earth—except for the few whom We saved. But the wrongdoers pursued the luxuries they were indulged in, and thus became guilty

If only there had been among the generations before you men possessing a remnant (of good sense) to warn (their people) from corruption in the earth, as did a few of those whom We saved from them! The wrong-doers followed that by which they were made sapless, and were guilty

Were the generations before you, endued with virtue, and who forbad corrupt doings on the earth, more than a few of those whom we delivered? but the evil doers followed their selfish pleasures, and became transgressors

And were there among the generations before you any endowed with a remnant (of piety) forbidding evildoing in the earth, save a few of those whom we saved; but the evildoers followed what they enjoyed, and were sinners

so why not he was from the generations from your before possessors of a remnant they prohibit from the corruption in the earth except few from who We rescued from them and he followed those whom they wronged what was given ease in it and they were criminals

Generated from a table of word-by-word decisions, not written as prose. Arabic word order is preserved, so it reads stiffly and is not a substitute for a translation written by a person. Every verse is rendered, but the whole remains under review: words marked as judgement rest on weaker evidence than the rest and are flagged in place. No tafsir, hadith or existing translation was consulted.