وَلَٰكِنۢ

Had the gain been immediate, and the journey shorter, they would have followed you; but the distance seemed too long for them. Still they swear by God: “Had we been able, we would have marched out with you.” They damn their own souls, and God knows that they are lying

Had it been a near adventure and an easy journey they had followed thee, but the distance seemed too far for them. Yet will they swear by Allah (saying): If we had been able we would surely have set out with you. They destroy their souls, and Allah knoweth that they verily are liars

Had there been a near advantage and a short journey, they would certainly have followed thee; but the way seemed long to them. Yet will they swear by God, "Had we been able, we had surely gone forth with you:" they are self-destroyers! And God knoweth that they are surely liars

Were there goods nigh at hand, and a moderate journey, they would have followed you; but the distance was too far for them; they will swear by God, 'If we could, we would have gone forth with you.' They destroy themselves, but God knows that they lie

if he was fleeting gain near and a journey an easy one they followed but he was far upon them the distance and they swear an oath by Allah if We were able We went out together with you they destroy their selfs and Allah he knows indeed they liars

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.