The chiefs of his people, who did not believe, said: "He is only a man like you. He wishes to acquire ascendancy over you. If God had willed He would have sent down angels. We never heard this from our elders.

So the disbelieving chieftains of his people said, “He is just a human like you, he wishes to become your leader; and had Allah willed, He would have sent down angels; We did not hear this in the case of our forefathers.”

Said the Council of the unbelievers of his people, 'This is naught but a mortal like yourselves, who desires to gain superiority over you. And if God willed, He would have sent down angels. We never heard of this among, our fathers, the ancients.

But the great ones among his people, who refused to acknowledge the truth, replied: “This [man] is nothing but a mortal like yourselves who wants to make himself superior to you! For, if God had willed [to convey a message unto us], He would surely have sent down angels; [moreover,] we have never heard [anything like] this from our forebears of old!

Then said the chiefs of those who disbelieved among his people: this is no other than a human being like unto you, he seeketh to make himself superior unto; and if God had willed, He would save sent down angels; we have not heard of this among our fathers ancient.

But the chiefs of those who disbelieved among his people said: "He is no more than a human being like you, he seeks to make himself superior to you. Had Allah willed, He surely could have sent down angels; never did we hear such a thing among our fathers of old.

But the notables of his people, who disbelieved, said, “This is nothing but a human like you, who wants to gain superiority over you. Had God willed, He would have sent down angels. We never heard of this from our forefathers of old.

But the notables of his people, who disbelieved, said, “This is nothing but a human like you, who wants to gain superiority over you. Had Allah willed, He would have sent down angels. We never heard of this from our forefathers of old.

But the notables among his people, who disbelieved, said, “This is only a human like you, aspiring to gain dominance over you. Had God willed, He would have sent down angels. We never heard of this from our forefathers of old.

But the notables among his people, who disbelieved, said, “This is only a human like you, aspiring to gain dominance over you. Had Allah willed, He would have sent down angels. We never heard of this from our forefathers of old.

But the disbelieving chiefs of his people said ˹to the masses˺, “This is only a human like you, who wants to be superior to you. Had Allah willed, He could have easily sent down angels ˹instead˺. We have never heard of this in ˹the history of˺ our forefathers.

But the notables among his people had refused to believe, and said: "This is none other than a mortal like yourselves who desires to attain superiority over you. Had Allah wanted (to send any Messengers) He would have sent down angels. We have heard nothing like this in the time of our forebears of old (that humans were sent as Messengers).

But the chiefs of his people who disbelieved said: "He is no more than a human being like you, he seeks to make himself superior to you. Had Allah willed, He surely could have sent down angels. Never did we hear such a thing among our fathers of old."

But the chieftains of his folk, who disbelieved, said: This is only a mortal like you who would make himself superior to you. Had Allah willed, He surely could have sent down angels. We heard not of this in the case of our fathers of old.

But the elite of the faithless from among his people said, ‘This is just a human being like you, who seeks to dominate you. Had Allah wished, He would have sent down angels. We never heard of such a thing among our forefathers.

The unbelieving assembly of his nation said: 'This is but a human like you, who desires to gain superiority over you. Had Allah willed, He could have sent down angels. We never heard of this among our ancient forefathers.

But the eminent among those who disbelieved from his people said, "This is not but a man like yourselves who wishes to take precedence over you; and if Allah had willed [to send a messenger], He would have sent down angels. We have not heard of this among our forefathers.

The chiefs of the unbelievers said to the others, "He is a mere mortal like you. He wants only to be superior to you. Had God wanted He would have sent the angels (instead of him). We have never heard from our fathers anything like what he says.

And the chiefs of those who disbelieved from among his people said: He is nothing but a mortal like yourselves who desires that he may have superiority over you, and if Allah had pleased, He could certainly have sent down angels. We have not heard of this among our fathers of yore:

Faqala almalao allatheena kafaroo min qawmihi ma hatha illa basharun mithlukum yureedu an yatafaddala AAalaykum walaw shaa Allahu laanzala malaikatan ma samiAAna bihatha fee abaina alawwaleena

faqāla l-mala-u alladhīna kafarū min qawmihi mā hādhā illā basharun mith'lukum yurīdu an yatafaḍḍala ʿalaykum walaw shāa l-lahu la-anzala malāikatan mā samiʿ'nā bihādhā fī ābāinā l-awalīna

The leaders of his people who denied the truth, said, "He is only a human being like yourselves who wants to make himself superior to you. If God had wished, He would have sent down angels. We never heard about this from our forefathers.

The chiefs of the Unbelievers among his people said: "He is no more than a man like yourselves: his wish is to assert his superiority over you: if Allah had wished (to send messengers), He could have sent down angels; never did we hear such a thing (as he says), among our ancestors of old."