Aw taqooloo innama ashraka abaona min qablu wakunnathurriyyatan min baAAdihim afatuhlikuna bima faAAala almubtiloona
Or lest ye should say: "Our fathers before us may have taken false gods, but we are (their) descendants after them: wilt Thou then destroy us because of the deeds of men who were futile?"
Walaw shina larafaAAnahu biha walakinnahu akhlada ila alardi waittabaAAa hawahu famathaluhu kamathali alkalbi in tahmil AAalayhi yalhath aw tatrukhu yalhath thalika mathalu alqawmi allatheena kaththaboo biayatina faoqsusi alqasasa laAAallahum yatafakkaroona
If it had been Our will, We should have elevated him with Our signs; but he inclined to the earth, and followed his own vain desires. His similitude is that of a dog: if you attack him, he lolls out his tongue, or if you leave him alone, he (still) lolls out his tongue. That is the similitude of those who reject Our signs; So relate the story; perchance they may reflect.