Az-Zukhruf (الزخرف)
Chapter 43 · The Ornaments of Gold · Juz 25
وَقَالُوٓا۟ ءَأَٰلِهَتُنَا خَيْرٌ أَمْ هُوَ ۚ مَا ضَرَبُوهُ لَكَ إِلَّا جَدَلًۢا ۚ بَلْ هُمْ قَوْمٌ خَصِمُونَ
Wa qaalooo 'a-aalihatunaa khairun am hoo; maa daraboohu laka illaa jadalaa; balhum qawmun khasimoon
And they said, "Are your gods better, or is he?" They did not present the comparison except for [mere] argument. But, [in fact], they are a people prone to dispute.
Quran 43:58 — Surah Az-Zukhruf
This is verse 58 of 89 in Surah Az-Zukhruf (الزخرف), meaning “The Ornaments of Gold”. It is a Meccan surah — revealed in Makkah before the Hijrah. This verse is located in Juz 25 (Part 25) of the Quran.
Surah Az-Zukhruf is the 43th chapter of the Holy Quran and contains 89 verses (ayat). You can listen to this surah with audio recitation and follow along with transliteration on QuranMakkah.com.
To pronounce this verse, follow the transliteration below. Each syllable represents the Arabic sounds written in Latin letters:
Wa qaalooo 'a-aalihatunaa khairun am hoo; maa daraboohu laka illaa jadalaa; balhum qawmun khasimoon
فَجَعَلْنَٰهُمْ سَلَفًۭا وَمَثَلًۭا لِّلْءَاخِرِينَ
And We made them a precedent and an example for the later peoples.
۞ وَلَمَّا ضُرِبَ ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ مَثَلًا إِذَا قَوْمُكَ مِنْهُ يَصِدُّونَ
And when the son of Mary was presented as an example, immediately your people laughed aloud.
وَقَالُوٓا۟ ءَأَٰلِهَتُنَا خَيْرٌ أَمْ هُوَ ۚ مَا ضَرَبُوهُ لَكَ إِلَّا جَدَلًۢا ۚ بَلْ هُمْ قَوْمٌ خَصِمُونَ
And they said, "Are your gods better, or is he?" They did not present the comparison except for [mere] argument. But, [in fact], they are a people prone to dispute.
إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا عَبْدٌ أَنْعَمْنَا عَلَيْهِ وَجَعَلْنَٰهُ مَثَلًۭا لِّبَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ
Jesus was not but a servant upon whom We bestowed favor, and We made him an example for the Children of Israel.
وَلَوْ نَشَآءُ لَجَعَلْنَا مِنكُم مَّلَٰٓئِكَةًۭ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ يَخْلُفُونَ
And if We willed, We could have made [instead] of you angels succeeding [one another] on the earth.