Ornaments of Gold
In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
[43:20]
("Ah!") they say, "If it had been the will of (God) Most Gracious, we should not have worshipped such (deities)!" Of that they have no knowledge! they do nothing but lie!


* v.20 : Worsted in argument they resort to a dishonest sarcasm. ’We worship these deities: if Allah does not wish us to do so, why does He not prevent us?’ In throwing the responsibility on Allah, they ignore the limited free-will on which their whole life is based. They are really playing with truth. They are arguing against their own knowledge. They have no authority in any scripture, and indeed they are so slippery that they hold fast to no scripture at all.
* Cf. vi. 116.