﴿ أَوْ تَقُولُوٓا۟ إِنَّمَآ أَشْرَكَ ءَابَآؤُنَا مِن قَبْلُ وَكُنَّا ذُرِّيَّةًۭ مِّنۢ بَعْدِهِمْ ۖ أَفَتُهْلِكُنَا بِمَا فَعَلَ ٱلْمُبْطِلُونَ ﴾

“or lest you say, "Verily, it was but our forefathers who, in times gone by, began to ascribe divinity to other beings beside God; and we were but their late offspring: wilt Thou, then, destroy us for the doings of those inventors of falsehoods?"”

(Or lest ye should say) and so that you do not say: ((It is) only (that) our fathers ascribed partners to Allah of old) before us, and it is them who broke the covenant and pledge before us (and we were (their) seed) small and weak (after them) and we just emulated them. (Wilt Thou destroy us) will you punish us (on account of that which those who follow falsehood did?) on account of what the idolaters did before us in terms of breaking the covenant?