Surah Taha — Ayah 134 (20:134)
وَلَوۡ أَنَّآ أَهۡلَكۡنَٰهُم بِعَذَابٖ مِّن قَبۡلِهِۦ لَقَالُواْ رَبَّنَا لَوۡلَآ أَرۡسَلۡتَ إِلَيۡنَا رَسُولٗا فَنَتَّبِعَ ءَايَٰتِكَ مِن قَبۡلِ أَن نَّذِلَّ وَنَخۡزَىٰ ١٣٤
English translation (Saheeh International)
And if We had destroyed them with a punishment before him,1 they would have said, "Our Lord, why did You not send to us a messenger so we could have followed Your verses [i.e., teachings] before we were humiliated and disgraced?"
- - Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ). Also interpreted as "before it," i.e., the Qur’ān.
Brief commentary
And if I were to destroy these deniers of the Prophet (peace be upon him) by sending punishment on them due to their disbelief and obstinacy, before sending a messenger to them and revealing a book to them, they would say on the Day of Judgment, as an excuse for their disbelief: “O Lord, if only You had sent a messenger to us in the world, so that we could have believed in him and followed the verses that he brought, before disgrace and shame befell us through Your punishment”.