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Muhammad Asad   
for, what is there to keep people from attaining to faith now that guidance has come unto them, and from asking their Sustainer to forgive them their sins - unless it be [their wish] that the fate of the [sinful] people of ancient times should befall them [as well], or that the [ultimate] suffering should befall them in the hereafter
The Clear Quran, Dr. Mustafa Khattab   
And nothing prevents people from believing when guidance comes to them and from seeking their Lord’s forgiveness except ˹their demand˺ to meet the same fate of earlier deniers or that the torment would confront them face to face.
Safi Kaskas   
Now that guidance has come to them, What could it be that is preventing people from believing or from asking their Lord for forgiveness, other than that the fate of earlier generations has not yet befallen them, or the punishment has not yet come upon them.

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Source Arabic and Literal tools
Arabic   
وَمَا مَنَعَ النَّاسَ أَن يُؤْمِنُوا إِذْ جَاءَهُمُ الْهُدَىٰ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّهُمْ إِلَّا أَن تَأْتِيَهُمْ سُنَّةُ الْأَوَّلِينَ أَوْ يَأْتِيَهُمُ الْعَذَابُ قُبُلً
Transliteration (2021)   
wamā manaʿa l-nāsa an yu'minū idh jāahumu l-hudā wayastaghfirū rabbahum illā an tatiyahum sunnatu l-awalīna aw yatiyahumu l-ʿadhābu qubula
Word for Word
Dr. Shehnaz Shaikh, Ms. Kauser Katri, and more
  
And nothing prevents men that they believe when has come to them the guidance and they ask forgiveness (of) their Lord, except that comes to them (the) way (of) the former (people) or comes to them the punishment before (them)?

Generally Accepted Translations of the Meaning
Muhammad Asad   
for, what is there to keep people from attaining to faith now that guidance has come unto them, and from asking their Sustainer to forgive them their sins - unless it be [their wish] that the fate of the [sinful] people of ancient times should befall them [as well], or that the [ultimate] suffering should befall them in the hereafter
M. M. Pickthall   
And naught hindereth mankind from believing when the guidance cometh unto them, and from asking forgiveness of their Lord unless (it be that they wish) that the judgment of the men of old should come upon them or (that) they should be confronted with the Doom
Yusuf Ali (Saudi Rev. 1985)   
And what is there to keep back men from believing, now that Guidance has come to them, nor from praying for forgiveness from their Lord, but that (they ask that) the ways of the ancients be repeated with them, or the Wrath be brought to them face to face
The Clear Quran, Dr. Mustafa Khattab   
And nothing prevents people from believing when guidance comes to them and from seeking their Lord’s forgiveness except ˹their demand˺ to meet the same fate of earlier deniers or that the torment would confront them face to face.
Safi Kaskas   
Now that guidance has come to them, What could it be that is preventing people from believing or from asking their Lord for forgiveness, other than that the fate of earlier generations has not yet befallen them, or the punishment has not yet come upon them.
Wahiduddin Khan   
Nothing prevents people from believing when they are given guidance or from asking forgiveness of their Lord, but the fact that the fate of the previous peoples should befall them or to have the punishment come upon them face to face
Shakir   
And nothing prevents men from believing when the guidance comes to them, and from asking forgiveness of their Lord, except that what happened to the ancients should overtake them, or that the chastisement should come face to face with them
Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar   
Nothing prevented humanity from believing when the guidance drew near to them or from asking forgiveness of their Lord, but that approaches them a custom of the ancient ones or approaches them the punishment face to face.
T.B.Irving   
What has prevented men from believing and seeking forgiveness from their Lord, once guidance has come to them, except [they may wish] that the practice of primitive people should come along with them, or that torment come face to face with them.
Abdul Hye   
And nothing prevents mankind from believing and asking forgiveness of their Lord when the guidance (the Qur’an) has come to them, except that the way of the ancients come upon them or the punishment come upon them face to face.
The Study Quran   
And naught prevents men from believing when guidance comes unto them, and from seeking forgiveness of their Lord, save that [they await] the wont of those of old to come upon them, or the punishment to come upon them face-to-face
Dr. Kamal Omar   
And nothing prevented men that they may Believe, now when has come to them Al-Hudah and that they may ask forgiveness from their Nourisher-Sustainer, except that the ways of the earlier ones be repeated with them, or the punishment be brought to them face to face
Farook Malik   
Nothing can prevent men from believing and seeking the forgiveness of their Lord now that Guidance has come to them, unless they are waiting for the fate of former peoples to overtake them or the scourge to be brought to them face to face
Talal A. Itani (new translation)   
What prevented people from accepting faith, when guidance has come to them, and from seeking their Lord's forgiveness? Unless they are waiting for the precedent of the ancients to befall them, or to have the punishment come upon them face to face
Muhammad Mahmoud Ghali   
And in no way did anything prevent mankind from believing (Literally: made them not to believe) as the guidance came to them and asking their Lord to forgive them, except that the enactment (for) the earliest (people) should come up to them, or that the torment should come up to them face to face
Muhammad Sarwar   
What prevents people from having faith when guidance comes to them or from asking for forgiveness from their Lord before they face the kind of torment that the ancient people experienced or a new form of torment
Muhammad Taqi Usmani   
The only thing that prevented people from believing, even after the guidance had come to them, and from seeking forgiveness from their Lord, is (their demand) that what used to come to the earlier people should come to them as well, or that the punishment should visit them face to face
Shabbir Ahmed   
For, what is there to keep people from attaining belief now that Guidance has come to them, and from asking the protecting forgiveness of their Lord? Unless they choose the fate of the ancient people to befall them or that the doom reaches them even faster
Dr. Munir Munshey   
Now that the guidance is here, nothing must keep people from believing and seeking forgiveness from their Lord. Else, the tradition of the earlier folks would be repeated, and they would come face to face with a severe torment
Syed Vickar Ahamed   
And what is there to keep back men from believing, now that (Allah’s) Guidance has come to them, and from praying for forgiveness from their Lord, except that (they like) the ways of the old be repeated with them, or the punishment (of Allah) be brought to them face to face
Umm Muhammad (Sahih International)   
And nothing has prevented the people from believing when guidance came to them and from asking forgiveness of their Lord except that there [must] befall them the [accustomed] precedent of the former peoples or that the punishment should come [directly] before them
[The Monotheist Group] (2011 Edition)   
And what prevented the people from believing when the guidance came to them, and to seek forgiveness from their Lord Are they waiting for what happened to the people of old to come to them, or that the retribution be brought to them face to fac
Abdel Haleem   
Now that guidance has come to them, what stops these people believing and asking forgiveness from their Lord before the fate of earlier peoples annihilates them or their torment confronts them
Abdul Majid Daryabadi   
And naught preventeth mankind from believing when the guidance hath come unto them, and from asking foregiveness of their Lord, but that there may come unto them the dispensation of the ancients, or that the torment may come Unto them face to face
Ahmed Ali   
There is nothing to prevent men from believing when the guidance has come to them, and asking for their Lord's forgiveness, unless they want the example of earlier people visited upon them, or the punishment to appear right before their eyes
Aisha Bewley   
When guidance came to the people nothing prevented them from having iman and asking for forgiveness from their Lord but the fact that the pattern of previous peoples did not happen to them or that the punishment did not appear before their eyes.
Ali Ünal   
What is there to keep people from believing when guidance has come to them, and from imploring their Lord for forgiveness – unless it be that they follow the way of the (sinful) people of olden times (as if wishing for their fate to come upon them) or the punishment (which they did not believe in but asked their Prophet, in derision, to bring down upon them) come and confront them? (Then indeed they would have no opportunity to implore forgiveness and hope for relief.
Ali Quli Qara'i   
People do not refuse to have faith when guidance comes to them and to plead to their Lord for forgiveness, without being overtaken by the precedent of the ancients, or confronting the punishment
Hamid S. Aziz   
Naught prevented men from believing when the guidance came to them, or from asking pardon of their Lord, except the coming on them of the judgment of the people of olden days, or the coming of the doom before their own eyes
Ali Bakhtiari Nejad   
And nothing prevented the people to believe and ask forgiveness from their Master when the guidance came to them except that (they would expect) the ways of the earlier ones come to them or the punishment comes to them face to face
A.L. Bilal Muhammad et al (2018)   
And what is there to keep back the people from believing, now that guidance has come to them, or from praying for forgiveness from their Lord, but they asked that the ways of those who came before be repeated, or the punishment be brought to them face to face
Musharraf Hussain   
What stops people from believing and seeking the forgiveness of their Lord when the guidance has come to them? Are they waiting for the same fate as the earlier generations? Or for the punishment to be brought right in front of them?
Maududi   
What is it that prevented mankind from believing when the guidance came to them, and from asking forgiveness of their Lord, except that they would like to be treated as the nations of yore, or that they would like to see the scourge come upon them face to face
[The Monotheist Group] (2013 Edition)   
And what prevented the people from believing when the guidance came to them, and to seek forgiveness from their Lord? Are they waiting for what happened to the people of old to come to them, or that the retribution be brought to them face to face?
Mohammad Shafi   
And nothing prevents people from believing and asking forgiveness of their Lord — when the guidance has already come to them — except that what happened to the ancient peoples should overtake them or that the punishment should confront them

Controversial or status undetermined works
Ahmed Raza Khan (Barelvi)   
And what hindered men from believing when guidance came to them and from asking forgiveness from their Lord. but that the traditions of the ancients should come to them or that, the varied torments should come upon them.
Rashad Khalifa   
Nothing prevented the people from believing, when the guidance came to them, and from seeking the forgiveness of their Lord, except that they demanded to see the same (kind of miracles) as the previous generations, or challenged to see the retribution beforehand.
Hasan Al-Fatih Qaribullah   
Nothing prevented people from believing and seeking the forgiveness of their Lord when guidance came to them, unless they are waiting for the fate of the ancients to overtake them, or that the punishment should come upon them face to face
Maulana Muhammad Ali   
And nothing prevents men from believing when the guidance comes to them, and from asking forgiveness of their Lord, but that (they wait) for the way of the ancients to overtake them, or that the chastisement should confront them
Muhammad Ahmed - Samira   
And what prevented/forbid the people that (E) they believe when the guidance came to them? And they ask for forgiveness (from) their Lord? Except that the first's/beginner's law/manner comes to them or the punishment comes to them in front/facing front
Bijan Moeinian   
The only thing that prevented man from believing and asking for forgiveness (when the guidance was presented to them) was their insistence upon the miracles (which did not change the disbelievers’ attitude in the past) or seeing the Lord’s punishment beforehand (which naturally would have been the end.
Faridul Haque   
And what prevented men from accepting faith when guidance came to them, and from asking forgiveness from their Lord except that the tradition of the former nations come upon them or that they confront various kinds of punishments
Sher Ali   
And nothing hinders people from believing when the guidance comes to them, and from asking forgiveness of their Lord, but that they wait for the fate of the ancients to overtake them or that punishment should come upon them face to face
Dr. Mohammad Tahir-ul-Qadri   
And nothing prevented the people from embracing faith and imploring forgiveness from their Lord, whilst guidance had reached them, except (waiting for) the pattern of the ancients’ (destruction) occurring to them, or that the torment should come in front of them
Amatul Rahman Omar   
Unless the precedence of the ancients should be repeated in their case or the punishment should stare them in the face, there is nothing to hinder people from believing in the guidance when it comes to them and from seeking protection and pardon of their Lord
Muhsin Khan & Muhammad al-Hilali   
And nothing prevents men from believing, now when the guidance (the Quran) has come to them, and from asking Forgiveness of their Lord, except that the ways of the ancients be repeated with them (i.e. their destruction decreed by Allah), or the torment be brought to them face to face

Non-Muslim and/or Orientalist works
Arthur John Arberry   
And naught prevented men from believing when the guidance came unto them, and seeking their Lord's forgiveness, but that the wont of the ancients should come upon them, or that the chastisement should come upon them face to face
George Sale   
Yet nothing hindreth men from believing, now a direction is come unto them, and from asking pardon of their Lord, excepting that they wait until the punishment of their predecessors come to be inflicted on them, or that the chastisement of the next life come upon them publicly
Edward Henry Palmer   
Naught prevented men from believing when the guidance came to them, or from asking pardon of their Lord, except the coming on them of the course of those of yore, or the coming of the torment before their eyes
John Medows Rodwell   
And what, now that guidance is come to them, letteth men from believing and from asking forgiveness of their Lord - unless they wait till that the doom of the ancients overtake them, or the chastisement come upon them in the sight of the universe
N J Dawood (2014)   
Nothing prevents people from having faith when guidance has been revealed to them, and from seeking their Lord‘s forgiveness: unless they are waiting for the fate of the ancients to overtake them or to behold the scourge with their own eyes

New, Partial, or In Progress Translations
Linda “iLHam” Barto   
What holds people back from believing now that guidance has come to them? What keeps them from praying for forgiveness from their Lord? Maybe what happened before [to evil people] should be repeated with them. Should the wrath be brought before them?
Irving & Mohamed Hegab   
What has prevented men from believing and seeking forgiveness from their Lord, once guidance has come to them, except [they may wish] that the practice of primitive people should come along with them, or that torment come face to face with them.
Sayyid Qutb   
What is there to keep people from accepting the faith now that guidance has come to them, and from seeking forgiveness from their Lord, unless it be that they are waiting for the fate of the [sinful] people of ancient times to befall them as well, or for the suffering to be brought before their eyes?
Ahmed Hulusi   
What can prevent the people from believing and asking for forgiveness of their Rabb when there has come to them a guide (Rasul) leading them to the path of the reality, other than waiting for the precedent of the former people to befall them, or for the punishment to appear directly in front of them!
Sayyed Abbas Sadr-Ameli   
And naught prevented men from believing when the guidance came unto them, and seeking their Lord's forgiveness, except that the wont of the ancients should come upon them, or that the chastisement should come face to face with them
Al-muntakhab fi tafsir al-Qur'an al-Karim   
What kept people back from acknowledging and accepting the spirit of truth presented to them to guide them into all truth and inspire them to invoke their Creator's mercy and forgiveness but to rest content until they are wedded to the same calamities wedding those of old or to perceive through sense of sight the torment destined to be laid upon the damned
Mir Aneesuddin   
And nothing holds back mankind from believing when the guidance comes to them, and from asking protective forgiveness from their Fosterer, except that (they wait) that the procedure (adopted) for the ancients should be adopted for them (too), or (that) the punishment should come face to face (with them).

Obsolete and/or older editions
Yusuf Ali (Orig. 1938)   
And what is there to keep back men from believing, now that Guidance has come to them, nor from praying for forgiveness from their Lord, but that (they ask that) the ways of the ancients be repeated with them, or the Wrath be brought to them f ace to face
OLD Literal Word for Word   
And nothing prevents men that they believe when has come to them the guidance and they ask forgiveness (of) their Lord, except that comes to them (the) way (of) the former (people) or comes to them the punishment before (them)