Overall meaning : The Almighty says: The idolaters who associate partners with Allah falsely argue, saying, ‘Had Allah so willed, we would not have worshiped anything other than Him, neither we nor our fathers; nor would we have declared anything He has not forbidden unlawful (such as associating partners with Him) or anything He has made lawful forbidden.’ Even so did the unbelievers who lived before them and were consequently destroyed. The messengers’ duty is to deliver the message clearly, and they have indeed shown you the path of truth so clearly so much so that they have left no room for argument.
We surely sent a messenger to every past community calling them to worship Allah alone and keep away from false gods. Among them were some whom Allah guided and they followed the messengers, and among them were some who stubbornly followed the path of error and thus deserved to be misguided and be eventually destroyed. So travel throughout the land and see the fate of those who disbelieved the messengers and learn lessons from them.
Allah Almighty then informs His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that his eagerness to guide the idolaters who persist in their misguidance and error will not help them follow the truth, because Allah does not guide to Himself whomever He has decreed will remain in error according to His absolute wisdom and justice, stating that the wrongdoers will have no helpers to protect them from His punishment.