﴿ قَالَ بَلْ فَعَلَهُۥ كَبِيرُهُمْ هَٰذَا فَسْـَٔلُوهُمْ إِن كَانُوا۟ يَنطِقُونَ ﴾

“He answered: “Nay, it was this one, the big­gest of them, that did it: but ask them [yourselves] - provided they can speak!””

He said concealing his deed ‘Rather it was this principal one among them did it. So question them about the perpetrator of this if they can speak!’ here the response to the conditional statement precedes the conditional clause; in the preceding clause there is an intimation for them that an idol acknowledged as being incapable of action cannot be a god.