أَوْ مَنَعْتُمْ مَا تَسْأَلُونَ فَمَنْ حَدَّثْتُمُوهُ لَهُ عَلَيْنَا الْعَلَاءُ
Meaning: And if you deny what you ask for, whom can you name as possessing superiority over us?
Manaʿtum indicates withholding or refusing. In fa-man ḥaddathtumūhu the poet demands an identifiable comparison: whom have you cited as superior to us?
Al-ʿalāʾ means distinction or superiority. The rhetorical question challenges an adversarial claim; as tribal boast poetry, it should not be mistaken for an impartial ranking of peoples.