Surah Ar-Ra'd, Ayah 41

Punishment is by Allah, and the Messenger's Job is only to convey the Message

Allah said to His Messenger ,

وَإِن مَّا نُرِيَنَّكَ

`(Whether We show you) O Muhammad, part of the disgrace and humiliation We have promised your enemies in this life,

أَوْ نَتَوَفَّيَنَّكَ

(or cause you to die) before that,

فَإِنَّمَا عَلَيْكَ الْبَلَـغُ

(your duty is only to convey We have only sent you to convey to them Allah's Message, and by doing so, you will have fulfilled the mission that was ordained on you,

وَعَلَيْنَا الْحِسَابُ

(and on Us is the reckoning), their reckoning and recompense is on Us.' Allah said in similar Ayat,

فَذَكِّرْ إِنَّمَآ أَنتَ مُذَكِّرٌ - لَّسْتَ عَلَيْهِم بِمُسَيْطِرٍ - إِلاَّ مَن تَوَلَّى وَكَفَرَ - فَيْعَذِّبُهُ اللَّهُ الْعَذَابَ الاٌّكْبَرَ - إِنَّ إِلَيْنَآ إِيَابَهُمْ - ثُمَّ إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا حِسَابَهُمْ

(So remind them - you are only one who reminds. You are not a dictator over them - Save the one who turns away and disbelieves. Then Allah will punish him with the greatest punishment. Verily, to Us will be their return, Then verily, for Us will be their reckoning.)88:21-26 Allah said next,

أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْاْ أَنَّا نَأْتِى الاٌّرْضَ نَنقُصُهَا مِنْ أَطْرَافِهَا

(See they not that We gradually reduce the land from its outlying borders.) Ibn `Abbas commented, "See they not that We are granting land after land to Muhammad ﷺ" Al-Hasan and Ad-Dahhak commented that this Ayah refers to Muslims gaining the upper hand over idolators, just as Allah said in another Ayah,

وَلَقَدْ أَهْلَكْنَا مَا حَوْلَكُمْ مِّنَ الْقُرَى

(And indeed We have destroyed towns round about you.) 46:27

In verse وَإِن مَّا نُرِ‌يَنَّكَ بَعْضَ الَّذِي نَعِدُهُمْ أَوْ نَتَوَفَّيَنَّكَ (And if We show you some of what We promise them, or We take you back to Us), it is to comfort and assure the Holy Prophet ﷺ that he has been given the good news that the promises Allah has made to him that Islam will have the final victory and disbelief and disbelievers will be disgraced shall come to pass definitely. But, he is told, 'you should not concern yourself as to when this victory will finally come.' May be, this happens within his life time, and it is also possible that it comes after his departure from this mortal world. ` For your peace of heart, even this much is enough that you are continuously witnessing that We are causing the lands of the dis-believers to keep being sliced off their sides,' that is, these sides pass on under Muslim control whereby the land occupied by them keeps reducing in area. This causes well-being for Muslims and a day will come when the final phase of their victory shall stand completed. The command is in the very hands of Allah Ta` ala. There is no one who can avert this command. And He is the One swift at reckoning.

Whatever prophets came on behalf of God were all human beings just like other ordinary human beings and had worldly connections. Then why, in spite of this did communities accept their previous prophets and reject their contemporary prophet? The reason for this was that the prophets of yore had a factor in their favour which the contemporary prophets did not have, namely, historical glory. Communities accepted the previous prophets due to the historical glory attached to them and rejected the contemporary prophet for want of this. It is a weakness in man that he cannot discern reality in its abstract form. The contemporary prophet was possessed of reality in the abstract form. So man could not recognize him. The past prophets had additional characteristics like material glory, so man recognized them and became their follower. Umm al-Kitab (the mother of the Book) means God’s original scripture, which is in His possession, and which contains the instructions and principles which God expects man to follow. The scriptures revealed to different prophets were based on this original book. God revealed this book sometimes in one language and sometimes in another language; sometimes a symbolic method was adopted and sometimes a direct method. Sometimes the responsibility for its safety after revelation was given to a human being and sometimes this responsibility was taken on by God Himself.