بَلْ مَتَّعْنَا هَٰٓؤُلَآءِ وَءَابَآءَهُمْ حَتَّىٰ طَالَ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْعُمُرُ ۗ أَفَلَا يَرَوْنَ أَنَّا نَأْتِى ٱلْأَرْضَ نَنقُصُهَا مِنْ أَطْرَافِهَآ ۚ أَفَهُمُ ٱلْغَٰلِبُونَ
57:17.
13:42.
Commentary:
The verse gives the reason why disbelievers go astray and what leads them to forget and forsake the truth. It is this that when the time of the national prosperity of a people becomes prolonged, they come to labour under the misconception that their prosperity and progress will never see decline or decay and consequently they become arrogant and their hearts are hardened and they reject the message of their Prophet. Thus prolongation of the period of the prosperity of a people becomes the cause of their downfall. The verse warns disbelievers against wishful thinking and false complacency that their progress and prosperity will continue indefinitely and tells them not to shut their eyes to the patent fact that God is gradually but surely reducing and curtailing the land from all its sides i.e. Islam is making inroads into every home and all sections and strata of their society. The high and the low, the rich and the poor, the learned and the illiterate are daily joining its fold. It asks: "Does not this fact alone constitute an irrefutable proof of the truth of Islam? And in view of the sure signs of their decline and fall do they still entertain the false hope that they will continue to enjoy peace, prosperity and progress and will be able to arrest or retard the progress of Islam?" See also 13:42.
57:17.
13:42.
When the time of the national prosperity of a people becomes prolonged, they come to labour under the misconception that their prosperity and progress will never see decline and consequently they become arrogant and their hearts are hardened. Thus prolongation of the period of their prosperity becomes the cause of their downfall. The verse warns disbelievers against the wishful thinking and false complacency that their progress and prosperity will continue indefinitely and tells them not to shut their eyes to the patent fact that God is gradually but surely reducing and curtailing the land from all its sides, i.e. Islam is making inroads into every home and all sections and strata of their society.