تَبَارَكَ ٱلَّذِىٓ إِن شَآءَ جَعَلَ لَكَ خَيْرًا مِّن ذَٰلِكَ جَنَّٰتٍ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَٰرُ وَيَجْعَل لَّكَ قُصُورًۢا
17:92.
Commentary:
The verse continues the theme of its predecessor. The words "exalted is He" signify that the disbelievers’ idea of what a Divine Prophet should be like, is far removed from reality and betrays their ignorance of the very object and purpose for which Prophets are raised. The Prophets are raised to lead men out of the darkness of doubt and disbelief into the light of certainty and spiritual bliss. The disbelievers want to see the Holy Prophet rolling and revelling in wealth. But such an idea is inconsistent with, and casts a reflection on, the Holiness of God.
The verse further signifies that although the self-devised criterion of disbelievers, namely, that to prove the truth of his mission the Holy Prophet must possess wealth, rank, gardens and palaces, has no weight or substance, yet in order to bring home to them the falsity of their position God will give the Holy Prophet and his followers more wealth and bigger and better gardens and palaces than those of the disbelievers’ demand. And was not this demand fully and completely fulfilled? Did not the camel-drivers of Arabia become the owners of the palaces and treasures of the Caesars and the Chosroes and of the fertile plains and gardens of Syria and Iraq? The verse possesses a spiritual significance also. It means to say that worldly gardens wither and dry up for want of water and proper care, and treasures of wealth are used up and come to end, but the treasures of spiritual wealth which will be bestowed upon the Holy Prophet and his followers and the gardens of eternal bliss which will be given into their possession will be everlasting. The Garden of Islam itself will ever remain green. Heavenly Reformers will continue to arise from among Muslims who will make them understand and realise the great object for which man has been created. See next verse.
17:92.
The verse signifies that the disbelievers’ idea of what a Divine Prophet should be like is far removed from reality and betrays their ignorance of the very object and purpose for which Prophets are raised. Prophets are raised, it purports to say, to lead men out of the darkness of doubt and disbelief into the light of certainty and spiritual bliss and not to amass, and roll and revel in, wealth. But although the self-devised criterion of disbelievers, namely, that the Holy Prophet must possess wealth, rank, gardens and palaces, has no weight or substance, yet in order to bring home to them the falsity of their position God will give him and his followers greater wealth and bigger and better gardens and palaces than those of the disbelievers’ demand. And He really gave the Holy Prophet’s followers the palaces and gardens of the Iranian and Byzantine Emperors.