God’s bounty through the Prophet’s mediation Allah says...

God’s bounty through the Prophet’s mediation Allah says: We help everyone, those (who desire the world) and those (who desire the Hereafter). (O honoured friend! All this is) the bounty from your Lord, and the bounty of your Lord is not closed (to anyone).[1] The choice of the pronoun in this Qur'anic verse is quite significant.

The verse is not phrased as “all this is the bounty from their Lord,” but, on the other hand, it is phrased as “all this is the bounty from your Lord.” There is no doubt that the bounty is from the Lord, but the collocation “your Lord” shifts the focus of attention from the Lord to the Prophet*(Peac Be Up Him and His Household)* , from the Creator to the creature.

That is, by the prefixation of the pronoun “your” to the Lord, Allah has deliberately and pointedly elevated the stature of the Holy Prophet*(Peac Be Up Him and His Household)* above all other creatures.

It means that whatever a creature acquires in this world, he acquires it through the means of the Holy Prophet*(Peac Be Up Him and His Household)* , and the process of acquisition is unending, i.e., the creature will continue to acquire it as long as he is alive, but it will be invariably filtered through the person of the Holy Prophet*(Peac Be Up Him and His Household)* . The devolution of power here is unmistakable.

God is devolving the divine power to the Holy Prophet*(Peac Be Up Him and His Household)* by making it explicit that divine recognition is contingent on the Prophet’s recognition. The first part of the Qur'anic verse delineates the divine system. In this system, it is the Lord who freely bestows bounties on everyone and helps each one of His creatures.

The second part is in the form of a declaration: O beloved Prophet, whatever a person receives in this world, whatever bounty is bestowed on him and whatever he is blessed with, is the blessing of your Lord. Here the normal expectations are not fulfilled which would have preferred the phrase ‘atā’i rabbihim (the bounty of their Lord) in place of ‘atā’i rabbika (the bounty of your Lord) because the general addressee of the verse is mankind, and not any specific person.

God is telling human beings, in unambiguous terms, that their achievements are not the result of personal effort but they are the blessings from the Lord. But the Qur'anic verse reverses the normal order of expectation.