Overall meaning : Mention to the people, Muhammad, the time when Abraham said to his father and his people, ‘I am clear of whatever gods you worship besides Allah. I worship none other than Allah who brought me into being. It is He who will guide me to the truth.’ Abraham made this statement of monotheism an abiding precept among his descendants, so that they would always return to the truth.
However, the unbelievers among your people, Muhammad, are not amongst those whom the statement of monotheism has remained. I have allowed them and their fathers to enjoy long life and live in prosperity, and so they had been deceived and distracted from the statement of monotheism until the Qur’an came to them along with a messenger making the truth clear.
But now that the Qur’an has come to them, they say, ‘This is magic, and we utterly reject it.’ They also say, objecting to the Qur’an being sent down to Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ‘Why has this Qur’an not been revealed to some important man of wealth and high standing from Makkah or Taif?!’
Is it they who assign prophethood to whomever they wish or is it Allah alone who chooses whomever He wills for it?! It is We who distribute their means of livelihood among them in the life of this world and raise some of them in rank above others (making some poor and some rich, among other things), so that they may benefit of one another’s service and serve each other’s needs. Therefore, if these idolaters are not entrusted with the affairs of the world, how can they be possibly entrusted with the matter of prophethood?! Better is your Lord’s mercy, Muhammad, than all the fleeting riches of this life that they amass!