﴿ بَلْ مَتَّعْنَا هَٰٓؤُلَآءِ وَءَابَآءَهُمْ حَتَّىٰ طَالَ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْعُمُرُ ۗ أَفَلَا يَرَوْنَ أَنَّا نَأْتِى ٱلْأَرْضَ نَنقُصُهَا مِنْ أَطْرَافِهَآ ۚ أَفَهُمُ ٱلْغَٰلِبُونَ ﴾

“Nay, We have allowed these [sinners] – as [We allowed] their forebears – to enjoy the good things of life for a great length of time: but then – have they never yet seen how We visit the earth [with Our punishment], gradually depriving it of all that is best thereon? Can they, then, [hope to] be the winners?”

In ancient times, the people of Makkah were considered leaders of the Arab world. This leadership was God’s gift to them, but it only gave rise to false pride and egoism. So, when the Truth was declared through the Prophet Muhammad, they refused to accept it on account of their egoistic mentality. Such was the position of Islam in Makkah. But, among the people of other places who did not suffer from similar psychological complications, the truth of Islam was spreading. In Makkah, Islam was rejected, but in other places, Islam was being adopted by the tribesmen. The large-scale adoption of Islam by the people of Madinah had finally made it clear that the sphere of leadership of the people in Makkah was continually contracting. But those who suffer from a superiority complex do not learn a lesson from any warning, however open that might be.