قَالُواْ سُبْحَـنَ رَبّنَآ إِنَّا كُنَّا ظَـلِمِينَ- فَأَقْبَلَ بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ يَتَلَـوَمُونَ- قَالُواْ يوَيْلَنَآ إِنَّا كُنَّا طَـغِينَ- عَسَى رَبُّنَآ أَن يُبْدِلَنَا خَيْراً مّنْهَآ إِنَّآ إِلَى رَبّنَا رغِبُونَ- كَذَلِكَ الْعَذَابُ وَلَعَذَابُ الاْخِرَةِ أَكْبَرُ لَوْ كَانُواْ يَعْلَمُونَ-

إِنَّا بَلَوْنَاهُمْ كَمَا بَلَوْنَا أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ (We have tested them as We had tested the Owners of the Garden....68:17). The preceding verses rebutted the criticisms of pagan Arabs levelled against Allah's Messenger and gave reasons why the charges are not only unfounded, but also absurd. The present set of verses mentions a story of the past and the unbelievers of Makkah are threatened with punishment. 'Testing them' could refer to the forthcoming story, in which the owners of a garden were blessed with Divine favours, but they behaved ungratefully. As a result, a punishment came upon them and the favours were destroyed. The greatest Divine favour upon the Makkans was the advent of the Holy Messenger t. Besides, their businesses flourished and they prospered. This was a test for them to see whether they would behave gratefully to Allah and believe in Him and in His Messenger ﷺ ، or whether they would obstinately persist in disbelief. In the other case, they should draw lessons from the story of the owners of the orchard, lest they be visited by a similar punishment on account of ingratitude. This interpretation would apply even in the case where these verses are taken as Makki, but most commentators take them to be Madani. The 'test' referred to here is the terrible famine that held Makkah in its grip, as a result of the Holy Prophet's prayer against them, for several years during which time people died of hunger and starvation, they were forced to eat carrion and leaves of trees till the Makkans begged the Holy Prophet ﷺ to pray for their deliverance from the scourge. This incident took place after the migration.

The Story of the Owners of a Garden