وَما تَسأَلُهُم عَلَيهِ مِن أَجرٍ ۚ إِن هُوَ إِلّا ذِكرٌ لِلعالَمينَ

You do not ask them any reward for it: it is just a reminder for all the nations.

EXEGESIS

ʿĀlamīn (nations) is a group of living beings that are able to exercise intelligent thought, as the root of the word comes from ʿilm, meaning knowledge and intellect.[1] While in parlance it may sometimes refer to ‘worlds’ or ‘realms’, such as ʿālam al-arwāḥ (the world of spirits), in the Quranic use it refers to groups of people, as is obvious from the context here, as only intelligent beings are capable of benefiting from the reminder of the Quran.

EXPOSITION

You do not ask them any reward for it: the pronoun it in this verse refers collectively to the Quran, the prophetic message, and the faith to which Prophet Muhammad (s) summoned humanity. The Prophet never sought worldly compensation for this divine calling and he fulfilled this role solely out of obedience to God’s command and as a continuation of the eternal truth previously delivered by earlier messengers. This verse builds upon the preceding one, which emphasised Prophet Muhammad’s (s) profound yearning for people to be guided. Yet this spiritual eagerness was entirely selfless. Whether people accepted or rejected the message had no bearing on the Prophet’s own benefit or loss, for the consequences of belief or disbelief ultimately return only to each individual soul.

It is just a reminder for all the nations: the message brought by Prophet Muhammad (s) was not for bringing glory for his tribe or nation either, that someone should think he did it for that purpose. It is a universal message, intended for all nations, and even non-human beings.

[1] Tibyan, 6/202.