Tafsir of Sad 38:9

This is in contrast to His statement, Exalted is He, "Has the message been revealed..." and the like. It is parallel to the rebuttal in "Do they distribute the mercy of your Lord?"

The Am (Or) is disjunctive, equivalent to bal (nay) and the interrogative hamza. Possession here implies ownership and authority, not merely presence. The adverbial phrase is placed first because it is the location of the denial; that is: "Nay, do they possess the storehouses of the mercy of your Lord—the Exalted, the Bestower—and dispose of them as they wish, such that they bestow them upon whom they please and withhold them from whom they please, governing them according to their own opinions, and thus choosing for prophethood some of their own elites?"

Attributing the "Lord" to the pronoun of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is for the sake of honor and kindness toward him.

"The Exalted in Might" (al-Aziz) is the One who prevails over His creation, and "the Bestower" (al-Wahhab) is the One who grants abundant gifts, bestowing them upon those who truly deserve them. Mentioning power and dominance is appropriate here, given the arrogance they displayed by considering themselves above the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding prophethood.

The hyperbole in "the Bestower" (al-Wahhab), in terms of quantity, is appropriate to the Divine word "storehouses," and it points to their being deprived of a great bounty. Included in this is the implication that prophethood is not a single gift in reality, but rather contains numerous gifts beyond enumeration. In terms of quality, indicated by the "bestowing upon those who deserve them," it points to the fact that the one deserving of the gift and its recipient is the one whom He has gifted, namely the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The mentioned attribute also contains an indication that prophethood is a divine gift.