Allah said,
يَمُنُّونَ عَلَيْكَ أَنْ أَسْلَمُوا
قُل لاَّ تَمُنُّوا عَلَيَّ إِسْلَمَكُم
They regard as a favor to you that they have embraced Islam.
Say;"Do not count your Islam as a favor to me..."
meaning the Bedouins who considered embracing Islam, following and supporting the Messenger as a favor to him.
Allah the Exalted refuted their false statement,
قُل لاَّ تَمُنُّوا عَلَيَّ إِسْلَمَكُم
(Say;"Do not count your Islam as a favor to me...") `for the benefit of your Islam will only be yours, and this is a favor from Allah to you,'
بَلِ اللَّهُ يَمُنُّ عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْ هَدَاكُمْ لِلِْيمَانِ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
Nay, but Allah has conferred a favor upon you that He has guided you to the Faith if you indeed are true. (`in your claim that you are believers.')
The Prophet said to the Ansar on the day of the battle of Hunayn,
يَا مَعْشَرَ الاْاَنْصَارِ أَلَمْ أَجِدْكُمْ ضُلَّلاًا فَهَدَاكُمُ اللهُ بِي
وَكُنْتُمْ مُتَفَرِّقِينَ فَأَلَّفَكُمُ اللهُ بِي
وَكُنْتُمْ عَالَةً فَأَغْنَاكُمُ اللهُ بِي
O Ansar!
Have I not found you astray and Allah guided you through me?
Were you not divided and Allah united you around me?
Were you not poor and Allah gave you riches through me?
Whenever the Prophet asked them any of these questions, they would reply, "Allah and His Messenger have most favored us."
Al-Hafiz Abu Bakr Al-Bazzar recorded that Ibn Abbas said,
"Banu Asad came to the Messenger of Allah and said, `O Allah's Messenger! We embraced Islam, and before that, the Arabs fought against you, yet we did not fight against you.'
The Messenger of Allah said,
إِنَّ فِقْهَهُمْ قَلِيلٌ وَإِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ يَنْطِقُ عَلَى أَلْسِنَتِهِم
Verily, they understand but little and the Shaytan speaks through their words.
This Ayah was later revealed,
يَمُنُّونَ عَلَيْكَ أَنْ أَسْلَمُوا
قُل لاَّ تَمُنُّوا عَلَيَّ إِسْلَمَكُم
بَلِ اللَّهُ يَمُنُّ عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْ هَدَاكُمْ لِلِْيمَانِ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
They regard as a favor to you that they have embraced Islam. Say;"Do not count your Islam as a favor to me." Nay, but Allah has conferred a favor upon you that He has guided you to the Faith if you indeed are true."'
Then Allah reminds that He has complete knowledge of all creations and that He sees them all;
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ غَيْبَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالاَْرْضِ
وَاللَّهُ بَصِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ