قُلْ يَا قَوْمِ اعْمَلُواْ عَلَى مَكَانَتِكُمْ إِنِّي عَامِلٌ فَسَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ
Say;"O my people! Work according to your way, surely, I too am working and you will come to know."
This contains a stern warning and a sure promise, saying; remain on your way, if you think that you are rightly guided, for I will remain on mine.
Allah said in another Ayah,
وَقُل لِّلَّذِينَ لَا يُوْمِنُونَ اعْمَلُواْ عَلَى مَكَانَتِكُمْ إِنَّا عَامِلُونَ
وَانْتَظِرُواْ إِنَّا مُنتَظِرُونَ
And say to those who do not believe;"Act according to Makanatikum, We are acting (in our way). And you wait! We (too) are waiting." (11;121-122)
Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn Abbas said that,
عَلَى مَكَانَتِكُمْ
(according to Makanatikum...),
means, your way.
قُلْ يَا قَوْمِ اعْمَلُواْ عَلَى مَكَانَتِكُمْ إِنِّي عَامِلٌ
فَسَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ
مَن تَكُونُ لَهُ عَاقِبَةُ الدِّارِ إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ الظَّالِمُونَ
And you will come to know for which of us will be the (happy) end in the Hereafter. Certainly the wrongdoers will not be successful.
You will come to know if the happy end will be mine (Muhammad's) or yours (the disbelievers).
Allah has indeed kept His promise and allowed Muhammad to prevail in the land and rise above those who defied him. He conquered Makkah for him and made him triumphant over his people who rejected and showed enmity towards him. The Prophet's rule soon spread over the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen and Bahrain, and all this occurred during his lifetime. After his death, the various lands and provinces were conquered during the time of his successors, may Allah be pleased with them all.
Allah also said,
كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لاّغْلِبَنَّ أَنَاْ وَرُسُلِى إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَوِىٌّ عَزِيزٌ
Allah has decreed;"Verily, it is I and My Messengers who shall be the victorious." Verily, Allah is All-Powerful, Almighty. (58;21)
إِنَّا لَنَنصُرُ رُسُلَنَا وَالَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ فِى الْحَيَوةِ الدُّنْيَا وَيَوْمَ يَقُومُ الاإٌّشْهَـدُ
يَوْمَ لَا يَنفَعُ الظَّـلِمِينَ مَعْذِرَتُهُمْ وَلَهُمُ الْلَّعْنَةُ وَلَهُمْ سُوءُ الدَّارِ
Verily, We will indeed make victorious Our Messengers and those who believe in this world's life and on the Day when the witnesses will stand forth. The Day when their excuses will be of no profit to the wrongdoers. Theirs will be the curse, and theirs will be the evil abode. (40;51-52)
and,
وَلَقَدْ كَتَبْنَا فِى الزَّبُورِ مِن بَعْدِ الذِّكْرِ أَنَّ الاٌّرْضَ يَرِثُهَا عِبَادِىَ الصَّـلِحُونَ
And indeed We have written in the Zabur after the Dhikr that My righteous servants shall inherit the land. (21;105