Quran Universe
17:108

وَيَقُولُونَ سُبۡحَٰنَ رَبِّنَآ إِن كَانَ وَعۡدُ رَبِّنَا لَمَفۡعُولٗا

Wayaqooloona subhana rabbina in kana waAAdu rabbina lamafAAoolan

And they say, "Exalted is our Lord! Indeed, the promise of our Lord has been fulfilled."

Word by word
  1. وَيَقُولُونَAnd they say
  2. سُبۡحَٰنَGlory be to
  3. رَبِّنَآour Lord
  4. إِنIndeed
  5. كَانَis
  6. وَعۡدُ(the) promise
  7. رَبِّنَا(of) our Lord
  8. لَمَفۡعُولٗاsurely fulfilled
Al-Isra · 17:108Makkah

Glory be to our Lord. His promise has come true.

Joy at a promise kept

What they said
an old promisethrough earlier prophets
fulfilled in
Muhammad ﷺ
they say
subhana rabbina
Allah's promises
maybe one day
always fulfilled

Ibn Kathir says they glorified their Lord for His perfect power and for not delaying the promise He made through earlier prophets, that He would send Muhammad ﷺ. Truly, the promise of our Lord is fulfilled.

You have been waiting years for a dua to be answered. You start to wonder. Allah's promises always arrive. Sometimes they take generations, like this one did. Your job is to be ready to say subhanallah when yours comes.

Allah's promises are nice, but I am not sure they will happen for me.

Allah always keeps His promise, in His time.

Try this

Recall one prayer Allah has answered for you, and say subhana rabbina out loud.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 17:107)

Say: "Believe in it or do not believe (in it). Verily, those who were given knowledge before it, when it is recited to them, fall down on their chins (faces) in humble prostration. (107)And they say: "Glory be to our Lord! Truly, the promise of our Lord must be fulfilled. (108)And they fall down on their chins (faces) weeping and it increases their humility (109)

Those Who were given Knowledge before truly admit the Qur'an

Allah says to His Prophet Muhammad ﷺ:

قُلْ 

(Say) O Muhammad to these disbelievers concerning what you have brought to them of this Glorious Qur'an:

آمِنُوا بِهِ أَوْ لَا تُؤْمِنُوا

("Believe in it (the Qur'an) or do not believe (in it).) meaning, it is all the same whether you believe in it or not, for it is true in and of itself. It was revealed by Allah, Who mentioned it previously in the Books that He revealed to other Messengers. Hence He says:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ مِن قَبْلِهِ

(Verily, those who were given knowledge before it,) meaning righteous people among the People of the Book, who adhered to their Books and appreciated them without distorting them.

إِذَا يُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ

(when it is recited to them,) means, when this Qur'an is recited to them,

يَخِرُّونَ لِلْأَذْقَانِ سُجَّدًا

(fall down on their chins (faces) in humble prostration.) means, to Allah, in gratitude for the blessing He has bestowed on them by considering them fit to live until they met this Messenger to whom this Book was revealed. Hence they say:

سُبْحَانَ رَبِّنَا

(Glory be to our Lord!), meaning, they extol and glorify their Lord for His perfect power and for not delaying the fulfillment of the promise which He made through His earlier Prophets, that He would send Muhammad ﷺ. Hence they said:

سُبْحَانَ رَبِّنَا إِن كَانَ وَعْدُ رَبِّنَا لَمَفْعُولًا

(Glory be to our Lord! Truly, the promise of our Lord must be fulfilled.)

وَيَخِرُّونَ لِلْأَذْقَانِ يَبْكُونَ

(And they fall down on their chins (faces) weeping) means, in submission to Allah, may He be glorified, and in expression of their belief and faith in His Book and His Messenger ﷺ.

وَيَزِيدُهُمْ خُشُوعًا

(and it increases their humility.) means, it increases them in faith and submission. As Allah says:

وَالَّذِينَ اهْتَدَوْا زَادَهُمْ هُدًى وَآتَاهُمْ تَقْوَاهُمْ

(While as for those who accept guidance, He increases their guidance and bestows on them their Taqwa.)(47:17).

وَيَخِرُّونَ 

(And they fall down) is a description rather than an action (i.e., this is a further description of their humility as referred to in Ayah 107; it does not imply that they prostrate twice).