وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَا فِى كُلِّ قَرْيَةٍ أَكَٰبِرَ مُجْرِمِيهَا لِيَمْكُرُوا۟ فِيهَا … ٱللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ حَيْثُ يَجْعَلُ رِسَالَتَهُۥ
"And thus in every town We have set the chief men among its criminals, to plot therein… God knows best where to place His message."
I record this as an observation: the verse states that the opposition is everywhere and comes at the hands of the leading men. And the same structure was treated at al-Zukhruf 43/23 (wa kadhālika mā arsalnā min qablika fī qaryatin min nadhīrin illā qāla mutrafūhā); the same pattern was present at Sabaʾ 34/34 as well. Three sūras record the same pattern.
ٱللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ حَيْثُ يَجْعَلُ رِسَالَتَهُ — and this sentence is the answer to the dispute over to whom the message will be given.
The same objection was treated at al-Zukhruf 43/31-32 (law lā nuzzila hādha'l-qurʾānu ʿalā rajulin mina'l-qaryatayni ʿaẓīm) and the rejection of measuring worth by wealth was recorded there. I rely on that treatment.
And the same line was treated at al-Qaṣaṣ 28/68 (wa rabbuka yakhluqu mā yashāʾu wa yakhtār). The three verses are read together: the measure of the choosing lies with the one who chooses.