Out of His endless mercy and compassion, Allah has sent messengers to warn humanity and teach them about the Hereafter and life’s real meaning and purpose. His messengers struggled throughout their lives to direct human beings to the straight path by rescuing them, with Allah’s permission, from a life of ignorance. For example, the Prophet Noah (pbuh) made a great effort to tell his people about Allah’s existence and eternal power, and to lead them away from their mistaken views and beliefs. Undeterred by their rebellion and rejection, he did his best to carry out Allah’s commands:
He [Noah] said: “My Lord, I have called my people night and day, but my calling has only made them more evasive. Indeed, every time I called them to Your forgiveness, they put their fingers in their ears, wrapped themselves up in their clothes, and were overweeningly arrogant. Then I called them openly. Then I addressed them publicly and addressed them privately.” (Surah Nuh, 5-9)
These messengers’ sincere efforts are a great blessing for believers and a manifestation of our Lord’s great love for His servants. As a mercy from Allah, messengers struggle against unbelief and, without any expectation of reward, try to show believers the way to the straight path:
Allah showed great kindness to the believers when He sent a Messenger to them from among themselves to recite His Signs to them, purify them, and teach them the Book and Wisdom, even though before that they were clearly misguided. (Surah Al ‘Imran, 164)
For this We sent a Messenger to you from among yourselves to recite Our Signs to you, purify you teach you the Book and Wisdom, and teach you things you did not know before. (Surat al-Baqara, 151)
[Noah asked his people:] “Or are you astonished that a reminder should come to you from your Lord by way of a man from among you, to warn you and make you guard against evil so that, hopefully, you will gain mercy?” (Surat al-A’raf, 63)
We have only sent you [O Muhammad] as a mercy to all the worlds. (Surat al-Anbiya, 107)
Allah’s blessed messengers are the most trustworthy, honest, good-tempered, moral, intelligent, circumspect, perceptive, courageous, and patient people in the world. They evoke trust in everyone, are sincere and zealous, and their creation is a great act of His generosity. Messengers are also exemplary in their moral lives. They are a boon to their societies, for they invite people to follow His way, to obey the Qur’an, avoid evil deeds, and embrace goodness and honesty. They remind people of life’s transitory nature and that real life is in the eternal world to come. The Qur’an tells us that a messenger is sent to every society:
We have sent you with the truth, bringing good news and giving warning. There is no community to which a warner has not come. (Surah Fatir, 24)
Nor were you on the side of the mount when We called. Yet it is a mercy from your Lord, so that you can warn a people to whom no warner came before, so that, hopefully, they will pay heed. (Surat al-Qasas, 46)
O People of the Book. Our Messenger has come to you, making things clear to you, after a period with no Messengers, lest you should say: “No one came to us bringing good news or a warning.” Someone has come to you bringing good news and a warning. Allah has power over all things. (Surat al-Ma’ida, 19)
Messengers were a great blessing to the societies to which they were sent, for they taught people things they did not know and showed them how to live a life of contentment, security, peace, and justice. As a consolation, the Qur’an tells us that throughout history only a very few people have ever approached the messengers out of appreciation of their being a great mercy for them: “Those are the Signs of the Book. And what has been sent down to you from your Lord is the Truth. But most people have no faith” (Surat ar-Ra’d, 1). Those who denied Allah could never believe; others believed what the messengers said but never implemented their teachings or lived by the Qur’an’s morality. Such situations never deterred the messengers, however, because their sole desire was to see their people believe, know the blessing of this life and the Hereafter, and live the best and happiest life possible: “Then We will rescue Our Messengers and those who believe as well. It is incumbent upon Us to rescue the believers” (Surah Yunus, 103). The messengers receive no reward if the people around then believe and are happy in both worlds. But because of their sincere fear and respect for Allah and their superior morality, they spend their lives eagerly fulfilling these two commands as best as they can.
They endure great hardships and face many trials, and yet remain undaunted by anything. With Allah’s help and support, they are paradigms of courage and, by His will, are always victorious.
Allah has written: “I will be victorious, I and My Messengers.” Allah is Most Strong, Almighty. (Surat al-Mujadala, 21)
As for those who make Allah their friend, and His Messenger and those who believe: It is the party of Allah that is victorious! (Surat al-Ma’ida, 56)
Allah, Who has endless mercy for His servants, calls every human being to the straight path through His messengers, gives every person enough time to heed advice, explains the truth in various ways, and rewards everyone as they deserve. The Qur’an says that a society that has not received a messenger will not be destroyed, as that would violate His justice:
That was because their Lord would never have destroyed the cities unjustly while their people were unaware. (Surat al-An’am, 131)
Your Lord would never destroy any cities without first sending to their chief a Messenger to recite Our Signs to them. We would never destroy any cities unless their inhabitants were wrongdoers. (Surat al-Qasas, 59)
