We are told in the Qur’an that a large part of the prominent members of society opposed the messengers sent and the true faith they preached. This is revealed as follows in verse 123 of Surat al-An‘am:
And likewise in every city We set up its greatest wrongdoers to plot in it. They plot against themselves alone, but they are not aware of it. (Surat al-An‘am, 123)
This verse of our Lord’s has been manifested in a great many societies throughout the course of history. When the Prophet Moses (as) called his people to the true path Pharaoh and his court, the leaders of society at that time, waged an intense struggle to obstruct the Prophet Moses’ (as) message. In order to prevent people believing in him Pharaoh killed the male children of believers, threatened to cut off their hands and feet, and oppressed the faithful in various ways. When the Prophet Abraham (as) called on people to believe in Allah alone, leading members of society at the time attempted to cast him into the flames. This state of affairs remained unchanged during the time of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saas) as well, with pressure continuing to be applied by leading members of the community. The pagans of Mecca, especially Abu Lahab and those around him, applied great pressure and cruelty to prevent the companions obeying the Prophet (saas). All this oppression and cruelty led to very few people following the prophets when they first arrived and caused a large part of society to avoid the message communicated by these noble individuals.
The Prophet Jesus (as) was also exposed to pressure and difficulties from leading figures of the time when he first came to Earth. Indeed, the fact that nobody followed the Prophet Jesus (as) apart from a very small number of disciples is one of the important indicators of this. All this information indicates that the Prophet Jesus (as) may face a similar situation on his second coming. We are told in the Qur’an that leading figures in a great many societies throughout history waged an intense struggle against religious moral values. This is revealed as follows in the Qur’an:
We never sent a warner into any city without the affluent people in it saying, ”We reject what you have been sent with.” (Surah Saba’, 34)
Similarly We never sent any warner before you to any city without the affluent among them saying, “We found our fathers following a religion and we are simply following in their footsteps.” (Surat az-Zukhruf, 23)
And likewise in every city We set up its greatest wrongdoers to plot in it. They plot against themselves alone, but they are not aware of it. (Surat al-An‘am, 123)
The law that our Lord reveals in these verses may once again be manifested when the Prophet Jesus (as) returns to Earth. Leading members of society may resort to various forms of pressure to stop people believing in the Prophet Jesus (as). This may lead to them hesitating to follow him and in their staying away from this holy prophet. However, it immediately needs to be stated that, by Allah’s leave, no pressure or difficulty can prevent true believers in Allah from following a true prophet. The behavior of the companions who enjoyed the honor of living together with our Prophet (saas) must be adopted as a role model by all Muslims.
Allah has told us in the Qur’an that some people sought to make believers uneasy in order to turn them away from their struggle alongside our Prophet (saas) and distance them from him. This falsehood on the part of the unbelievers and believers’ response to the situation is revealed thus in the Qur’an:
[Believers are] those to whom people said, “The people have gathered against you, so fear them.” But that merely increased their faith and they said, “Allah is enough for us and the Best of Guardians.”(Surah Al ‘Imran, 173)
When the Prophet Jesus (as) returns, the response of true believers to those who seek to turn them away from this holy personage must be the same as that revealed in this verse. When this chosen and honored messenger of our Lord arrives, devout believers will sincerely submit to and support him, by the leave of Allah, and no difficulty will be able to wear them down.
