The Messengers' and Believers' Reactions

Certainly, assaults against a Messenger and the believers are serious enough to intimidate those without faith. For example, when some people believed in the Prophet Moses (as) after seeing his miracles worked by Allah's blessing and sided with him, Pharaoh threatened them:

This kind of threat would deter most people with no or only weak faith, but the believers were not influenced by it:

Allah also reveals in the Qur'an that the believers are brave and secure when confronted with the unbelievers' threats:

Indeed, in the Qur'an the Messengers are told to be determined and secure against the unbelievers:

There can be no question of a Messenger fearing or hesitating when confronted by the unbelievers, because they are "those who conveyed Allah's message and had fear of Him, fearing no one except Allah" (Surat al-Ahzab, 39).

The reason for a Messenger's and the believers' resolute and courageous nature in such cases comes from their ability to understand each event's inner and secret truth: No thing and no person can escape what Allah has willed for them. Unbelievers are totally unaware of this truth and so think that their plans will succeed. However, they always fail to understand that they cannot do anything without Allah's permission, because it is He Who wills all that happens to each thing and person.

Therefore, the traps that unbelievers set for believers, their attacks and slanders, cannot take place without Allah's knowledge and permission. And for that reason, the believers do not fear the unbelievers' plots, for: "... The misguided cannot harm you as long as you are guided..." (Surat al-Ma'ida, 105); "... Allah will not give the unbelievers any way against the believers" (Surat an-Nisa', 141); and, "... if you are steadfast and guard against evil, their scheming will not harm you in any way. Allah encompasses what they do" (Surah Al 'Imran, 120).

But this does not mean that the believers do not experience any trouble. Allah will test them by means of such assaults to bring them to maturity. Allah reveals in the Qur'an that they will have the strength to endure their testing, for "Allah does not impose on any self more than it can stand" (Surat al-Baqara, 286).

This truth is revealed in the following verse:

In short, for a Messenger and his followers, all the oppressions, accusations and assaults from unbelievers are a test from Allah. For this reason, they are determined, secure and patient in what they have to endure, they never become stricken with panic or fear. Allah tells in the Qur'an of these qualities evident in believers:

But notice that the Messengers' and the believers' patience does not mean that they endure their difficulties passively. On the contrary, the Messengers are always able to foil the traps set for them and to defeat the unbelievers by turning their traps against them in the most intelligent and finest manner. Allah's Messengers are very intelligent, provident, resourceful, knowledgeable, and able to make effective plans of their own to achieve victory. They have always emerged victorious from their struggles against the unbelievers. In the following pages, we will deal with their wise and auspicious plans and courses of action against denial, as revealed in the Qur'an.

How the Messengers Struggle against the Unbelievers

Allah assists the Messengers and their followers by giving them strength and support. A Messenger especially receives support from Allah; in the Qur'an it is revealed that He gives them knowledge, wisdom, clarity of expression, maturity, and the ability to make right decisions. Besides this, Allah gives them great possessions (e.g., material wealth, power, and magnificence).

For example, Hazrat Saul (as), the chosen leader of the Israelites, was given knowledge, physical strength, and kingship:

In the Qur'an it is also revealed that Allah supported the Prophet Abraham (as) and his offspring with wisdom and an immense kingdom:

We are told that the Prophet Joseph (as) received the same support:

And later, while saying his prayers, the Prophet Joseph (as) said:

With such support, a Messenger engages in an intellectual struggle against the leading unbelievers. Allah directs this struggle. With his wisdom and insight, a Messenger always shows his superiority in such an intellectual struggle, for the unbelievers can never answer his sound ideas and so are always defeated. Messengers always have the truth on their side and are always victorious over disbelief.

A messenger humiliates the unbelievers

The struggle between a Messenger and the unbelievers is actually a taste of the pain of this world that Allah gives to the latter. For those who are devoted to ostentation and seeking others' approval, humiliation is a very severe punishment. This is described as "disgrace in the life of this world" in the Qur'an:

Allah manifests this attribute through the believers, and especially by way of His Messengers. This is revealed as follows in Surat at-Tawba:

The Prophet Solomon (as), who was sent as a Messenger to the Israelites, who denied His existence, also humiliated and belittled these unbelievers:

Therefore, humiliating the unbelievers is an important part of this struggle. So how is that to be done? Most often, such humiliation is enough to get the unbelievers to show their real faces, because most of the elite have reached the apex of denial and corruption. They are degenerate. Throughout history, perversion, dishonesty, and other such corruptions have been among the defining characteristics of the great majority. But the people in question have hidden their degenerate lives from the general public. Revealing it is one of ways to make others aware of such people's disgrace and humiliation.

Unbelievers fear believers, and are shaken by the Messengers' and the believers' strength, intelligence, and determination:

In another verse, Allah reveals that they will be filled with fear:

All of the Messengers mentioned in the Qur'an always defeated the unbelievers. Every people that did not listen to their message and heed their warnings finally perished, and every wicked plan they devised was foiled.

How the messengers foil the unbelievers' traps

The Qur'an informs us of these traps. But most importantly, it tells us that Allah devises traps (or plots) in return for those who reject His existence. As revealed in the Qur'an: "They plotted and Allah plotted. But Allah is the best plotter" (Surah Al 'Imran, 54). We are also told that Allah sets traps for those who try to entrap a Messenger:

One of Allah's titles is al-Makir, or The Plotter. In other verses this title is revealed as follows:

Note that the title The Plotter, just like the title The Humiliator, is manifested in the believers and especially in the Messengers. Allah often uses a Messenger to set a trap for the unbelievers. The Prophet Joseph (as) is an example of this. His irreligious brothers threw him in a well when he was a young child. But the Prophet Joseph (as) was rescued by Allah's choosing and set a trap for them in turn when he assumed control over the Egyptian Treasury:

Another example of a trap is when the Prophet Abraham (as) broke his people's idols. Verses describing this read:

The Struggle between a Messenger and Representatives of the Religion of the Ancestors

So far we have dealt with the struggle between a Messenger and the unbelievers' leaders. But there are other groups who, for various reasons, also oppose a Messenger. In addition, it would be wrong to imagine all the "elite" as one; there are different groups among this section of society. In the pages that follow we shall be looking at these groups as described in the Qur'an.

Among the most important of these groups are those people who practice the superstitious religion of their ancestors and oppose the true religion as proclaimed by a Messenger.

Earlier, when we spoke of a society that does not know Allah, we said that this group had separated themselves from the essence of religious moral values and disregarded Allah's manifest existence. But in nearly every ignorant society revealed in the Qur'an there is some religious belief. In some aspects it may resemble Allah's religion, but its essence is quite different. True religion is based on knowing and serving Allah alone, being devoted to Him and to nothing else, and following His Messengers. But these misguided people's concept of religion is based on their devotion to their ancestors and the determination to continue their superstitious traditions. This religion may often invoke Allah's name, but this is deceptive, for there is no real faith, respect, or fear of Allah in it:

These people's situation is an exceptional deterrent: They answer every question correctly (for example, they affirm that Allah has created everything), but their behavior is not consistent with their affirmation. When they are asked to think carefully about these things and warned to save themselves from the deception in which they live, they clearly do not understand the meaning of their answers.

The reason for this situation is very clear: These individuals do not believe in the true religion, but rather in a false religion characterized by its not being founded on sincere faith in, respect for, and a genuine fear of Allah, and not putting Allah's approval above all else. This absence of a sound foundation is an attempt to preserve a few superstitious traditional beliefs and values passed down from a people's ancestors. The individuals described in the verses above have a belief in Allah, derived from their ancestral religion, but cannot grasp the truth of His existence or conceive of His attributes.

Also, this ancestral religion contains several misguided elements. Whereas true religion is based totally on Allah's revelation, this false religion is severed from true religion and based on a few myths. For this reason, it has an incorrect understanding of such matters as faith in Allah and morality. Therefore, a Messenger and his followers oppose the superstitious religion of the forebears and call upon their society to practice the true religion "with which He is pleased" (Surat an-Nur, 55).

Very often, people refuse to abandon their superstitious ancestral religion. Allah reveals in the Qur'an that this is an immutable law:

So why is it that the elite and others are so devoted to the false religion of their ancestors?

The reason for this attachment is clear: This false religion is an important part of the traditional social order. By practicing it, they ensure the social order's legitimacy, and by following its rules they can easily make themselves appear religious and gain the public's confidence.

Some individuals remain faithful to their ancestral religion out of conservatism. They are against every kind of change and believe that everything old is good; they are submerged in the conservatism that is a tendency of the human self. Others make material profit from their ancestors' superstitious religion and know that if they abandon it, the existing clerical system will collapse. Allah reveals in the Qur'an: "O you who believe! Many of the rabbis and monks devour people's property under false pretences and bar people from access to Allah's way. As for those who hoard gold and silver and do not spend it in His way, give them the news of a painful punishment" (Surat at-Tawba, 34).

For this reason, a significant segment of society begins to defend the ancestral religion against the true religion proclaimed by a Messenger. We can see this when the 'Ad people said to the Prophet Hud (as): "Have you come to us to make us worship Allah alone and abandon what our fathers used to worship? Then bring us what you have promised us, if you are telling the truth" (Surat al-A'raf, 70); when the Thamud people said to the Prophet Saleh (as): "Saleh, we had great hopes in you before this happened. Do you forbid us to worship what our fathers worshipped? We have grave doubts about what you are calling us to" (Surah Hud, 62); and the court of Pharaoh who spoke against the Prophet Moses (as): "This is nothing but trumped-up magic. We never heard anything like this among our forefathers" (Surat al-Qasas, 36).

Another major characteristic of these people is that they pretend to be religious when they assault a Messenger and his followers. They invoke the name of Allah and of religion in an attempt to legitimize their assaults and oppression. This is nothing but pretense, because they have no interest in Allah or His religion. Allah reveals in the Qur'an that these people, even if they commit the greatest crime of martyring a Messenger, claim to be acting in Allah's name. The following is revealed in the Qur'an about such people:

There is another group that uses the name of Allah in their hostility against a Messenger. Almost every Messenger has encountered these people who are called "hypocrites" in the Qur'an.

The Messengers' Struggle against the Hypocrites

Messengers and believers also have to confront the hypocrites who, unlike the groups discussed above, are "secret deniers" who appear to be believers. In the Qur'an such people are described as follows:

Hypocrites want to appear to be believers because they hope to receive some benefit from the real believers. They are jealous of the believers' material wealth, influence, and glamour and so pretend to be believers in order to benefit from these things. However, as revealed in the Qur'an, they are only deceiving themselves because it is impossible to "imitate" a believer, for they can only imitate some of the external forms of religion. Thus, all believers can immediately detect such insincerity, as can any Messenger. It is revealed in the Qur'an that Allah gives each Messenger a special understanding that enables him to recognize hypocrites:

Allah's Messengers may not immediately disclose the hypocrites' true nature, but this will become apparent when they are called upon to sacrifice for the religion, for instance. Since they are interested in the believers and religion only for personal gain, their basic insincerity will become evident when they are asked to do something that will not materially benefit them.

This brings us to one of the hypocrite's salient characteristics: When a hypocrite gives up imitating a believer, he does not seek isolation, but rather tries to divert believers from Allah's way. He foolishly tries to destroy their zeal, make them doubt and despair, and weaken their loyalty to the Messenger. He elects to spread corruption. No hypocrite can say that he left the right road out of a sense of personal interest. As we read in the Qur'an, they say: "What Allah and His messenger promised us was mere delusion" (Surat al-Ahzab, 12) or "These people have been deluded by their religion" (Surat al-Anfal, 49). They lie and say that they are aware of truths that believers do not know, as when Samiri explained to the Prophet Moses (as) why he led the people astray to worship the calf: "I saw what they did not see" (Surah Ta Ha, 96).

In the Qur'an, these acts are defined as "fitnah" (meaning sedition, trial, temptation, dispute, mischief), which is one of the greatest sins: "... Fitnah is worse than killing..." (Surat al-Baqara, 217). Samiri is one of the clearest examples of a hypocrite, and the Prophet Moses' (as) behavior toward him shows the Messenger's determination to prevent such strife. How the Prophet Moses (as) responded to the strife that this man had stirred up after he had ascended Mount Tur alone to receive Allah's revelation is related in detail in the Qur'an:

Clearly, a Messenger responds to hypocrites with determination. Allah tells our Prophet (saas):

One important element here is that some of the Prophet Moses' (as) people lacked an understanding of the true religion and exhibited an extremely disobedient character. Believers are not influenced by the strife stirred up by hypocrites; their loyalty to the Messenger just continues to grow. In such a situation, the hypocrites separate themselves as a body from the believers but, due to their desire for revenge, they do not go away. Rather, they do everything they can to prolong their opposition to the Messenger and his followers. Even in this situation they do not acknowledge their insincerity, but still try to present themselves as true believers. The clearest example of this in the time of our Prophet (saas) was when the hypocrites built a new mosque after they had separated themselves from him. They did this only to express their hostility:

The purpose behind the hypocrites' mosque is revealed in these verses: to harm believers and to join forces with those at war against believers. No matter how strongly they may claim that they only wanted to do good in establishing the mosque, their real purpose was to intensify their struggle against the Muslim community. The main difference between the two mosques was that the believers' mosque was based on true godliness - the believers' respect and fear of Allah and the desire to win His approval. The hypocrites' mosque, however, was based on their own whim and hostility against the believers; that is, in the words of the Qur'an, "on the brink of a crumbling precipice so that it collapses with him into the fire of hell." In the hereafter, such people will be sent to the lowest regions of hell.

The Messengers' Struggle against Immorality

A Messenger's chief duty is to call his people to Allah's way and explain His religion to them. The groups he struggles with respond to his call with hostility and try to stop him from delivering his message. He also tries to intellectually destroy the influence of those groups that want to lead people astray and prevent them from following His way: "They keep others from it and avoid it themselves..." (Surat al-An'am, 26). For example, those who work to promote immoral conduct and indecency want to draw others into the same perversions in which they indulge:

People who love to see immorality being spread among those who believe will have a painful punishment both in this world and the hereafter. Allah knows and you do not know. (Surat an-Nur, 19)

Those who work to spread immorality will experience the pangs of hell in the hereafter. They may experience different pangs in this world, and Allah may give them different troubles. The example of the Prophet Lot (as) and his people shows how the Messengers struggle against immorality. It records the Prophet Lot's (as) warning to homosexuals and his immoral people's response to him:

In another verse we are informed of the Prophet Lot's (as) response to his people: