During the Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) life as a messenger, two groups stood as the fiercest opponents to his mission: the Quraysh of Makkah and the Jews of Medina. Both, in their own ways, were seen as religious authorities. The Quraysh were the leaders of the Arabs, descendants of Prophet Abraham’s (peace be upon him) eldest son, Ishmael (peace be upon him), and guardians of the sacred Kaaba. However, they had long since adopted idol worship. The Jews, on the other hand, were descendants of Prophet Isaac and Prophet Jacob (peace be upon them), who were once entrusted with guiding humanity but had, due to their disobedience, incurred Allah’s wrath.
Both groups claimed to represent religion, but in truth, they had turned it into a tool for their interests and prejudices. Therefore, they firmly decided to oppose the truth. Obviously, their opposition to the truth stemmed not from reason or knowledge but from a determined effort to protect their worldly gains. Their arsenal consisted of baseless objections, trivial arguments, irrelevant criticisms, false propaganda, slander, and even outright oppression and violence. Yet, in the end, they were defeated, and the truth of Islam triumphed.
Unfortunately, this pattern has repeated itself throughout history. Whenever a truthful message emerges, those who profit from religion’s misrepresentation oppose it fiercely. They know that such truth threatens their influence and livelihoods. Cloaked in the guise of righteousness, they wield lies, accusations, and oppression against it but claim that they stand with the truth. However, their fate remains the same as that of the enemies of the Prophet: disgrace in this world and eternal humiliation in the Hereafter.
Translated by Taqi Ahmed