The surah begins with an outline of the determined opposition the Prophet (peace be upon him) received from his people as he began to explain his message to them. Such opposition was so vulgar that they would simply tell him that they were not prepared to listen no matter how hard he tried to persuade them to do so. They arrogantly said to him: “Our hearts are veiled from whatever you call us to, and in our ears is deafness, and there is a barrier between us and you. So do you what you will, and so shall we.”

This is just one example of what the first advocate of the message of Islam had to face. Yet, still he continued to call on people to accept his message, allowing no element of despair to creep into or disrupt his work. He never hastened the fulfillment of God’s promise to him or the infliction of punishment on those who denied him. He acted instead upon instruction, declaring to people that putting the warnings into action was not up to him. He was no more than a human being receiving revelations and delivering a message. His task was to call on people to believe in God’s oneness and to adhere to His message. He was also mandated to warn the idolaters. Once he had done this, matters were left to God while he himself had no say in what was bound to happen: “Say: I am but a human being like yourselves. It has been revealed to me that your God is the One and only God. Therefore, take the straight path to Him and seek His forgiveness. Woe to those who associate partners with Him.”

What perseverance! What endurance and what dedication! Only a person who has experienced at first hand something of this condition can appreciate the power and resilience required to persevere against such odds. Yet this perseverance is coupled with the realization that one has no say in what turn developments take. Yet the Prophet faced such unrelenting opposition, arrogance and carelessness, without ever requesting a miracle to silence his opponents.

In order to be able to face such situations, God’s prophets and messengers were often directed to remain patient in adversity. Advocacy of the divine message can only take the road of long patience and perseverance. The first thing that requires such patience is the advocate’s keen desire to see the divine message triumph, but then realize that such triumph is slow coming. Indeed, no sign of it may appear for a long time, yet those who undertake such advocacy must accept this willingly and without hesitation.

The maximum the Prophet could do in the face of such arrogant rejection and ridicule of his message was to say: “Woe to those who associate partners with Him, and who do not pay the obligatory charity, and who refuse to believe in the life to come.” The fact that zakat, or the obligatory charity, is specified here must have been in response to a certain situation, which we cannot now determine. This verse was revealed in Makkah, while zakat was only imposed as a duty in the second year after the Prophet’s migration to Madinah. The overall requirement of zakat was known about during the Makkan period, but only as a general requirement whereby people paid as they wished. Later, in Madinah, this was modified to make it a specific duty with defined rates on different types of property. To disbelieve in the life to come is the essence of rejection of the divine message, and it should be met with stern warnings. Some scholars argue that in this particular instance, zakat means purity of faith. The general tone of the surah and the circumstances prevailing at the time admit this possibility.

Continuing to advocate the divine message, the Prophet puts before them the enormity of the offense they commit by associating partners with God and rejecting His message. He points first to the universe, in relation to which they are tiny and flimsy creatures. He shows them God’s power as reflected in the nature of this universe of which they constitute only a small part. He wants to draw them out of the narrow angle through which they look at the divine message. From that angle, they see themselves as large, occupying important positions. Preoccupied with their own selves, positions and interests, and the fact that Muhammad was chosen by God in preference to them, they overlook the great truth expounded in the Qur’an and set before them by Muhammad. This great truth relates to the universe, to all generations of humanity, and carries absolutism that transcends time, place and people: “Say: Do you indeed disbelieve in Him who has created the earth in two days? And do you claim others to be His equals? It is He who is the Lord of all the worlds.”