And the Messenger will say: “My Lord! My people have regarded this Qur’an as something to be discarded!”
Thus against every prophet We have set up enemies from among the wicked. Sufficient is your Lord to provide guidance and support. (The Standard, Al-Furqan: 25: 30-31)
These verses follow immediately on scenes from the Day of Judgment the surah portrays. They bring us back to this world to begin a discussion of their attitude to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and their objections to the method of revealing the Qur’an from on high. This part of the surah is again ended with a scene of what happens to them on the Day of Judgment.
“And the Messenger will say: ‘My Lord! My people have regarded this Qur’an as something to be discarded!’ Thus against every prophet We have set up enemies from among the wicked. Sufficient is your Lord to provide guidance and support. The unbelievers ask: ‘Why has not the Qur’an been revealed to him all at once?’ Thus (it has been revealed) so that We might strengthen your heart with it, and We have imparted it to you by gradual revelation. Whenever they come to you with an argument, We shall reveal to you the truth and the best explanation. Those who will be gathered to hell on their faces — they will be worst in station and still farther away from the (right) path.”
They have abandoned the Qur’an, which God has revealed to His Messenger to warn them and explain to them what lies ahead for mankind. They refused to listen to it because they feared that it would attract them to its message. Stubbornly they refused to consider its message which would have guided them to the truth and given them light. Although God has revealed it as a constitution for human life, guiding it to all that is best, they have shut their minds to it. “And the Messenger will say: My Lord! My people have regarded this Qur’an as something to be discarded!” His Lord certainly knows this fact, but God’s Messenger is putting a complaint, humbly stating that he has exerted his best efforts, but his people adamantly refused to listen to the Qur’an and consider its message.
God comforts His Messenger, telling him that the same has been the case with all earlier messengers. Every prophet has had enemies who discard divine guidance and deliberately turn people away from divine faith. But God is certain to guide His messengers to the way that ensures their victory over their wicked enemies. “Thus against every prophet We have set up enemies from among the wicked. Sufficient is your Lord to provide guidance and support.”
Divine wisdom is perfect indeed. The fact that wicked people launch a war against prophets and their messages is certain to strengthen these messages, giving them the sort of seriousness that fits their nature. The struggle of the advocates of divine faith against the wicked ones who fight it may be hard, involving much sacrifice and hindering their task, but it is such struggle that eventually distinguishes true and sincere advocates from false ones, strengthening the former and expelling the latter. Thus, only those who are true to their faith, dedicated to its cause, aspiring to no personal or easy gain remain, dedicating their efforts to God alone.
Had advocacy of the divine faith been comfortable and easy, moving along a smooth way adorned with flowers on both sides, with no opponents rising against it, everyone would have been an advocate. Indeed true causes would have been muddled up with false ones, and much confusion would have been the result. When a message or a cause faces determined opponents, struggle for it becomes inevitable and sacrifice necessary. Only serious believers are ready to endure pain and make sacrifices for their causes, because such believers consider their faith to be more important than this whole world and its comforts. Indeed, to them, the faith is more important than life itself. Only the strongest in faith and most enduring among them can carry the fight to its end, because these are the ones who aspire most to what God has in store for them.
It is those who render sacrifices and remain steadfast that are eventually entrusted with the implementation of the divine message, because they are the ones who, having paid the heavy price of victory, are able to shoulder its continued burden. Their experience teaches them how to overcome the many hazards that lie along their way. The hardship they endure sharpens their abilities and talents, increases their strength and knowledge. All these will stand them in good stead as they continue to advocate the divine faith in all situations.
What happens in most cases is that the majority of people stand aside while the struggle between the wicked ones and the advocates of the divine faith rages on. The sacrifices of these advocates will inevitably mount, but their steadfastness, despite the great pain they have to endure, remains strong and they are not shaken in any way. As a result, the multitude standing by begin to feel that the message these believers advocate is more precious than all their sacrifices. They start to examine it in order to see what makes such a message dearer to its advocates than life. What happens then is that these people, who have been for long standing by, begin to embrace the faith in large numbers.
For this reason God has willed that every prophet will have to face enemies. Such wicked people stand in the face of the divine message, which is the message of the truth. Its advocates then resist its wicked enemies and bear whatever sacrifices they are called on to give. The end is predetermined, and those who place their trust in God are certain of it. It is the provision of divine guidance that leads to the ultimate victory: “Sufficient is your Lord to provide guidance and support.”
That the wicked should stand against the prophets is only natural. The prophets advocate the message of the truth which is given at the appropriate time to rectify corruption that creeps into the life of the community or into human life in general. This is a corruption that affects hearts, systems and life itself. Such corruption is initiated, promoted and exploited by the wicked. They are the ones whose interests are served through the promotion of such corruption which provides support to their false values. Their opposition to the prophets aims to defend themselves and their interests. They want to retain the corrupt atmosphere in which they thrive. Some insects are stifled by the fine smell of flowers because they can only survive on dump heaps. Some worms survive only in dirty stagnating water, and perish in clean, running water. Likewise are the wicked. Hence their hostility to the message of the truth. They fight it tooth and nail. But it is only natural that it will emerge triumphant, because it promotes life and looks up to the sublime horizon which binds it to God. “Sufficient is your Lord to provide guidance and support.”
