Al Mu’minūn

أَفَلَمْ يَدَّبَّرُوا الْقَوْلَ أَمْ جَآءَهُم مَّا لَمْ يَأْتِ ءَابَآءَهُمُ الاَوَّلِينَ

أَمْ لَمْ يَعْرِفُوا رَسُولَهُمْ فَهُمْ لَهُ مُنِكِرُونَ

أَمْ يَقُولُونَ بِهِ جِنَّةٌ بَلْ جَآءَهُم بِالْحَقّ‌ِ وَأَكْثَرُهُمْ لِلْحَقِ كَارِهُونَ

68. “Have they not pondered over the statement (of the Qur’an), or has anything come to them that did not come to their fathers of old?”
69. “Or do they not recognize their Messenger, that they reject him?”
70. “Or do they say: 'There is a madness in him’? Rather he has brought them the Truth, but most of them hate the Truth.”

The first cause of a people’s misfortune and misery is when they cease to think and reflect. Not only is the Holy Qur’an a book for recitation but it is a book for contemplation and reflection as well, and anyone who will ponder its words will discover its profound truths. The former holy verses spoke about the excuses that the unbelievers made to justify their deeds, and the firm answer to them. These verses concisely show five real reasons why the unbelievers shunned the truth:

First, the Qur’an says:

“Have they not pondered over the statement (of the Qur’an)...”

Following the previous verses which were about the unbelievers’ opposition against the Prophet (S), the first cause of their misery is that they did not think and ponder over the content of the Prophet’s call; were it the opposite, their problems would no longer have existed. Secondly it says:

“...or has anything come to them that did not come to their fathers of old?”

This indicates that when the Prophet (S) had invited them to the belief in the Oneness of Allah, the belief in the Resurrection, and to good deeds and purity, they would make excuses that these were ideas too novel for them to accept, and that if they had been true, Allah Who is merciful to all human beings, would have revealed them to their ancestors. However, when we consider the fact that the Prophet's message is the same in principle and origin as that of the previous prophets, this excuse becomes devoid of meaning.

The fourth reason that they proffered for shunning the truth is as the next verse says:

“Or do they not recognize their Messenger, that they reject him?”

They behaved as if the Prophet (S) was someone unknown to them and thus they were rather reluctant to give credence to his message. But they had known him quite well, for he had been among them for his whole life and was so faithful to his covenants and word that he gained fame among them as ‘the Trustworthy’ in Arabic, ‘Al Amin’. They confessed to his knowledge and reason. His parents and his tribe were known for them. Again, this excuse lost its validity in the light of this verse.

The fifth excuse they advanced for rejecting the Prophet's message is mentioned in the verse which says:

“Or do they say: ‘There is a madness in him’?...”

This means mat although they might have known him well, they did not have confidence in the soundness of his intellect. It was possible that his words could have been produced by madness, for they did not accord with public opinion; and disregarding the traditions is itself a reason for madness. The Holy Qur’an refutes all of these excuses of theirs by immediately saying:

“...Rather he has brought them the Truth, but most of them hate the Truth.”

These are the words of wisdom but, because the wise words of the Qur’an were not in accord with their uncontrolled passions, they denied them and labeled them insane. It is for this reason that the enemies of religion sully and scandalize the personalities of those close to Allah in order to preserve their corrupt ideologies. However, the truth must be proclaimed even though the majority of society might be averse to it.