PART VII: How the Mortal Prophet and Human Being, Muhammad, Was Ridiculed by Disbelievers
Published in January 31, 2020
Translated by: Ahmed Fathy
The Belief Is Not In Muhammad But In What Has Descended Upon Muhammad: Those Who Believe In Muhammad Are Disbelievers: PART VII
How the mortal prophet and human being, Muhammad, was ridiculed by disbelievers
Introduction:
1- The believers in the Messenger (i.e., the Quran) know that Muhammad, the messenger and prophet, was a mortal human being who needed the Creator like the rest of humanity; they also know that the Omniscient Lord God has chosen Muhammad to deliver the Quranic Message; He knows best where to place His Divine Messages. Thus, the believers in Arabia during the lifetime of Muhammad respected and obeyed him, as a messenger, regarding the Quranic verses he conveyed from the Lord God. After the death of Muhammad, the Divine Book or the Quran is the Messenger remaining among human beings until the end of days when the Hour takes place. To adhere to the Lord God means to adhere to His Messenger or His Word: the Quran itself: "And how could you disbelieve, when God’s Verses are being read to you, and among you is His Messenger? Whoever adheres to God has been guided to a Straight Path." (3:101).
2- The disbelievers who denied the Quran during Muhammad's lifetime hated and denied Muhammad because he was a mortal prophet; they resented the fact that a mortal human being like them would be distinguished by being chosen for prophethood by the Lord God; they felt they deserved such an honor instead of Muhammad; they desired to receive Divine Revelation instead of him: "And thus We set up in every city its leading criminals, to conspire in it, but they conspire only against themselves, and they do not realize it. When a sign comes to them, they say, “We will not believe unless we are given the like of what was given to God’s messengers.” God knows best where to place His message. Humiliation from God and severe torment will afflict the criminals for their scheming." (6:123-124). They envied the mortal prophet, Muhammad, for being chosen by Allah as His messenger; this drove them to mock and ridicule Muhammad.
3- We provide some details in the points below.
Firstly: mocking and ridiculing messengers/prophets of the ancient nations:
1- These Quranic verses are about the generality of the Lord God's messengers/prophets being ridiculed by their tribes/peoples.
1/1: "Alas for the servants. No messenger ever came to them, but they ridiculed him." (36:30).
1/2: "We sent others before you, to the former communities. But no messenger came to them, but they ridiculed him." (15:10-11).
1/3: "How many a prophet did We send to the ancients? No messenger came to them, but they ridiculed him." (43:6-7).
2- These Quranic verses are about the outcome of their ridicule.
2/1: "There will appear to them the evils of their deeds, and they will be surrounded by what they used to ridicule." (39:48).
2/2: "When their messengers came to them with clear proofs, they rejoiced in the knowledge they had, and the very things they used to ridicule besieged them." (40:83).
3- This is exemplified in detail within some Quranic stories about some prophets/messengers.
3/1: The people of Noah ridiculed him while he was building the Ark: "As he was building the ark, whenever some of his people passed by him, they ridiculed him. He said, “If you ridicule us, we will ridicule you, just as you ridicule.” “You will surely know upon whom will come a torment that will abase him, and upon whom will fall a lasting torment.”" (11:38-39).
3/2: The tribe of Madian ridiculed Shuaib: "They said, “O Shuaib, does your prayers command you that we abandon what our ancestors worshiped, or doing with our wealth what we want? You are the one who is intelligent and wise.”" (11:87).
3/3: Moses' Pharaoh's people had the typical Egyptian nature of mockery, sarcasm, and ridicule.
3/3/1: They laughed to mock the miracles performed by Moses: "But when he showed them Our signs, they started laughing at them." (43:47).
3/3/2: Pharaoh held a conference to ridicule Moses: "Pharaoh proclaimed among his people, saying, “O my people, do I not own the Kingdom of Egypt, and these rivers flow beneath me? Do you not see? Am I not better than this miserable wretch, who can barely express himself? Why are bracelets of gold not dropped on him, or they angels came with him in procession?”" (43:51-53).
4- Despite the fact that the Lord God has chosen His messengers/prophets from among the best human beings in terms of reasoning mind, deep knowledge, and the highest moralistic level, the disbelievers and deniers accused them of being insane.
4/1: Noah's people accused him of being mad: "...They rejected Our servant, and said, “Crazy,”..." (54:9).
4/2: Pharaoh mocked Moses and accused him of being crazy.
4/2/1: "...“This messenger of yours, who is sent to you, is crazy.”" (26:27).
4/2/2: "...and said, “A sorcerer or a madman.”" (51:39).
4- The Lord God has told Muhammad this generality: "Likewise, no messenger came to those before them, but they said, “A sorcerer or a madman.”" (51:52).
Secondly: the disbelievers in Arabia ridiculed Muhammad:
1- There are Quranic verses which assert the torment/punishment inflicted on disbelievers among ancient nations when they ridiculed their messengers/prophets. The Lord God has addressed the following to Muhammad.
1/1: "Messengers before you were also ridiculed, but those who jeered were surrounded by what they had ridiculed." (21:41).
1/2: "Messengers before you were ridiculed, but I granted the disbelievers respite, and then I seized them. What a punishment it was!" (13:32).
2- The Lord God has commanded the Arab deniers to roam the earth to see the fate and the remnants/ruins of those ridiculers among the ancient nations who were smitten by the Lord God.
2/1: "Messengers before you were ridiculed, but those who mocked them became besieged by what they ridiculed. Say, “Travel the earth and observe the final fate of the deniers.”" (6:10-11).
2/2: "Have they not travelled the earth and seen how those before them ended up? They were more powerful than them, and they cultivated the land and developed it more than they developed it, and their messengers came to them with clear signs. God would never wrong them, but they used to wrong themselves. Then, evil was the end of those who committed evil. That is because they rejected God’s Verses and used to ridicule them." (30:9-10).
2/3: "Have they not journeyed through the land, and seen the outcome for those before them? They were more numerous than they, and had greater power and influence in the land. But what they had achieved availed them nothing. When their messengers came to them with clear proofs, they rejoiced in the knowledge they had, and the very things they used to ridicule besieged them. Then, when they witnessed Our might, they said, “We believe in God alone, and we reject what we used to associate with Him.” But their faith could not help them once they witnessed Our might. This has been God’s way of dealing with His servants. And there and then the disbelievers lost." (40:82-85).
2/4: This is about the tribe of Aad: "We had empowered them in the same way as We empowered you; and We gave them the hearing, and the sight, and the minds. But neither their hearing, nor their sight, nor their minds availed them in any way. That is because they disregarded the Verses of God; and so they became surrounded by what they used to ridicule." (46:26).
3- Those who ridiculed Muhammad among the Arabs were punished; the Lord God has told the following to Muhammad: "We are enough for you against the mockers." (15:95).
Thirdly: types of ridicule and mockery addressed by disbelievers to Muhammad:
1- Mocking Muhammad as he walked through the streets.
1/1: "When those who disbelieve see you, they treat you only with ridicule: “Is this the one who mentions your gods?” And they reject the mention of the Dominant Lord." (21:36).
1/2: "And when they see you, they take you for nothing but mockery: “Is this the one God sent as a messenger?”" (25:41).
2- Accusing Muhammad of being a madman because he conveyed the Quran which is the Bounty of the Dominant Lord.
2/1: "So remind by the Bounty of your Lord; you are neither a soothsayer, nor a madman." (52:29).
2/2: "By the Bounty of your Lord, you are not insane." (68:2).
2/3: "Those who disbelieve almost stab you with their glances when they hear the message, and say, “He is crazy!" (68:51).
2/4: "And said, “Are we to abandon our gods for a mad poet?”" (37:36).
2/5: "But they turned away from him, and said, “A crazy teacher!”" (44:14).
3- Demanding from Muhammad to make angels descend upon them instead of the Quran.
3/1: Within mockery, they demanded from Muhammad to make them able to see angels; the response is that this is impossible; seeing angels means death (i.e., the angels of death) and angels will be seen in the Hereafter on the Last Day; this means utter loss for the deniers and ridiculers of the Quran; they follow the footsteps of ridiculers of the divine messages among the ancient nations: "And they said, “O you who received the message, you are insane.” Why do you not bring us the angels, if you are truthful?” We do not send the angels down except with reason, and they will not be held back. Surely We revealed the Message, and We will surely preserve it. We sent others before you, to the former communities. But no messenger came to them, but they ridiculed him." (15:6-11).
3/2: In response to their demanding to see angels, the Lord God has told them about sending angels with torment on the Last Day.
3/2/1: "We do not send the angels down except with reason, and they will not be held back." (15:8). When deniers and disbelievers see angels of death and angels inside Hell, their inevitable fate is sealed.
3/2/2: "Those who do not expect to meet Us say, “If only the angels were sent down to us, or we could see our Lord.” They have grown arrogant within themselves, and have become excessively defiant. On the Day when they see the angels - there will be no good news for sinners on that Day; and they will say, “A protective refuge.” We will proceed to the works they did, and will turn them into scattered dust. The companions of Paradise on that Day will be better lodged, and more fairly accommodated. The Day when the sky is cleft with clouds, and the angels are sent down in streams. On that Day, true sovereignty will belong to the Merciful, and it will be a difficult Day for the disbelievers. On that Day, the wrongdoer will bite his hands, and say, “If only I had followed the way with the Messenger. Oh, woe to me; I wish I never took so-and-so for a friend. He led me away from the Message after it had come to me; for Satan has always been a betrayer of man.”" (25:21-29).
3/2/3: "Are they waiting for anything but for the angels to come to them, or for your Lord to arrive, or for some of your Lord’s signs to come? On the Day when some of your Lord’s signs come, no soul will benefit from its faith unless it had believed previously, or had earned goodness through its faith. Say, “Wait, we too are waiting.”" (6:158).
3/3: Even if an angel would be sent as a messenger, it will take the human form of a man with no difference between this angel and Muhammad: "Had We made him an angel, We would have made him a man and dressed him in the same garments of men." (6:9).
3/4: It is a bad habit of the ancient nations; they ridicule the divine messages and then are punished/tormented because of such ridicule: "Are they but waiting for the angels to come to them, or for the command of your Lord to arrive? Those before them did likewise. God did not wrong them, but they used to wrong their own souls. So the evils of their deeds assailed them, and what they used to ridicule engulfed them." (16:33-34).
4- Demanding to see miracles and angels.
4/1: "And they say, “What sort of messenger is this, who eats food, and walks in the marketplaces? If only an angel was sent down with him, to be alongside him a warner.” Or, “If only a treasure was dropped on him.” Or, “If only he had a garden from which he eats.” The unjust ones also say, “You are following but a man under spell.”" (25:7-8).
4/2: The angels, as ethereal beings, are not seen by the human eye because their vibrational levels differ from those of earthly creatures: "And they said, “We will not believe in you unless you make a spring burst from the ground for us. Or you have a garden of palms and vines; then cause rivers to gush pouring through them. Or make the sky fall on us in pieces, as you claim, or bring God and the angels before us. Or you possess a house of gold. Or you ascend into the sky. Even then, we will not believe in your ascension, unless you bring down for us a book that we can read.” Say, “Glory be to my Lord. Am I anything but a human messenger?” Nothing prevented the people from believing, when guidance has come to them, except that they said, “Did God send a human messenger?” Say, “If there were angels on earth, walking around in peace, We would have sent down to them from heaven an angel messenger.”" (17:90-95).
5- The Lord God shows in the Quran that it was no use to bring them miracles because the reason for their demanding them is ridicule and mockery; this is why it was impossible that they would be guided.
5/1: This is in response of their demanding a tangible book descending from heaven: "Had We sent down upon you a book on paper, and they had touched it with their hands, those who disbelieve would have said, “This is nothing but plain magic.”" (6:7).
5/2: Even if they ascend into the heavens, they will never believe: "Even if We opened for them a gateway into the sky, and they began to ascend through it. They would still say, “Our eyes are hallucinating; in fact, we are people bewitched.”" (15:14-15).
5/3: Even if miracles would be sent to them, they will never believe unless forced by the Divine Will of the Dominant Lord God: "Even if We sent down the angels to them, and the dead spoke to them, and We gathered all things before them, they still would not believe, unless God wills; but most of them are ignorant." (6:111).
5/4: The above applies to the ancient nations.
5/4/1: This is about the Arabs who ridiculed Muhammad and the Quran: "And they said, “A jumble of dreams,” and, “He made it up,” and, “He is a poet,” “let him bring us a sign, like those sent to the ancients.”" (21:5); this is about the disbelievers among the ancient nations: "None of the towns We destroyed before them had believed. Will they, then, believe?" (21:6).
5/4/2: This is about not sending miracles/signs anymore; rejecting them means to insult Allah and this brought torment inflicted on deniers; even the tribe of Thamood slaughtered the she-camel which was a miracle sent to them by Allah because they ridiculed the divine message: "Nothing prevents Us from sending miraculous signs, except that the ancients called them lies. We gave Thamood the she-camel, a visible sign, but they were unjust people who denied it. We do not send the signs except to instill reverence." (17:59).
Fourthly: ridiculing the Quran itself:
1- The disbelievers held meetings to ridicule the Quran; Muhammad and the believers were prohibited to attend such meetings; this prohibition is repeated as some believers attended such meetings again: "When you encounter those who gossip about Our Verses, turn away from them, until they engage in another topic. But should Satan make you forget, do not sit after the recollection with the unjust people." (6:68); "He has revealed to you in the Book that when you hear God’s Verses being rejected, or ridiculed, do not sit with them until they engage in some other subject. Otherwise, you would be like them. God will gather the hypocrites and the disbelievers, into Hell, altogether." (4:140).
2- When preached and warned by the Quranic verses, they ridiculed them: "But you wonder, and they ridicule. And when reminded, they pay no attention. And when they see a sign, they ridicule." (37:12-14).
3- The hypocrites of Yathreb followed the footsteps of ridiculers: "The hypocrites worry lest a chapter may be revealed about them, informing them of what is in their hearts. Say, “Go on mocking; God will bring out what you fear.” If you ask them, they will say, “We were just joking and playing.” Say, “Were you making jokes about God, His Verses, and His Messenger?” Do not apologize. You have disbelieved after your belief. If We pardon some of you, We will punish others, because they are criminals." (9:64-66).
Fifthly: the hypocrites ridiculed the early believers:
1- Before Muhammad and the immigrants settled in Yathreb those hypocrites were the powerful masters and affluent rulers; their descendants and assets/money remained more than others because they belonged to the upper affluent classes; this is why they ridiculed the poor ones who contributed to the endeavors of military self-defense: "Those who criticize the believers who give charity voluntarily, and ridicule those who find nothing to give except their own efforts - God ridicules them. They will have a painful torment." (9:79).
2- Within their private meetings, they showed their true sentiments of resentment, animosity, and ridicule: "And when they come across those who believe, they say, “We believe”; but when they are alone with their devils, they say, “We are with you; we were only ridiculing.” It is God who ridicules them, and leaves them bewildered in their transgression." (2:14-15).
3- The Lord God in the Quran prohibits that believers would ridicule other believers: "O you who believe! No people shall ridicule other people, for they may be better than they. Nor shall any women ridicule other women, for they may be better than they. Nor shall you slander one another, nor shall you insult one another with names. Evil is the return to wickedness after having attained faith. Whoever does not repent - these are the unjust ones." (49:11).
Lastly: about the fate of ridiculers/mockers in Hell:
1- This is a comparison between their fate and that of the pious believers on the Resurrection Day: "Beautified is the life of this world for those who disbelieve, and they ridicule those who believe. But the righteous ones will be above them on the Day of Resurrection. God provides to whomever He wills without measure." (2:212).
2- The Lord God promises them torment.
2/1: "They denied the truth when it has come to them; but soon will reach them the news of what they used to ridicule." (6:5).
2/2: "And if We postponed their torment until a stated time, they would say, “What holds it back?” On the Day when it reaches them, it will not be averted from them, and what they used to ridicule will besiege them." (11:8).
2/3: "And when it was said, “The promise of God is true, and of the Hour there is no doubt,” you said, “We do not know what the Hour is; we think it is only speculation; we are not convinced.” The evils of what they did will become evident to them, and the very thing they ridiculed will haunt them. And it will be said, “Today We forget you, as you forgot the encounter of this Day of yours. Your abode is the Fire, and there are no supporters for you. That is because you took God’s Verses for a joke, and the worldly life lured you.” So today they will not be brought out of it, and they will not be allowed to repent." (45:32-35).
3- This is about their torment.
3/1: "If those who did wrong owned everything on earth, and the like of it with it, they would redeem themselves with it from the terrible suffering on the Day of Resurrection. But there will appear to them from God what they never anticipated. There will appear to them the evils of their deeds, and they will be surrounded by what they used to ridicule." (39:47-48).
3/2: "It is they who rejected the Verses of their Lord, and the encounter with Him. So their works are in vain. And on the Day of Resurrection, We will consider them of no weight. That is their requital - Hell - on account of their disbelief, and their taking My Verses and My messengers in mockery." (18:105-106).
4- This is about ridiculers who laughed.
4/1: "Those who committed crimes used to laugh at those who believed. And when they passed by them, they would wink at one another. And when they went back to their families, they would go back exulting. And if they saw them, they would say, “These people are lost.” Yet they were not sent as guardians over them. But on that Day, those who believed will laugh at the disbelievers. On luxurious furnishings, looking on. Have the disbelievers been repaid for what they used to do?" (83:29-36).
4/2: "They will say, “Our Lord, our wretchedness prevailed over us, and we were a people astray. Our Lord! Bring us out of this. If we ever returned, we would truly be evil.” He will say, “Be despised therein, and do not speak to Me. There was a group of My servants who would say, `Our Lord, we have believed, so forgive us, and have mercy on us; You are the Best of the merciful.' But you made them a target of ridicule, until they made you forget My remembrance; and you used to laugh at them." (23:106-110).
4/3: "Let them laugh a little, and weep much; in recompense for what they used to earn." (9:82).