Foreword

Throughout history, Allah has sent messengers to every society to tell them of much vital information, such as the moral values that will be pleasing to Him, about what is lawful and unlawful and how true peace and happiness can be attained in the hereafter. As we see in the Qur'an, the behavior and moral quality of these special people have been the best examples to the believers. For this reason, it is important for every believer to learn what they experienced during their lives.

What is revealed in the Qur'an about the struggles of the Messengers is certainly enlightening and instructive for believers. Our Prophet Muhammad (saas) is the last Messenger. As it is revealed in the Qur'an: 

"Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but the Messenger of Allah and the Final Seal of the Prophets. Allah has knowledge of all things. ." (Surat al-Ahzab, 40)

But as revealed in another verse, "Or did you suppose that you would enter the Garden without facing the same as those who came before you? Poverty and illness afflicted them, and they were shaken to the point that the messenger and those who believed with him asked: 'When is Allah's help coming?...'" (Surat al-Baqara, 214), future generations will experience similar things to what His Messengers have undergone.

Those who are foolishly hostile to our Prophet (saas) and other Messengers and so try to prevent the spread of the true religion they communicated will harass the believing community following their path. As it is revealed in the Qur'an: "Allah desires to make things clear to you, to guide you to the correct practices of those before you, and to turn toward you. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise" (Surat an-Nisa', 26). All Muslims will witness this. And so it is very important for them to examine carefully what is revealed in the Qur'an about the Messengers' struggles.

The examples given in this book serve to remind believers of the Messengers' good moral character and sincere efforts. The Qur'an contains many stories about these people, for:

"There is instruction in their stories for people of intelligence. This is not a narration that has been invented, but a confirmation of all that came before, a clarification of everything, and a guidance and a mercy for people who believe".  (Surah Yusuf, 111)

The Messengers' Struggle

People choose various teachers to guide them through life. For many, the most important teachers are their family, friends, and the communities they live in. They form their value judgments and general impressions of what is right and wrong according to the general opinions of that society. Some individuals look to ideologies for guidance in the belief that the founder of their personal ideology is a superior person whose teachings can reveal the truth to them. Other individuals profess no ideology, preferring to be guided by their own intuitive intelligence.

Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but the Messenger of Allah and the Final Seal of the Prophets. Allah has knowledge of all things. (Surat al-Ahzab, 40)

However, all of these ideas rest on a common falsehood. Those who claim society as their teacher and adopt some "superior" individual or their own intelligence as their guide are rejecting or ignoring an essential truth: Human beings are created and therefore are indebted to our Creator, Allah, for everything they possess. Those who consider their own body and surroundings, the sky, and everything else that exists will clearly see that Allah created them. 

Allah created human beings, and there is certainly a purpose for this Creation. Allah reveals this truth in the Qur'an: "We did not create heaven and earth and everything in between them as a game"(Surat al-Anbiya', 16). This purpose is also revealed in another verse: "I only created jinn and humanity to worship Me" (Surat adh-Dhariyat, 56).

Humanity was created solely to serve Allah. But one must be careful not to misunderstand: The fact that man is created to serve Allah alone does not mean that it is enough to perform just some religious observances. Indeed, in a hadith narrated by Abu Huraira (ra) our Prophet (saas) emphasizes the importance of the five daily prayers saying, "Five (daily) prayers and from one Friday prayer to the (next) Friday prayer, and from Ramadhan to Ramadhan are expiatious for the (sins) committed in between (their intervals) provided one shuns the major sins." (Sahih Muslim, Book 2, Number 450)" The five daily prayers and all other acts of worship such as fasting, giving alms and covering the body are obligations that must be punctiliously performed, and every believer is obliged to do these. But being Allah's servant, which encompasses every aspect of life, primarily means coming to know Allah by being close to Him and living one's life according to His words. People who live such a life, in other words serve Allah alone, enjoy the best, the most content, and the happiest life possible. That is because all of Allah's rules are very easy, for He created humanity in such a way that it is part of human nature to take pleasure from serving Him. This is elucidated as follows in the Qur'an:

"So set your face firmly towards the Religion as a pure natural believer, Allah's natural pattern on which He made humanity. There is no changing Allah's Creation. That is the true Religion, but most people do not know it. " (Surat ar-Rum, , 30)

The information revealed in this verse is very important, for it reveals that human beings were created only to serve Allah. In other words, serving Him is their nature. Allah "breathed His Spirit" into them and created them out of nothing, and then molded them into human form from "a drop of water" (sperm) and sent them to this world for a short time. Human beings must know that they are Allah's creatures and constantly thank Him for this. Once they understand this truth, they will live in this transient world according to His purpose: to mature and prepare themselves for their real home, the hereafter. This manner of living accords with human nature.

It is revealed in Surat ar-Rum 30 that humanity's only purpose is to serve Allah, yet most people are unaware of this great truth. Allah reveals in other verses that a person's self causes him to forget that he is one of Allah's creations and the clear truth that Allah exists. For this reason, most people are unaware of Allah's existence, that they were created, and therefore are responsible to our Creator, Allah. This is described thus in the Qur'an: 

Does not humanity see that We created him from a drop? Yet there he is, an open antagonist! He makes likenesses of Us and forgets his own creation, asking: "Who will give life to bones when they are decayed?" Say: "He Who made them in the first place will bring them back to life. He has total knowledge of each created thing. " (Surah Ya Sin, 77-79)

A person who lives far removed from the moral values of the Qur'an often forgets that human beings are created by Allah. When people forget this, selfish ambition and passions begin to present them with new false deities to foolishly serve, whether animate or inanimate, besides the Creator Who"fashioned [him] into a man" (Surat al-Kahf, 37). They seek to please those deities, look to them for assistance, and start to love and fear them. However, these self-made supposed deities are actually weak and powerless "servants," just like themselves. Unable to use their reason to see this truth, they follow them and ignorantly turn their backs on Allah. This total lack of gratitude is described in the Qur'an as follows: 

"Curse humanity for his ingratitude! From what thing did He create him? From a drop of sperm He created him and proportioned him. " (Surah 'Abasa, 17-19)

Naturally, a society made up of such individuals is totally oblivious of religious moral values and regards Allah as "something to cast disdainfully" (Surah Hud, 92). Since all the members of such an ignorant society possess the same moral infirmity and weakness of mind, they develop a "herd psychology" that strengthens most people's already existing rejection of Allah. Since it knows nothing about Allah and the hereafter, Allah calls it in the Qur'an an "ignorant society." No matter how many brilliant people it has in physics, history, biology, and other similar sciences, the great majority of the members of such a society do not have the conscious intelligence to recognize Allah.

Moreover, members of such an ignorant society adopt false guides. Not knowing Allah properly, they follow other paths with the greatest ignorance and gradually become dependent on other powerless servants like themselves, follow their examples, and accept their words and actions as the truth. 

Finally, the society of ignorance adopts a system that gradually blinds it to reality and blocks its intelligence and conscience. As a result, this superstitious system cannot be freed by itself. Its members cannot understand that Allah exists and will hold them accountable on the Day of Judgment. This closed system will last until Allah sends a guide to lead them to the truth: 

The People of the Book who do not believe and the idolaters will not be cut off until the Clear Sign came to them: A messenger from Allah reciting purified texts. (Surat al-Bayyina, 1-2)

Selecting a Messenger

As we stated earlier, someone whose understanding is embroiled by the false values of the society of ignorance cannot recognize Allah or see the truth unaided. But in His merciful compassion, Allah sends these people envoys to warn them about their mistakes and to teach them the truth about Himself, the hereafter, and the true meaning of life. In the Qur'an, these envoys are called "Messengers" (sing.: rasul; pl. rusul [one who is sent]). We are told in the Qur'an that every community will be warned by means of a Messenger:

We sent a messenger to every people, saying: "Worship Allah and keep clear of all false deities." Among them were some whom Allah guided; others received the misguidance they deserved. Travel throughout the land and see the final fate of the unbelievers.  (Surat an-Nahl, 36)

Although Messengers are generally people who live within the society of ignorance, they are people who were known for their moral virtues, upright character, conscientious behavior, honesty and nobility before Allah revealed these sacred responsibilities to them. Our Prophet (saas), for example, was a highly virtuous person known and admired by the name of "al-Amin," the faithful and trustworthy one, even before the prophethood was bestowed on him. 

 At a certain time in his life, a Messenger begins his duty as a Messenger as Allah directs. Sometimes Allah puts it into his heart something that enables him to know of His existence and to realize how depraved his society is and sometimes this fact is revealed to him through revelation. For example, the Prophet Abraham (as) realized the existence of Allah and the perverted nature of his society, which was unaware of this reality, with an understanding that Allah inspired in him. The situation of the Prophet Abraham (as) is described thus in the Qur'an:  

Remember when Abraham said to his father Azar: "Do you take idols as deities? I see that you and your people are clearly misguided." Because of that, We showed Abraham the dominions of the heavens and earth so that he might be one of the people of certainty. When night covered him, he saw a star and said: "This is my Lord." Then when it set, he said: "I do not love what sets." Then when he saw the moon come up, he said: "This is my Lord." Then when it set, he said: "If my Lord does not guide me, I will be one of the misguided people." Then when he saw the sun come up, he said, "This is my Lord. This is greater." Then when it set, he said: "My people, I am free of what you associate with Allah. I have turned my face to Him Who brought the heavens and earth into being, a pure natural believer. I am not one of the idolaters." His people argued with him. He said: "Are you arguing with me about Allah when He has guided me? I have no fear of any partner you ascribe to Him, unless my Lord should will such a thing to happen. (Surat al-An'am, 74-80)

My Lord encompasses all things in His knowledge, so will you not pay heed?"This is the argument We gave to Abraham against his people. We raise in rank anyone We will. Your Lord is All-Wise, All-Knowing. (Surat al-An'am, 83)

It is revealed in the Qur'an that Allah showed the Prophet Abraham (as) all the proofs for His existence. This shows us that Allah's inspiration made the Prophet Abraham (as) aware of his society's depravity and worship of other deities besides Allah (surely Allah is beyond that). He was able to understand Allah's existence clearly only because Allah chose him.

So, being chosen and instructed by Allah is common to all Messengers. Allah reveals this truth to the Prophet Moses (as):

Has the story of Moses not reached you? When he saw a fire and said to his family, "Wait here. I can make out a fire. Maybe I will bring you a brand from it or will find guidance there." When he reached it, a voice called out: "Moses! I am your Lord. Take off your sandals, for you are in the holy valley of Tuwa. I have chosen you, so listen well to what is revealed. I am Allah. There is no deity but Me, so worship Me and perform prayer in order to remember Me. The Hour is coming, but I have concealed it so that every self can be repaid for its efforts. Do not let those who have no faith in it and follow their whims and desires debar you from it, or you will be destroyed." (Surah Ta Ha, 9-16)

In short, a Messenger is a most virtuous and holy individual whom Allah has selected, one who is different from his compatriots, and one who has reached an understanding and true appreciation on his own of Allah's existence and that of the hereafter. But this is only the first stage of his mission. After this, it becomes his responsibility to teach his compatriots about this great truth he has come to understand and to invite them to follow Allah's way. This great task of preaching of the Messenger's is revealed thus in the Qur'an:

O Messenger, transmit what has been sent down to you from your Lord. If you do not do it, you will not have transmitted His Message... (Surat al-Ma'ida, 67)

However, as Allah reveals in the Qur'an, often just a few people come to believe in the Messenger; the rest foolishly become hostile to this holy individual. 

Those Who Believe in the Messenger

When we look at the Qur'an's accounts of the Messengers, we see that very few people in a society that does not know Allah listen to the Messenger and accept what he says. This is because he calls people who live by the values of ignorance to renounce many of their superstitious values, reject their false deities and serve only Allah. Most people in such a society lack the intelligence and awareness to comprehend this. In addition, the great majority of those who could understand see that this excellent and conscientious system clashes with their own interests and so they refuse to accept it. For this reason, only a few of them who have, by Allah's leave, the intelligence to transcend their society's strong allures and the will to practice what they have learned will believe in and follow the Messengers. For this reason, in the Qur'an they are called "believers" (mu'minun).

Believers are very special individuals. Their attitudes toward the world and their reactions to events are very different from that of their contemporaries. They do not direct their lives according to their society's guidelines; rather, they take their cue from Allah's revelation and His Messenger's teachings and behavior. By doing so, they acquire an outstanding moral character that stands in stark contrast to that of the people around them. They are respectful of, as well as loving and loyal to, the Messenger. Their moral qualities, attachment to Allah, and behavior toward the Messengers are related in detail in the Qur'an.

Another characteristic belonging to this group of people is revealed in the Qur'an in its account of the Prophet Moses (as) and the Companions of the Cave. The following is revealed in the Qur'an about those who believed in the Prophet Moses (as): 

No one believed in Moses except for some scions of his people, out of fear that Pharaoh and the elders would persecute them. Pharaoh was high and mighty in the land. He was one of the profligate. (Surah Yunus, 83)

Here, Allah reveals that those who followed the Prophet Moses (as) were young. The great majority of the Companions alongside our Prophet (saas) consisted of young people, and these blessed young people followed the Prophet Muhammad (saas) despite all the pressure from their polytheist relatives and families and lived alongside him. The believers mentioned in Surat al-Kahf are also revealed to be young people. Here are the relevant verses:

We will relate their story to you with truth. They were young men who believed in their Lord, and We increased them in guidance. We fortified their hearts when they stood up and said: "Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and earth, and We will not call on any deity apart from Him. We would, in that case, have uttered an abomination. Our people have taken deities apart from Him. Why do they not produce a clear authority concerning them? Who could do greater wrong than someone who invents a lie against Allah?"  (Surat al-Kahf,  13-15)

But as we explained earlier, those people with such superior moral values, who understand that their society has gone astray and seek to rectify this by putting themselves under the Messenger's guidance, are few in number.

As we saw above in the verses of Surat al-An'am about the Prophet Abraham (as), many who do not believe in Allah's Messenger respond to him with hostility. Some of the wealthy and powerful are concerned that their own interests will be harmed and are particularly hostile to the Messenger. It is to these arrogant people who persist in their rejection of Him that Allah sends Messengers. We earlier cited the verses concerning Allah's call to the Prophet Moses (as). Allah said to the Prophet Moses (as):

Go to Pharaoh. He has overstepped the bounds. (Surah Ta Ha, 24)

The Leaders of Ignorant Society

In speaking of the society of ignorance in previous pages we emphasized that the main feature of that society is that it fails to recognize or else ignores Allah and His religion. One of the main consequences of this characteristic of the society of ignorance is that it leads to a distorted social order.

A society that believes in and knows and obeys Allah is completely different to the structure of the society of ignorance. In a society of believers, people do not judge others on the basis of family connections, physical beauty, or wealth, and the citizens are loved and respected because of their superior moral character. This society appreciates, loves, and respects those of its people who have superior moral qualities, such as godliness, honesty, trustworthiness, mercy, respect and love for others, and self-sacrifice. As these can be achieved only by submitting to Allah, those entrusted with power and authority in a believing society possess the moral values of a believer revealed by Allah in the Qur'an.

However, the situation in a society that does not know Allah is just the reverse: the moral values listed above have little importance, and the people know nothing of the Qur'an's moral teachings and so exaggerate the importance of material things. For example, for a great many people wealth is the highest value, for this is what makes a person important. In other words, money is their greatest idol. For this reason, the people of such a society believe that "everyone has his or her price."

Therefore, the rich can reach the highest levels by "buying" influential or powerful people. When money is the most valuable thing, people who have it enjoy a strange kind of respect and admiration that gradually helps them to acquire the most power and authority. They form their society's various so-called elites and thus devise its norms and expectations. Most people accept their decisions and admire their lifestyles, behaviors and moral character, no matter how distorted these may be. In other words, they become "fashionable."

The leaders of such societies are often mentioned in the Qur'an. They are called "the ruling circle of those who did not believe" and "the affluent people." The great majority of these types vigorously oppose the Messenger's message, urge others not to listen to him, and try to incite hostility toward him. In the Qur'an this unchanging rule is revealed as follows: 

We never sent a warner into any city without the affluent people in it saying: "We reject what you have been sent with." They also said: "We have more wealth and children. We are not going to be punished.(Surah Saba', 34-35)

So why do the elite react to Messengers in this way?

What Messengers Preach: Faith and Obedience to Allah

All Messengers bring the same message from Allah. All the Messengers mentioned in the Qur'an demanded essentially the same two things from the communities they were sent to: The people must believe in Allah as the only Lord and, just as importantly, they must respect, fear, and obey Him. This unchanging message is revealed in Surat ash-Shu'ara': 

Noah's people denied the messengers. When their brother Noah said to them: "Will you not guard against evil? I am a faithful messenger to you, so have respect and fear of Allah, and obey me. I do not ask you for any wage for it. My wage is the responsibility of the Lord of all the worlds." (Surat ash-Shu'ara', 105-109)

The 'Ad people denied the messengers when their brother Hud said to them: "Will you not guard against evil? I am a faithful messenger to you, so have respect and fear of Allah, and obey me. I do not ask you for any wage for it. My wage is the responsibility of the Lord of all the worlds."  (Surat ash-Shu'ara', 123-127)

The Thamud people denied the messengers, when their brother Saleh said to them: "Will you not guard against evil? I am a faithful messenger to you, so have respect and fear of Allah, and obey me. I do not ask you for any wage for it. My wage is the responsibility of the Lord of all the worlds."  (Surat ash-Shu'ara', 141-145)

Lot's people denied the messengers, when their brother Lot said to them: "Will you not guard against evil? I am a faithful messenger to you. So have respect and fear of Allah, and obey me. I do not ask you for any wage for it. My wage is the responsibility of the Lord of all the worlds."  (Surat ash-Shu'ara', 160-164)

The Companions of the Thicket denied the messengers, when Jethro said to them: "Will you not guard against evil? I am a faithful messenger to you. So have respect and fear of Allah, and obey me. I do not ask you for any wage for it. My wage is the responsibility of the Lord of all the worlds." (Surat ash-Shu'ara', 176-180)

All other examples of the messages and language of the Messengers found in the Qur'an are similar. Allah reveals in other verses that the Prophet Jesus (as) and the Prophet Aaron (as) said this to their peoples: 

When Jesus came with the clear signs, he said: "I have come to you with Wisdom and to clarify for you some of the things about which you have differed. Therefore, have respect and fear of Allah, and obey me. Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. This is a straight path."  (Zuhruf Suresi, 63-64)

Andolsun, Harun bundan önce onlara: 'Ey kavmim, gerçekten siz bununla fitneye düşürüldünüz (denendiniz). Sizin asıl Rabbiniz Rahman (olan   Allah)dır; şu halde bana uyun ve emrime itaat edin' demişti. (Surah Ta Ha, 90)

One of the verses of the Qur'an in which believers are commanded to obey the Prophet Muhammad (saas) reads:

Say: "Obey Allah and the Messenger (Muhammad). Then if they turn away, he is only responsible for what he is charged with, and you are responsible for what you are charged with. If you obey him, you will be guided. The Messenger is only responsible for the [message's] clear transmission." . (Surat an-Nur, 54)

As we can see, all of Allah's Messengers invite their people to have faith in Allah and serve Him. They warn them about the hereafter, inform them that this world is transient, and that they will be rewarded in the hereafter for what they did here. In addition, they ask for the people's obedience. For this is Allah's commandment revealed in the Qur'an: "If you obey him, you will be guided" (Surat an-Nur, 54). They make this request because only His Messengers can lead their people to the truth by calling upon them to live according to Allah's religion. 

But the Messenger's leading opponents do not accept this, because the majority of the elite have made everyone dependent on them and their material wealth. However, the Messengers proclaim that there is no other Deity and "Lord" (teacher, guide, and judge) besides Allah, and that He has commanded everyone to obey them. When the people accept this, they become believers in Allah and abandon whatever else they had been worshipping. As this signifies the end of the leaders' power and authority, they become the Messengers' greatest opponents. Another reason why the people in question react against Messengers is that according to their own foolishness and inappropriate criteria they are jealous of these holy individuals who are so valuable and superior in the Sight of Allah.

Why the Messengers Are Opposed

The way that leaders foolishly try to set traps for a Messenger is based on the fact that Allah's Messengers and believers who support them spoil the immoral and perverted order established by unbelievers. Messengers summon their people to serve only Allah. When they begin to do so, the Qur'anic understanding of justice and morality begin to take hold in society. The resulting honesty, sincerity, self-sacrifice, industriousness, and similar moral qualities will upset those who are corrupt and unjust, as well as those who exploit others to gain rank and position. It will also make those who have adopted a shameless, immoral lifestyle and who transgress the limits that Allah has set uncomfortable.

Those who control others by making them dependent upon their wealth, rank, and position fear that they will lose the people's obedience, for now they will listen only to the Messenger, submit themselves to Allah, and act according to the Qur'anic teachings and norms. These are the genuine people who follow the Qur'anic teachings of what is lawful and unlawful. In other words, they do not steal or engage in corruption, defend the poor and the orphaned. Therefore, they ignore their unbelieving society's traditional norms. The message of Prophets and believers thus impinge on unbelievers' interests.

Something else that upsets the society's leaders is that, despite their power, respectability, and authority, a person who is not one of them has been accepted and is now exposing their own falsehoods and those of their system by his religious and moral way of life. As we stated earlier, since they evaluate matters very foolishly and think in a very distorted manner these leaders cannot tolerate even the idea that a Messenger could get the better of them.

Given that Allah's Messengers are the wisest and morally the purest individuals in the world, the leading unbelievers are jealous of them and try to embarrass them in the eyes of society. But it is in fact only themselves who end up embarrassed. For example, the Meccan unbelievers leveled many false accusations against our Prophet (saas), hoping that their mocking words and insults would debase one so high in Allah's Sight in the believers' eyes. But they failed, for such attempts only increased the believers' zeal and strengthened their unity. Allah describes some of the slanders uttered by these people:

Those who do not believe say: "This is nothing but a lie he has invented, and other people have helped him to do it." They have brought injustice and falsehood. They say: "It is myths of previous peoples that he has had transcribed and that are read out to him in the morning and the evening." Say: "The One Who sent it down is He Who knows all of the hidden secrets in the heavens and earth. He is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Surat al-Furqan, 4-6)

Another reason why the great majority of leaders react against a Messenger is because according to their own distorted value judgments they are jealous of someone who is not a member of the elite assuming a leadership position and evaluate matters in the light of their own unpleasant logic.

These Leaders Cannot Appreciate What Messengers Are

The major characteristic of unbelievers, especially of their leaders, is that they cannot evaluate a situation according to the dictates of their conscience. This is described in detail in the Qur'an. And there is no doubt that this characteristic also applies to the leading unbelievers. One of the clearest indications of this is their inability to understand what a Messenger is: an envoy of Allah sent to direct a society in His way. This is certainly an important responsibility, but the leaders cannot grasp this subtlety and so regard a Messenger as an ordinary individual, the same as themselves. Naturally, they evaluate his message in terms of their own distorted logic and silly traditions and rules, which are not based upon the Qur'an.

One of the strictest rules and traditions concerns a leader's qualifications. As a general rule, one who wants to lead a society must have certain material qualifications: a good lineage or wealth. In other words, he must be a member of a class that regards itself, in its own eyes, as the elite .

Unbelievers interpret a Messenger's message according to this distorted logic. In their unintelligent eyes, "if Allah is to have a Messenger," he must be someone from their group: wealthy or well known. They believe that someone who does not come from their social class cannot be Allah's Messenger and, therefore, cannot be a leader. This foolishness inflicts great losses and suffering on them both in this world and in the hereafter. In the Qur'an this way of thinking is revealed in the account of Saul: 

Their Prophet said to them: "Allah has appointed Saul to be your king." They asked: "How can he have kingship over us when we have much more right to kingship than he does? He does not even have much wealth!" He said: "Allah has chosen him over you and favored him greatly in knowledge and physical strength. Allah gives kingship to anyone He wills. Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing." (Surat al-Baqara, 247)

This superficial and flawed way of thinking is quite widespread among leading unbelievers. This explains why the Makkan elite rejected the Prophet Muhammad's (saas) mission. As revealed in the Qur'an, they turned their faces and asked: "Has the Reminder been sent down to him out of all of us?" (Surah Sâd, 8). This is an explicit example of unbelievers' lack of rationality, and their psychology is described in other verses as follows:

But when the truth came to them, they said: "This is magic and we reject it." They ask: "Why was this Qur'an not sent down to one of the great men of the two cities?" (Surat az-Zukhruf, 30-31)

Allah answers this question in the next verse:

Is it, then, they who allocate the mercy of your Lord?... (Surat az-Zukhruf, 32) 

According to the unbelievers' twisted way of thinking, the fact that the Messenger is chosen by Allah is not enough. Their only criterion in their distorted logic is material wealth, and they therefore evaluate the Messenger in its light. According to their distorted logic, such a person must have great material wealth so that he will be obeyed. These foolish expectations on the part of unbelievers are revealed thus in the Qur'an: 

"We have provided throughout this Qur'an all kinds of examples for people, but most people spurn anything but disbelief. They say: "We will not believe you until you make a spring gush out from the ground for us; or have a garden of dates and grapes through which you make rivers come pouring; or make the sky, as you claim, fall down on us in lumps; or bring Allah and the angels here as a guarantee; or possess a house built out of gleaming gold; or ascend up into heaven – and even then we will not believe in your ascent unless you bring us down a book to read!" Say: "Glory be to my Lord! Am I anything but a human messenger?" " (Surat al-Isra', 89-93)

However, believers attach themselves to a Messenger not because of his wealth but because Allah has chosen him. They obey him because of his faith in and closeness to Allah. Unbelievers cannot appreciate this, for they think that people obey the Messengers because of their wealth. So, this is one of the reasons why they attack a Messenger and believers, and initiate a struggle. A striking example revealed by Allah in the Qur'an of the immoral attitude of the elite toward Messengers, and where that immorality and unintelligence leads them can be seen in the struggle between the Prophet Moses (as) and Pharaoh.

The Prophet Moses (as) and Pharaoh

As revealed in the Qur'an, Pharaoh was an oppressor who ruled the Egyptians with his material and military might. He especially oppressed and tortured the Israelites, who were forced to work as slaves in Egypt. Pharaoh's regime is described in the Qur'an as follows: 

Pharaoh exalted himself arrogantly in the land and divided its people into camps, oppressing one group of them by slaughtering their sons and letting their women live. He was one of the corrupters.  (Surat al-Qasas, 4)

Allah sent the Prophet Moses (as) as a Messenger and Prophet to free the Israelites from Pharaoh's cruelty and to lead them to the right path. The Prophet Moses (as) asked Pharaoh for permission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, but Pharaoh refused since that would, in his own foolish eyes, cast a shadow on his power. He was irrational enough to insist on his perversion and claim to be the "Lord of all Egypt." (Surely Allah is beyond that) He ruthlessly oppressed the people and made them agree that his distorted ideas were the only right ones: 

.. "I only show you what I see myself, and I only guide you to the path of rectitude."  (Surah Ghafir, 29)

For this reason, Pharaoh could not allow the Prophet Moses (as) to become the Israelites' leader. In his foolish mind all of Egypt belonged to him and he could not imagine that the Prophet Moses (as), who had no material wealth, could be their leader.

Pharaoh was jealous of the Prophet Moses (as) and nursed a deep hatred for him. Displaying his superior wealth, power, and possessions, he foolishly tried to belittle Allah's Messenger with deceptive words. But at the end of the day he was the only one to be humiliated and lost everything in this world and the hereafter. Pharaoh's words are quoted as follows in the Qur'an:

Pharaoh called to his people, saying: "My people, does the kingdom of Egypt not belong to me? Do not all these rivers flow under my control? Do you not then see? Am I not better than this man who is contemptible and can scarcely make anything clear? Why have gold bracelets not been put upon his arms, and why is there not a train of angels accompanying him?" In that way, he swayed his people and they succumbed to him. They were a people who had gone astray. ((Surat az-Zukhruf, 51-54)

As we see, Pharaoh was so irrational and depraved as to present himself as the "Lord of Egypt." (Surely Allah is beyond that) But the Prophet Moses (as) said that Allah was the "Lord of everything on earth, in the heavens and in between," which of course included Egypt, and this upset Pharaoh. This conversation is related in the Qur'an as follows: 

Pharaoh asked: "What is the Lord of all the worlds?" He [Moses] replied: "The Lord of the heavens and earth and everything between them, if you knew for sure." He [Pharaoh] said to those around him: "Are you listening?" He [Moses] said: "Your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers, the previous peoples." He [Pharaoh] said: "This Messenger, who has been sent to you, is mad." He [Moses] replied: "The Lord of the East and the West and everything between them, if you used your intellect." He [Pharaoh] said: "If you take any deity other than me, I will certainly throw you into prison."  (Surat ash-Shu'ara', 23-29)

Pharaoh was hostile to the Prophet Moses (as) because the truths he told threatened his kingdom's twisted order. Pharaoh knew that Allah existed, and said as much: 

... "Council, I do not know of any other deity for you apart from me. Haman, kindle a fire for me over the clay and build me a lofty tower so that, perhaps, I may be able to climb up to Moses' god! I consider him a blatant liar. " (Surat al-Qasas, 38)

This distorted logic of Pharaoh's betrays a general characteristic of those who lead the forces of opposition against Allah's Messengers: their distorted belief in Allah. For this reason, they do not recognize that they owe obedience to His Messengers. When a Messenger tells them that their society's status quo has become corrupt and asks them to give up their dishonest profits and become his followers, these arrogant leaders, who have been spoiled by their blessings, respond with anger and hostility.

In the Qur'an, Allah informs us of their state and states that He will choose His Messengers: 

And likewise in every city, We set up its greatest wrongdoers to plot in it. They plot against themselves alone, but they are not aware of it. When a sign comes to them, they say: "We will not believe until we have been given the same as the messengers of Allah were given." Allah knows best where to place His message. Debasement in the Sight of Allah and a severe punishment will strike those who did wrong for the plots that they concocted. (Surat al-An'am, 123-124)