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What made people reject Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)?

What made people reject Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)?
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September 13, 2024
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‫أَمۡ لَمۡ یَعۡرِفُوا۟ رَسُولَهُمۡ فَهُمۡ لَهُۥ مُنكِرُونَ

‫أَمۡ یَقُولُونَ بِهِۦ جِنَّةُۢۚ بَلۡ جَاۤءَهُم بِٱلۡحَقِّ وَأَكۡثَرُهُمۡ لِلۡحَقِّ كَـٰرِهُونَ

Did they not recognise their messenger and therefore they denied him?  (23:69)

Or do they say, “He is suffering from madness?” No, but he has come to them with the truth, but it is the truth that most of them dislike. (23:70)

In these two ayahs, Allah Almighty describes the situation in Makkah when the Prophet (peace be upon him) delivered the divine message, but they denied it. Why did this happen?

The Prophet (peace be upon him) came to the whole world as a warner and a bearer of good news (bashirun wa nadhirun) to all the world. However, his invitation to follow the truth was rejected by the Quraysh. There are many ayahs which narrate his exchanges with them, such as in these two verses in Surat al Muminoon.

When Allah Almighty asks, “Did those who denied him not recognise that he was the Messenger of Allah?” it is a rhetorical question, because, of course they recognised he was the Prophet of God. He was the best of creation.

وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍۢ

And you are truly ˹a man˺ of outstanding character. (68:4)

Muhammad (peace be upon him) sent to the world as the answer to the dua of Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him), who centuries earlier made dua for Allah to send a messenger to the people of Makkah.

رَبَّنَا وَٱبْعَثْ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًۭا مِّنْهُمْ يَتْلُوا۟ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـٰتِكَ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلْحِكْمَةَ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ ۚ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ

“Our Lord! Send amongst them a Messenger of their own (and indeed Allah answered their invocation by sending Muhammad Peace be upon him), who shall recite unto them Your Verses and instruct them in the Book (this Quran) and Al-Hikmah (full knowledge of the Islamic laws and jurisprudence or wisdom or Prophethood, etc.), and sanctify them. Verily! You are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.” ( 2:129)

He was the seal of the prophets (Khatimun Nabi),

مَا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَآ أَحَدٍۢ مِّن رِّجَالِكُمْ وَلَـٰكِن رَّسُولَ ٱللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ ٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمًۭا

Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets. And ever is Allah, of all things, Knowing. (33:40)

sent with the final Book, which Allah described as a momentous task.

Did people not recognise that Muhammad was the Prophet of God (peace be upon him)?

Why did the Quraysh reject the truth? Did they deny his invitation, because they did not know who he was? Did they doubt his sincerity, honesty, reason, and integrity? Was he a stranger to them that made them distrust him?

Did they not know him or were they pretending they did not know him? Of course they knew who he truly was! He was already well known in Makkah for being truthful and trustworthy. Why then did they call him a madman, sorcerer and liar? Why did they not accept the truth?

Reasons for rejection

Quraysh’s rejection of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was not due to ignorance of his true character. Rather than admitting, “We know this is the truth, but we are not interested,” they rejected both the messenger and the message. Knowingly rejecting the truth can cause one to lose credibility within the community, as it reflects poorly on the individual. To avoid this, it becomes more convenient to create excuses for disbelief—using attack as a means of defence. They deflected the blame, making it seem as though the problem lay with the Prophet rather than themselves. This was not just a rejection of the message, but a campaign against the truth—a tactic still seen today in politics and society.

Therefore, they accused him of madness to deflect the fact that they were opposing the truth. What was it about the truth that made them so hostile to it. Because following the truth is burdensome.

Upholding principles is burdensome. Confronting falsehood is burdensome. Remaining steadfast is burdensome. Fighting against desires, confronting corrupt currents, and enduring difficulties, pain, and sacrifices is indeed burdensome.

The majority of them refused to accept the truth – Waleed Ibn al Mugheerah, Abu Sufyan and even his uncle, Abu Talib. The disbelievers rejected the truth because they hated it. They preferred to follow their desires and their culture and customs.

Waleed ibn al Mugheerah

Waleed ibn al Mugheerah, the prominent leader of Quraysh and one of the wealthiest men in Makkah, knew that Islam was the truth but chose to oppose it. Despite recognizing the eloquence and power of the Quran, he invented lies to undermine the message, as his pride and social standing were at stake.

Waleed once heard the Quran and, deeply impressed, admitted that it was not the work of a human being. He even acknowledged its unique nature and beauty to his people. However, due to his influence in Quraysh and fear of losing his status, he needed to find a way to publicly discredit the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the message of Islam. Instead of embracing the truth, he sought to fabricate an explanation that would justify his rejection of it.

The Quran vividly describes how Waleed struggled to come up with something to say about the Qur’an to mislead the people. He was pacing, thinking of how to distort the truth. This incident is detailed in Surat al Muddathir

إِنَّهُ فَكَّرَ وَقَدَّرَ (18) فَقُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ (19) ثُمَّ قُتِلَ كَيْفَ قَدَّرَ (20) ثُمَّ نَظَرَ (21) ثُمَّ عَبَسَ وَبَسَرَ (22) ثُمَّ أَدْبَرَ وَاسْتَكْبَرَ (23) فَقَالَ إِنْ هَٰذَا إِلَّا سِحْرٌ يُؤْثَرُ (24) إِنْ هَٰذَا إِلَّا قَوْلُ الْبَشَرِ (25)

Indeed, he thought and deliberated. So may he be destroyed [for] how he deliberated. Then may he be destroyed [for] how he deliberated. Then he considered [again]; Then he frowned and scowled; Then he turned back and was arrogant and said, ‘This is nothing but magic imitated [from others]. This is nothing but the word of a human being.’ (74:18-25)

In these verses, Allah describes Waleed’s internal conflict. He thought deeply, tried to evaluate, but ultimately rejected the truth. He arrogantly concluded that the Quran was “magic” and “the word of a human,” even though he knew it was far beyond any human composition. His pride and desire to maintain his social status led him to fabricate lies about the Prophet and the Quran.

Waleed ibn al Mugheerah’s example illustrates the danger of knowing the truth but rejecting it out of arrogance and fear of losing worldly power. His internal struggle, followed by his public dismissal of the Quran, is an important lesson about the consequences of denying the truth after recognising it.

Detesting the truth

In Surat Az-Zukhruf, Allah Almighty said

لَقَدۡ جِئۡنَـٰكُم بِٱلۡحَقِّ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكۡثَرَكُمۡ لِلۡحَقِّ كَـٰرِهُونَ

(O disbelievers,) indeed We have brought to you the truth, but it is the truth that most of you detest. (43:78)

Yet Allah has mentioned that if you hate something it does not make it bad. In fact, you might hate something, but it is beneficial for you.

As mentioned in the Quran:

وَعَسَىٰ أَن تَكۡرَهُواْ شَيۡـٔٗا وَهُوَ خَيۡرٞ لَّكُمۡۖ وَعَسَىٰ أَن تُحِبُّواْ شَيۡـٔٗا وَهُوَ شَرّٞ لَّكُمۡۗ وَٱللَّهُ يَعۡلَمُ وَأَنتُمۡ لَا تَعۡلَمُونَ

But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah knows, while you know not. (2:216)

Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ “‏ حُفَّتِ الْجَنَّةُ بِالْمَكَارِهِ، وَحُفَّتِ النَّارُ بِالشَّهَوَات ‏”‏ ‏.‏

The Paradise is surrounded by hardships and the Hell-Fire is surrounded by temptations. (Muslim)

In a similar narration, Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said,

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏ “‏ حُجِبَتِ النَّارُ بِالشَّهَوَاتِ، وَحُجِبَتِ الْجَنَّةُ بِالْمَكَارِهِ ‏”‏‏.‏ بخاري

“The (Hell) Fire is veiled by all kinds of desires and passions, while Paradise is veiled by all kinds of disliked undesirable things.” (Bukhari)

These hadith show that one cannot attain Paradise except by enduring hardships and cannot avoid Hellfire except by resisting desires. If you strive with patience and perseverance through difficulties, and if you restrain yourself from following sinful temptations, Allah will reward you with the ultimate success in the Hereafter.

Imam Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, said in his commentary on Sahih Muslim: the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Paradise is surrounded by hardships, and Hellfire is surrounded by desires.” This is how Muslim narrated it; Bukhari also used “surrounded” and sometimes “veiled,” and both are correct.

The scholars said this is an example of the beautiful and eloquent speech that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was granted, illustrating that Thus, both are veiled by these elements.

Whoever tears the veil and reaches the hidden realm does so by removing the veil of Paradise through enduring hardships, and by removing the veil of Hellfire through indulging in desires.

Carrying the truth is burdensome. Who wants to carry it has to be prepared to make sacrifices and not everyone is ready to do that. That is why Allah described the message as something heavy.


إِنَّا سَنُلۡقِی عَلَیۡكَ قَوۡلࣰا ثَقِیلًا 

Indeed, We will cast upon you a heavy word. (73:5)

The easier option is to follow your desires and the crowd. Yet those who are prepared to are making the best investment.

The people of Palestine are sacrificing their lives and homes and loved ones. It is not easy. They could have chosen the easy path. Hardship takes you to Jannah.

Jannah is worth it

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported he heard Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) saying,

وعن أبي هريرة، رضي الله عنه، قال‏:‏ قال رسول الله، صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ “‏ ألا إن سلعة الله غالية، إلا إن سلعة الله الجنة‏”‏ ‏(‏‏(‏رواه الترمذي وقال‏:‏ حديث حسن‏)‏‏)‏‏.‏

Be on your guard that the commodity of Allah is precious. Verily the commodity of Allah is Jannah. (Tirmidhi)

We ask Allah to keep us on the path that takes us to Jannah and to be among the truthful ones. Ameen

Based on the Khutbah of Shaykh Haytham Tamim 13th Sept 2024

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Shaykh Haytham Tamim is the founder and main teacher of the Utrujj Foundation. He has provided a leading vision for Islamic learning in the UK, which has influenced the way Islamic knowledge is disseminated. He has orchestrated the design and delivery of over 200 unique courses since Utrujj started in 2001. His extensive expertise spans over 30 years across the main Islamic jurisprudence schools of thought. He has studied with some of the foremost scholars in their expertise; he holds some of the highest Ijazahs (certificates) in Quran, Hadith (the Prophetic traditions) and Fiqh (Islamic rulings). His own gift for teaching was evident when he gave his first sermon to a large audience at the age of 17 and went on to serve as a senior lecturer of Islamic transactions and comparative jurisprudence at the Islamic University of Beirut (Shariah College). He has continued to teach; travelling around the UK, Europe and wider afield, and won the 2015 BISCA award (British Imams & Scholars Contributions & Achievements Awards) for Outstanding Contribution to Education and Teaching.

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