Rejection of IslamAny new movement or cause that emerges for the first time in a society will be considered
strange and unfamiliar and will be met with skepticism, apprehensiveness, and doubt and -
in most cases - opposition, rejection and disapproval. The wider the gap between the socie-
ty in its beliefs, customs and laws and the ideals of the new movement, the greater the
conflict between the two.
The pre-Islamic Arabs were a people beset by corruption, deviant beliefs, foolish customs,
and engrossed in idolatry. It was in stark contrast to the message that the Prophet Muham-
mad (r) brought; a message that called on the people to reject all of their false deities -
their rocks and trees and idols - and to purify all of their worship for Allah alone; The
enormous difference between pre-Islamic society and Islam was enough as a cause for the
difficulties that Islam and the early Muslims faced. However, there were some other distinct
and specific causes that deserve mentioning because of their importance in explaining the
hardships early Muslims had to endure.
First: The Weak Influence of the Prophetic Legacy in the Arabian Peninsula
The influence of Prophethood and divine guidance was negligible in the Arabian Peninsula
due to the fact that no Prophet was ever sent to the Arabian Peninsula before the coming of
Muhammed (r), who was the last and final Prophet sent to all of mankind.
Allah, the Most High, informs us that the Arabs were never sent a Prophet in His state-
ment: Or say they: “He (Muhammed) has fabricated it?” Nay, it is the truth from your
Lord, so that you may warn a people to whom no warner has come before you [O Mu-
hammed] in order that they may be guided. [Soorah As-Sajdah, Verse 3]
Allah also says: “In order that you may warn a people whose forefathers were not
warned, so they are heedless.” [Soorah Yasin, Verse 7]
And Allah explains that no book was revealed to them nor was there any messenger sent
to them in his statement:
“And We had not given them scriptures which they could study, nor sent to them before
you [O Muhammed] any warner” (Messenger).”
Then Allah removed any excuse that the Arabs might have had for not following divine
guidance by sending the Prophet Muhammed (r) right into their midst. Allah the Most High
says in His book:
“And this is a blessed Book (the Qur’an) which We have sent down, so follow it and fear
Allah (i.e. do not disobey His Orders), that you may receive mercy (i.e. be saved from the
torment of Hell). Lest you (pagan Arabs) should say: “The Book was sent down only to two
sects before us (the Jews and the Christians), and for our part, we were in fact unaware of