steps.” (The warner) said: “Even if I bring you better guidance than that which you found
your fathers following?” They said: “Verily, we disbelieve in that with which you have
been sent.” [Qur'an: Az-Zukhruf: Aayah 21-24]
Third: Jewish and the Christian Solidarity with the Pagan Arabs Against Islam
The Jews and Christians in Arabia were jealous because the newly revealed divine guid-
ance was not revealed directly to them, so they were openly hostile to the message of Mu-
hammed (r). The pagan Arabs respected and admired the Jews and the Christians because
of the books and knowledge that they possessed. Since the Arab's idolatry was fundamen-
tally opposed to the message of monotheism, they took the attitude of the People of the
Book as a legitimation for their resistance to the message of Muhammed (r). Since the Jews
and the Christians, who were the inheritors of books that had been previously revealed and
more knowledgeable than them in matters of religion, denied the message of Muhammed
(r) that they too should deny it as well! This argument turned out to be one of the strong-
est arguments that the pagan Arabs used to encourage each other to reject Islam. Allah
says:
“And the leaders among them went about (saying): “Go on, and remain constant to your
gods! Verily, this is a thing designed (against you)! We have not heard (the like) of this in
the religion of these later days (i.e. Christianity). This is nothing but an invention!” [Qur'an
: Sad : Verse 6-7]
This argument was apparently (and Allah knows best) based upon statements that the
People of the Book made to the pagan Arabs in opposition to the Messenger Muhammed
(r) since the Arabs did not have much knowledge about what was contained in the pre-
viously revealed books. Allah says in another place in the Qur’an, referring to statements
that the Jews made to the pagan Arabs against those who believed in Allah’s oneness:
“Have you not seen those who were given a portion of the Scripture? They believe in
Jibt and Taghut and say to the disbelievers that they are better guided as regards the way
than the believers (Muslims). They are those whom Allah has cursed, and he whom Allah
curses, you will not find for him any helper.” [Qur'an 4:51-52]
This was because the Jews allied themselves with the pagan Arabs in the fight against the
Messenger of Allah (r) and gave credibility to their religion of idolatry, and because they
preferred the pagan Arabs to the believers.
In a hadith narrated upon the authority of Ibn Abbas who said: “When K’ab ibn Al-Ashraf
(a Jew) arrived in Makkah the Quraysh said to him: ‘Are you the best of the people of Medi-
nah and their chief?’ He said: ‘yes.’ They said (asking about the Prophet (r)): ‘Have you not
seen that man who has no sons who claims that he is better than we are? We are the
people of Makkah who host the pilgrims and supply them with water and we are the care-
takers of the Ka'bah.’ He (K’ab ibn Al-Ashraf) said: ‘You are better than him.’