Qarun

Qarun was one of the people of Musa but he lorded it over them. We gave him treasures, the keys alone to which were a heavy weight for a party of strong men. Thereupon his people said to him, "Do not gloat. Allah does not love people who gloat."(Surat al-Qasas, 76)

As the above-quoted verse maintains, the treasures and status Qarun possessed in Egypt made him grow arrogant and insolent towards his people. To test him, Allah granted him an enormous fortune, and as is the case with all arrogant people, he was spoilt by them. He forgot that all possessions belong to Allah, and that He can take them back any time He wishes, and failed to recognise that these were granted to him as a test. Due to his arrogance, he thought that they were all given to him because he had "knowledge" and possessed superior qualities:

He said, "I have only been given it because of knowledge I have." Did he not know that before him Allah had destroyed generations with far greater strength than his and far more possessions? The evildoers will not be questioned about their sins.  (Surat al-Qasas, 78)

This is the deviant outlook of the arrogant. Although it is Allah Who has given man whatever he has, the arrogant boast of their possessions and do not feel grateful to Allah or ask forgiveness from Him. They do not bother themselves with thinking, even for a second, that they could lose all these gifts in an instant. However, as we are to understand from this verse, many people, who were wealthier or more powerful than Qarun, perished on account of their arrogance. Like those of the past, Qarun received his punishment in this world. If he had been as powerful as he assumed himself to be, he would have been able to rescue himself. Yet, neither his status, nor his possessions, nor the people who admired him, nor the knowledge for which he boasted, could save him from Allah' s punishment:

We caused the earth to swallow up both him and his house. There was no group to come to his aid, besides Allah, and he was not someone who is helped. Those who had longed to take his place the day before woke up saying, "Allah expands the provision of any of His servants He wills or restricts it. If Allah had not shown great kindness to us, we would have been swallowed up as well. Ah! Truly the disbelievers are not successful." (Surat al-Qasas, 81-82)

Haman

As we are to understand from the Qur' an, "Haman" is one of the men closest to Pharaoh, and who obeyed him and acted in compliance with his methodology. Being insolent and rebellious, he sided with Pharaoh and remained a loyal supporter to him. When Musa (as) came to his people to communicate Allah' s message, Haman was there to oppose him along with Pharaoh:

We sent Musa with Our Signs and clear authority to Pharaoh, Haman and Qarun. But they said, "A lying magician." When he brought them the truth from Us they said, "Slaughter the sons of those who believe with him but let their women live." The stratagems of the disbelievers are nothing but errors. (Surah Ghafir, 23-25)

Pharaoh' s immoral conduct towards Musa (as) was similarly adopted by Haman. Furthermore, he shared Pharaoh' s errant reasoning and complied with all his wishes. As the verse below maintains, Pharaoh asked Haman to build a tower to see Allah (Surely Allah is beyond this):

Pharaoh said, "Council, I do not know of any other god 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 Musa' s god! I consider him a blatant liar."(Surat al-Qasas: 38)

However, Haman, who, out of conceit, was insistent on refusing to submit to Allah and His messenger, met the same end as Satan and Pharaoh. He tasted the inevitable end slated for the arrogant:

And Qarun and Pharaoh and Haman-Musa came with the Clear Signs to them, but they were arrogant on the earth. They could not outstrip Us. We seized each one of them for their wrong actions. Against some We sent a sudden squall of stones; some of them were seized by the Great Blast; some We caused the earth to swallow up; and some We drowned. Allah did not wrong them; rather they wronged themselves. (Surat al-' Ankabut, 39-40)

The Prophet Ibrahim's Father

The Prophet Ibrahim' s father possessed the attributes common to disbelieving nations. He was one of those who grew arrogant towards Allah, and was entrenched in hostility towards the Messenger. Having to be taught the morality of religion from his own son hurt the pride of this arrogant man. With gracious words and gentleness did the Prophet Ibrahim communicate Allah' s religion to his father and sought ways to prevent him from worshipping idols. Despite the Prophet Ibrahim' s best efforts, his father clung to his ignorant ways. He turned from the Prophet Ibrahim merely because he had faith in Allah, threatening him even with stoning:

Mention Ibrahim in the Book. He was a true man and a Prophet. Remember when he said to his father, "Father, why do you worship what can neither hear nor see and is not of any use to you at all? Father, knowledge which never reached you has come to me, so follow me and I will guide you to the right path. Father, do not worship Satan. Satan was disobedient to the All-Merciful. Father, I am afraid that a punishment from the All-Merciful will afflict you, and turn you into a comrade of Satan." He said, "Do you forsake my gods, Ibrahim? If you do not stop, I will stone you. Keep away from me for a good long time."  (Surah Maryam, 41-46)

These threats did not daunt Ibrahim (as); he showed loyalty to Allah, disobeying his father and his people who denied his prophethood, and ultimately leaving them. This exemplary conduct of Ibrahim (as) is related in the Qur' an as follows:

Ibrahim was a community in himself, exemplary, obedient to Allah, a man of pure natural belief. He was not one of the idolaters.(Surat an-Nahl, 120)

Then We revealed to you: "Follow the religion of Ibrahim, a man of pure natural belief. He was not one of the idolaters." (Surat an-Nahl, 123)

Abu Lahab

Abu Lahab was a disbeliever from the time of the Prophet Muhammad (saas) who was known for his arrogance and insolence. The Qur' an informs us that he and his wife were repaid with Hell for their evildoings in this world. They will be greatly humiliated with the punishments they receive. The carrying of wood, is a job too mean for those fond of boasting of their wealth and possessions. Also seen as demeaning by them was the wearing a fibre cord around the necks. Yet, Allah humiliated them in a way they could not foresee. Their future condition, set as an example to later generations, is related in a surah of the Qur' an as follows:

Ruin to the hands of Abu Lahab and ruin to him! His wealth has not helped him nor anything he has earned. He will burn in a Flaming Fire. And so will his wife, the firewood-carrier, with a rope of twisted fibre round her neck.(Surat al-Masad, 1-5)

The Owner of a Vineyard

In Surat al-Kahf, Allah gives the example of a vineyard-owner who was deceived by his prosperity and achievements. This man exemplifies the type of arrogance that is derived from wealth. The pertinent verses are as follows:

Make an example for them of two men. To one of them We gave two gardens of grape-vines and surrounded them with date-palms, putting between them some cultivated land. Both gardens yielded their crops and did not suffer any loss, and We made a river flow right through the middle of them. He was a man of wealth and property and he said to his companion, debating with him, "I have more wealth than you and more people under me." He entered his garden and wronged himself by saying, "I do not think that this will ever end. I do not think the Hour will ever come. But if I should be sent back to my Lord, I will definitely get something better in return."(Surat al-Kahf, 32-36)

As the verse maintains, in order to test him, Allah granted this vineyard owner abundant wealth. Yet, all this wealth only made him boastful. Instead of feeling grateful towards Allah, asking His forgiveness, and putting his riches to use for the cause of Allah, he spoke proudly and falsely assumed that his wealth was immune to time and disaster.

This is a clear example showing the illogic of arrogant people; although the vineyard-owner claimed that his possessions were eternal, he did not explicitly deny the existence of Allah, and even considered the possibility of his having to return to Him. Interestingly, he falsely maintained that he would not be punished, but rather, would actually be rewarded if this were to really happen.

A similar line of thinking is also common in the arrogant people of today. Although they do not openly deny the morality of religion, they are far from having fear of Allah in their hearts. Still, they falsely assume that they will somehow be saved, even if they are "sent back to their Lord." This example of the vineyard-owner, given in the Qur' an, clearly shows that such people lack wisdom. Such a person' s understanding is blurred by his arrogance, and he is hindered from grasping Allah' s infinite might.

The end met by the vineyard-owner, as Allah relates in the Qur' an, was also a note of caution. He lost all his wealth. He eventually said "if only...," but it was too late to be mindful:

The fruits of his labour were completely destroyed and he woke up wringing his hands in grief, rueing everything that he had spent on it. It was a ruin with all its trellises fallen in. He said, "Oh, if only I had not associated anyone with my Lord!" There was no group to come to his aid, besides Allah, and he was not given any help.(Surat al-Kahf, 42-43)

The Chiefs of the Nations

From the stories Allah relates in the Qur' an, we understand that those who reject the messengers, harbour profound hostility towards them, and carry on the bitterest struggle against them, are a people who are, according to the language of the Qur' an, called the "the chiefs of the nation." Their most characteristic feature is their arrogance. A number of verses revealing this fact are as follows:

The chiefs of his people who were arrogant said to those who were oppressed-those among them who believed-"Do you know that Salih has been sent from his Lord?" They said, "We believe in what he has been sent with."

Those who were arrogant said, "We reject Him in whom you believe." (Surat al-A' raf, 75-76)

The chiefs of his people who were arrogant said, "We will drive you out of our city, Shu' ayb, you and those who believe along with you, unless you return to our religion." He (Shu' ayb) said, "What, even though we detest it?"  (Surat al-A' raf, 88)

Some of these people grew so arrogant that they said they would not believe unless they received divine revelations as the prophets did:

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)

One of the major reasons behind this mindset is their intolerance for the messengers because they were people chosen by Allah. They found it degrading to their status, reputation, wealth and honour to obey the messengers. This is why, throughout ages, ruling circles of disbelievers had always perceived the messengers as a threat to their established order, status and their image in the eyes of public. The divine message brought by the messengers caused them to reveal their pride and hatred towards them.

In all ages, "the chiefs of the nations" have been referred to as the "elites" of societies. As is known, the "elite" is that group of people that enjoys superior social or economic status. As said earlier, such attributes cause pride and arrogance in disbelieving people who fail to employ their wisdom. Deriving power from this prosperity and social status, they exercise authority over the rest of the society. They have such a high opinion of themselves that they revolt against Allah and His messengers. Never do they accept the fact that superiority rests on one' s nearness to Allah rather than his power or prosperity. That is because, the acceptance of this truth would nullify their status. They are haughty, a quality which makes them deny the existence of Allah. Never do they consider that, all people, whether poor or wealthy, will ultimately be wrapped in a few metres of shroud, and that they will be reduced to a skeleton. Their possessions will bring no good to them in the hereafter.

In the Qur' an, Allah informs the believers about the main character traits of these chiefs of the nation that result from pride and arrogance-and thus, from disbelief. In this way, believers of all ages can come to know these people, who are apt to hinder them from their noble cause, and thus, they may take the necessary measures to protect themselves from them. Believers are also expected to draw lessons from their stories and to pay meticulous attention not to adopt a disposition similar to theirs. No one can absolve himself from the promises of the Qur' an, seeing himself as self-sufficient; believers must also reflect on the verses about disbelievers, and put forth effort to be purified of the errors peculiar to disbelievers.

In the following section, we will consider the major character traits of the "elites" as told in the Qur' an.

They Expend Effort to Lead People Astray

The chiefs of the nations do not tolerate their people to have faith in Allah; this being the case, they put forth a continuous effort to lead them astray. The people' s embracing of the faith means to them losing the grounds upon which they exercise their authority. Before all else, faith renders the worldly criteria maintained to presume superiority and false value judgments ineffective. Furthermore, in this manner the society can come to know the weaknesses of those to whom they had attached so much importance. Ultimately, no one will be left to exalt them, nor to submit to them.

It is against the interests of the chiefs of the nation to lose the loyalty of their subordinates, those people they tend despise and consider as their inferiors. They want people to follow them, no matter what the consequences may be. Hence, they employ any method, threats, if necessary, to divert them from the morality and the way of living enjoined by the Qur' an. Some of the examples relating to such efforts of the chiefs of the nation are provided by the Qur' an:

The chiefs of his people who were disbelievers said, "If you follow Shu' ayb, you will definitely be lost." (Surat al-A' raf, 90)

Pharaoh said "Have you believed in him before I authorised you to do so? This is just some plot you have concocted in the city to drive its people from it. But you are going to know."  (Surat al-A' raf, 123)

In Spite of Their Knowing the Truth, They Deny It

What underlies the denial of the chiefs of the nations is their obstinate arrogance, as in the case of Pharaoh, and certainly not their incapability to comprehend. Even if they can grasp the existence of Allah and the hereafter, they strongly resist the idea, being overcome by their pride. Allah makes clear their situation in the Qur' an: "They repudiated them wrongly and haughtily, in spite of their own certainty about them..." (Surat an-Naml: 14) As said earlier, wealth and power is the reason for their haughtiness:

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)

However, wealth, children or possessions bring no benefits to a person unless one seeks the pleasure of Allah. Only if a person puts these blessings into use for the cause of Allah' s religion can he expect rewards in the hereafter:

It is not your wealth or your children that will bring you near to Us-only in the case of people who believe and act rightly; such people will have a double recompense for what they did. They will be safe from all harm in the High Halls of Paradise.(Surah Saba' , 37)

They Follow In the Footsteps of Their Forefathers

Those who exult in their ostentation make an unjust claim by maintaining that the messengers' mission is to divert them from their forefathers' religion:

When Our Clear Signs are recited to them, they say, "This is nothing but a man who wants to debar you from what your fathers used to worship."... (Surah Saba' , 43)

Another refrain common to the arrogant is "the religion of fathers." They feel very certain of the righteousness of their fathers and forefathers. This is undoubtedly merely a perversion resulting from arrogance. Considering their ancestry, traditions and cultural heritage superior, they reject submitting to a messenger though he is in all ways wiser. This is a consistent error common to such people:

Similarly We never sent any warner before you to any city without the affluent among them saying, "We found our fathers following a religion and we are simply following in their footsteps." Say: "What if I have come with better guidance than what you found your fathers following?" They say, "We reject what you have been sent with." (Surat az-Zukhruf, 23-24)

They Do Not Comply With Allah' s Book

The arrogant are unwilling to comply with Allah' s book. Their unrelenting desire to be superior accounts for this tendency. They are so certain of themselves that they never assume that they may be on the wrong path. They falsely maintain that, if there is a right path, it is the one to which they adhere:

Those who are disbelievers say of those who believe, "If there was any good in it, they would not have beaten us to it." And since they have not been guided by it, they are bound to say, "This is an antiquated falsehood." (Surat al-Ahqaf, 11)

They Do Not Obey Messengers

The messengers Allah sends to the nations of the world are endowed with moral excellence, intelligence, and insight. They are chosen by Allah and are specially endowed with wisdom. One verse reads: "He gives wisdom to whoever He wills and he who has been given wisdom has been given great good. But no one pays heed but people of intelligence" (Surat al-Baqara: 269)

Since these men are superior in faith, knowledge and wisdom, believers hold them in high esteem. Corrupt chiefs of the nations, on the other hand, arrogantly oppose the messengers, though they are the most trustworthy and noteworthy of people. Moreover, they insult them, cast aspersions against their honesty and other praiseworthy qualities, and even lay traps against them and plot to assassinate them. This they perform under the influence of the wicked arrogance festering in their hearts. This pride they harbour hinders them from being submissive to Allah' s messengers and causes them to deny the truth:

Has news not reached you of those who came before you, the peoples of Nuh and ' Ad and Thamud, and those who came after them who are known to no one but Allah? Their Messengers came to them with Clear Signs, but they put their hands to their mouths, saying, "We reject what you have been sent with. We have grave doubts about what you are calling us to."(Surah Ibrahim, 9)

The Qur' an also reveals how these arrogant and belligerent chiefs of the nations respond to prophets and how perverted are the opinions they form when they are called to the truth:

The chiefs of those of his people who were disbelievers said, "This is nothing but a human being like yourselves who simply wants to gain ascendancy over you. If Allah had wanted He would have sent angels down. We never heard of anything like this among our ancestors, the earlier peoples."(Surat al-Mu' minun, 24)

The chiefs of his people-those who were disbelievers and denied the encounter of the hereafter and whom We had given opulence in the world-said, "This is nothing but a human being like yourselves who eats what you eat and drinks what you drink." (Surat al-Mu' minun, 33)

The chiefs of the nations demanded of the messengers that they perform miracles. The fact that the messengers' represented the chosen of Allah, and their superiority in wisdom, knowledge, morals, virtue, and spirituality, hurt their pride. Since they were not disposed to accept this reality, they accused the messengers of being merely ordinary men and required them to perform miracles to prove otherwise. The Prophets' possessing human traits, that is, eating, drinking and so on, was surprising to them. In addition, they made it a pretext for their disbelief. As a matter of fact, even the performance of miracles would not have helped these obstinate people to believe:

They said, "No matter what kind of Sign you bring us to bewitch us, we will not believe in you." (Surat al-A' raf, 132)

What really disturbed the chiefs of the people is the fact that, despite their power, esteem and authority, a person, who was not one of them, and more, who denounced their system, had been accepted by the rest of society, by spreading the message of the religion. They took this entirely as a personal attack and could never, therefore, accept the prophets' superiority. This they adopted as a personal cause and persisted in their hostility towards the Prophet (saas), and wished instead for a member of theirs to have been the prophet. They said: "Why was this Qur' an not sent down to one of the great men of the two cities?" (Surat az-Zukhruf: 31) In reply to this wish of the chiefs of the nation, Allah stated the following: Is it, then, they who allocate the mercy of your Lord?... (Surat az-Zukhruf: 32)

Through Various Methods, They Strive to Cause Harm to Messengers

The chiefs of Pharaoh' s people said, "This is certainly a skilled magician."(Surat al-A' raf, 109)

The chiefs of Pharaoh' s people said, "Are you going to leave Musa and his people to cause corruption in the earth and abandon you and your gods?" He (Pharaoh) said, "We will kill their sons and let their women live. We have absolute power over them!" (Surat al-A' raf, 127)

As the verses clearly imply, as was Pharaoh, the chiefs of his people was also insolent. In fact, they were the ones who incited Pharaoh to violence. By forging accusations, such as of sorcery and corruption, they tried to make Pharaoh become even more insolent towards Musa (as) and his followers, and inflict still more cruel policies against them.

The chiefs of the disbelievers are known for their insolence towards the messengers, who shattered their false regimes to their very foundations. The attitude they assumed towards the messengers was certainly abusive. A few examples are as follows:

The chiefs of his people said, "We see you in flagrant error."(Surat al-A' raf, 60)

The chiefs of those of his people who were disbelievers said, "We consider you a fool and think you are a liar." (Surat al-A' raf, 66)

Wisdom is the most notable quality of the messengers Allah sends to mankind. Indeed, measuring Allah with a true measure, grasping the essence of religion, and living by it, requires wisdom. Therefore, the accusation of "foolishness" the disbelievers brought against the messengers was merely out of the jealousy they felt towards them, and of the desire to assuage their superiority complex. Another purpose would have been to adversely influence the people who followed them. By acting in this way, however, they have demonstrated that it is they who were the true fools.

Their Evil Plots Ensnare But Themselves

As discussed, the impudence, audacity and insolence of the evil chiefs of disbelievers has been consistent throughout the ages. However, their end corresponded with their evil; the plots hatched by these insolent chiefs of the people always turned ultimately against them. The immutable law which Allah ordained for humanity is described as follows:

...But then when a warner did come to them, it only increased their aversion, shown by their arrogance in the land and evil plotting. But evil plotting envelops only those who do it. Do they expect anything but the pattern of previous peoples? You will not find any changing in the pattern of Allah. You will not find any alteration in the pattern of Allah. (Surah Fatir, 42-43)

Disbelieving Nations

As said earlier, rebellious and malevolent chiefs of disbelievers were found in every society and throughout history. Having grown arrogant, these people rejected Allah' s messengers, who had been sent to summon them to the right path. Nevertheless, before the torment they would eventually suffer in Hell, they encountered severe affliction also in this world.

In this section of the book we will examine such nations as referred to in the Qur' an, and see how they responded to their respective messengers.

People of Nuh (as)

The chiefs of the people of Nuh (as) were excessively proud, as was the case with many other nations in history. When Nuh (as) summoned them to the religion of Allah, very few followed him. Still, Nuh (as) never despaired of saving them from the torment of the afterlife. But, despite all his efforts, his people responded to him in the following manner:

The chiefs of those of his people who were disbelievers said, "We do not see you as anything but a human being like ourselves. We do not see anyone following you but the lowest of us, unthinkingly. We do not see you as superior to us. On the contrary, we consider you to be liars."(Surah Hud, 27)

These people, whose pride showed through in their language, also insulted the believers who followed Nuh (as). Since, according to their errant thinking, superiority rested on one' s wealth, possessions, sons, position and rank, they looked for these qualities in the believers who adhered to Nuh (as). However, they failed to grasp that superiority entailed nearness to Allah and high morals:

They said "Nuh, you have argued with us and argued much so bring us what you have promised us if you are telling the truth." (Surah Hud, 32)

Before them the people of Nuh denied the truth. They denied Our servant, saying, "He is madman," and he was driven away with jeers.  (Surat al-Qamar, 9)

Nuh (as) tolerated patiently this terrible behaviour and performed his task of summoning them to the truth with sincerity. Yet, when it became obvious that it was not probable for them to reform, he expressed his feelings in regards to their arrogance to Allah and turned Him for help:

He said, "My Lord, I have called my people night and day but my calling has only made them more evasive. Indeed, every time I called them to Your forgiveness, they put their fingers in their ears, wrapped themselves up in their clothes and were overweeningly arrogant. Then I called them openly. Then I addressed them publicly and addressed them privately." (Surah Nuh, 5-9)

Nuh said, "My Lord, they have disobeyed me and followed those whose wealth and children have only increased them in loss. They have hatched a mighty plot saying, ' Do not abandon your gods. Do not abandon Wadd or Suwa' or Yaghuth or Ya' uq or Nasr.' They have misguided many people. Do not increase the wrongdoers in anything but misguidance!" (Surah Nuh, 21-24)

Nuh said, "My Lord! do not leave a single one of the disbelievers on earth!" (Surah Nuh, 26)

Allah answered Nuh' s prayer; their arrogance and denial cost the people of Nuh their lives in this world. In the hereafter, on the other hand, torment also awaited them:

Because of their errors they were drowned and put into the Fire. They found no one to help them besides Allah. (Surah Nuh, 25)

The People of ' Ad

Allah sent the Prophet Hud as His messenger to the people of ' Ad. He summoned them to Allah' s path but was responded to with abuse. The arrogance of the people of ' Ad is related in the Qur' an as follows:

' Ad were arrogant in the land, without any right, saying, "Who has greater strength than us?" Did they not see that Allah, Who created them, had greater strength than them? But they renounced Our Signs.(Surah Fussilat, 15)

Such pride held before Allah is the utmost extent of perversion; theirs was an audacity that no other being would ever dare. They had such a high opinion of their power that their intelligence was marred; they failed to grasp even the most obvious facts. With the power granted to them by Allah-and thus, which could be taken back whenever He willed-they opposed Allah and His messenger. In return, they were cursed both in this world and on the Day of Rising:

That was ' Ad. They denied the Signs of their Lord and disobeyed His Messengers and followed the command of every obdurate tyrant. They were pursued by a curse in the world and on the Day of Rising. Yes indeed! ' Ad rejected their Lord, so away with ' Ad, the people of Hud! (Surah Hud, 59-60)

Thamud

Allah sent the Prophet Salih to Thamud as His messenger. Like all other messengers, the Prophet Salih called his people to the truth, and reminded them about the fact that they had been created, so that they could come to know the truth. Yet, his people clung to their old ways. As related in the Qur' an:

Thamud denied the warnings. They said, "Are we to follow a human being, one of us? Then we would truly be misguided, quite insane! Has the Reminder been given to him of all of us? No indeed! He is an impudent liar." (Surat al-Qamar, 23-25)

Obviously, the Prophet' s possession of human qualities was one of the justifications that misled them. Their deficient rationale accepted obedience only to a supernatural being, an angel for instance, or to someone who could bring about miracles. Their overwhelming arrogance prevented them from obeying another human being. This is why they spoke ill of the messengers, and accused them of being liars.

The Children of Israel

A close read of the Qur' an reveals that the Children of Israel, with their ungratefulness to Allah' s gifts and blessings frequently referred in His Book, have been remembered as the most insolent people in history. Considering what they had gone through in a specific course of time, it is astonishing to see how haughty and obstinate they became, despite all mercy and forgivingness Allah showed them.

As is known, Allah granted the Children of Israel many blessings, and made them superior to other nations. In return, He only asked them to "fulfil His covenant." However, instead of showing sincere loyalty and obedience to Allah, they disobeyed their Lord' s commands, and wronged themselves by overstepping Allah' s limits:

... What has been sent down to you from your Lord increases many of them in insolence and disbelief....(Surat al-Ma' ida, 68)

... We have incited enmity and hatred between them until the Day of Rising. Each time they kindle the fire of war, Allah extinguishes it. They rush about the earth corrupting it. Allah does not love corrupters. (Surat al-Ma' ida, 64)

Allah reveals in the Qur' an that He tested this people many times, with both blessings and difficulties.

As is known, the Children of Israel were a people bound in servitude. Due to the tyrannical rule of Pharaoh, this nation was condemned to centuries of slavery. The governing system of Pharaoh was exceptionally oppressive. The Children of Israel were at the point of despair under the Pharaoh' s regime, who, according to the Qur' an, "let their women live and slaughtered their sons." As a result of these terrible difficulties, Allah sent this enslaved nation the Prophet Musa, who showed them a great miracle by "parting the sea," and rescued them from the cruel authority of Pharaoh:

Tribe of Israel! Remember the blessing I conferred on you and that I preferred you over all other beings.(Surat al-Baqara, 47)

Remember when We rescued you from the people of Pharaoh. They were inflicting an evil punishment on you-slaughtering your sons and letting your women live. In that there was a terrible trial for you from your Lord. (Surat al-Baqara, 49)

And when We parted the sea for you and rescued you, and drowned the people of Pharaoh while you watched. (Surat al-Baqara, 50)

This miracle, for which anyone whose heart is not hardened would lead him to glorify Allah, did not inspire the fear of Allah into their hearts or make them humble. Instead of accentuating their faith, they exceeded Allah' s limits when Musa (as) had left them for a while. They even dared to idolize a calf, and thereby, showed extraordinary perversity:

Musa brought you the Clear Signs; then, after he left, you adopted the Calf and were wrongdoers. Remember when We made a covenant with you and lifted up the Mount above your heads: "Take hold vigorously of what We have given you and listen." They said, "We hear and disobey." They were made to drink the Calf into their hearts because of their disbelief. Say, "If you are believers, what an evil thing your faith has made you do."(Surat al-Baqara, 92-93)

The deviance and arrogance these people were guilty of, revealed in the Qur' an as a lesson to mankind, are not limited to this story alone. This nation, which failed to show gratitude for Allah' s forgiveness, were guilty of many other examples of insolence.

For instance, Allah bestowed upon the nation of Israel many blessings so that they would become grateful. In return for these blessings, though, He only wanted them to enter through the gate of a town filled with gifts to them and prostrate in humility. But, they wronged themselves, and rebelled against Allah:

And We shaded you with clouds and sent down manna and quails to you: "Eat of the good things We have provided for you." They did not wrong Us; rather it was themselves they were wronging. Remember when We said, "Go into this town and eat from it wherever you like, freely. Enter the gate prostrating and say, ' Relieve us of our burdens!' Your mistakes will be forgiven. We will grant increase to all good-doers." But those who did wrong substituted words other than those they had been given. So We sent down a plague from heaven on those who did wrong because they were deviators.(Surat al-Baqara, 57-59)

Another example of them given in the Qur' an is their saying that they could not tolerate a single kind of food when they were told to eat and drink Allah' s provision. Their not being contented with what Allah had miraculously provided for them, and asking for other types of food, is a clear evidence that they were far from comprehending the religion that is pleasing Allah. The extent of their lack of gratitude, and how they were repaid in this world for their wrongdoing, are all related in the Qur' an as follows:

And when you said, "Musa, we will not put up with just one kind of food so ask your Lord to supply to us some of what the earth produces-its green vegetables, cucumbers, grains, lentils and onions," he (Musa) said, "Do you want to replace what is better with what is inferior? Go back to Egypt, then you will have what you are asking for." Abasement and destitution were stamped upon them. They brought down anger from Allah upon themselves. That was because they rejected Allah' s Signs and killed the Prophets without any right to do so. That was because they rebelled and went beyond the limits. (Surat al-Baqara, 61)

Another irreverent form of behaviour of the Children of Israel was the manner of responding to the messenger when he told them of Allah' s commands. The answers they offered revealed their pride and impudence:

And when Musa said to his people, "Allah commands you to sacrifice a cow," they said, "What! Are you making a mockery of us?" He said, "I seek refuge with Allah from being one of the ignorant!"(Surat al-Baqara, 67)

"My people! Enter the Holy Land which Allah has ordained for you. Do not turn back in your tracks and so become transformed into losers." (Surat Al-Ma' ida, 21)

They said, "We will never enter it, Musa, as long as they are there. So you and your Lord go and fight. We will stay sitting here."  (Surat al-Ma' ida, 24)

Such bold pronouncements, uttered against Allah' s command, are a lesson for the believers. Surely, repayment for the behaviour of the people of Musa (as) will be severe in the hereafter. In the Qur' an, Allah informs us about the punishment they will receive, in return for their perverse behaviour that led them into such serious blasphemy:

What an evil thing they have sold themselves for in rejecting what Allah has sent down, outraged that Allah should send down His favour on whichever of His servants He wills. They have brought down anger upon anger on themselves. The disbelievers will have a humiliating punishment.(Surat al-Baqara, 90)

As the verses make clear, the sole reason underlying their rebelliousness was their arrogance. Out of jealousy, they begrudged the prophets, and were reluctant to acknowledge their authority. In brief, the reason of their obstinacy, resistance and irreverence was their arrogance. Thus, they will be remembered in history as that nation which persistently defied and molested their prophets. Surely, this behaviour of theirs did not remain unanswered; because they deviated from the straight path, they earned eternal punishment:

Remember when Musa said to his people, "My people, why do you mistreat me when you know that I am the Messenger of Allah to you?" So when they deviated, Allah made their hearts deviate. Allah does not guide people who are deviators.  (Surat as-Saff, 5)

The Children of Israel did not become arrogant only against the Prophet Musa, but to all messengers Allah had sent to them. As a matter of fact, there were times when their arrogance led them even to kill their messengers:

... Why then, whenever a Messenger came to you with something your lower selves did not desire, did you grow arrogant, and deny some of them and murder others? (Surat al-Baqara, 87)

Maintaining their excessively proud and unruly manner, the Children of Israel opposed also Talut (Saul), a king appointed to them as a leader, just prior to the time of the Prophet Dawud:

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

Only one of the miracles witnessed by the Children of Israel would otherwise be sufficient for a person of faith to be guided to the fear of Allah. However, although Allah forgave the Children of Israel and showed them mercy time and time again, they behaved rudely and fomented great corruption on earth. This clearly shows that Allah disarmed the understanding of this nation, blinded their eyes, and deafened their ears, on account of their wrongdoing. The recompense of the Children of Israel, who will be remembered as a disobedient nation, is again stated in the Qur' an. This nation is a lesson to all arrogant people, who became corrupt because of the blessings imparted to them, and who seek to cause corruption on earth.

The People of the Prophet Muhammad (saas)

The Prophet Muhammad (saas) also related to his people that he was Allah' s messenger, and that they must obey him:

Say: "Mankind! I am the Messenger of Allah to you all, of Him to Whom the kingdom of the heavens and earth belongs. There is no god but Him. He gives life and causes to die." So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the Ummi, who believes in Allah and His words, and follow him so that hopefully you will be guided. (Surat al-A' raf, 158)

The Prophet Muhammad (saas) summoned his people to the path of Allah. However, their response was as follows:

Furthermore they say, "A muddled jumble of dreams!' and, "He has invented it!" and, "He is a poet!" and, "Let him bring us a Sign like those sent to previous peoples."(Surat al-Anbiya' , 5)

His people did not offer this reply because they were unable to grasp the message brought by the Prophet. It was, in actuality, a sign of their insolence. Just like the nations before them, they denied the prophet because of their pride and arrogance. Allah relates the comportment of the disbelievers in the Qur' an as follows:

When they were told, "There is no god but Allah," they were arrogant. They said, "Are we to forsake our gods for a mad poet?"(Surat as-Saffat, 35-36)

Just like the nations of the past, the idolaters of Mecca also did not accept Muhammad (saas) as a prophet, out of their conceit and desire for fallacious superiority. They maintained that the Prophet was a poet, although they did not themselves believe it. Furthermore, they alleged that he himself fabricated all the things he told, and thus, accused him of lies.

The similarity of these slanders to the words of the former nations, demonstrates that this is part of Allah' s immutable law. Yet, there is another immutable law of Allah: according to which, both in this world and beyond, Allah humiliates and inflicts punishment upon those who deny His messengers, and become arrogant towards them...

The similarity of the words used by all nations to confront their messengers is quite striking. A time difference of hundreds of years, even cultural and geographical dissimilarities, does not matter. Disbelievers, of all ages, who failed to see or ignored the truth because of their arrogance, shared a common character trait. They all followed the same pattern and adopted the very same tactics. Surely, their ends corresponded to their behaviour, and ultimately, they were repaid with humiliating punishment.

The Qur' an informs us about that many nations have existed, who were also afflicted with anguish before the ultimate torment of Hell. The People of the Thicket, Madyan, al-Hijr, Lut, and the Companions of the Well are only a few of these. And, many other nations, having existed in different times and places, perished for the very same reason:

How many wrongdoing cities We destroyed, and now all their roofs and walls are fallen in; how many abandoned wells and stuccoed palaces! (Surat al-Hajj, 45)