as all these men of old were the peculiar favourites of heaven, so now he,
the greatest of the Prophets, was the special recipient of God's grace. As they
were treated with scorn, so was he.
In the Sura Al-Qamar(liv) stories of the prophets are repeated and an account
of the opposition they met with is given. The general position is stated in:
They have treated the prophets as impostors and follow their own lusts. 3.
They called Noah an impostor and rejected him; the people of Lot treated his
warning as a lie. To the people of Pharaoh came the threatening but they too
treated miracles as impostures. Then turning to the people of Mecca, Muhammad
says:
Are your infidels, O Meccans, better than these?
Is there an exemption for you in the sacred Books? 43.
Taste ye the touch of hell. 48.
In the Sura Ash-Shu'ara'(xxvi) it is shown how Moses, Noah, Lot, and other
prophets were treated with scorn and accused of imposture. These stories are
related at great length and the conclusion drawn is that the opposition of the
Meccans to Muhammad is, judging from the past, just what a true prophet might
expect; but this did not justify the conduct of the Meccans who are sternly
rebuked in the words:
Shall I declare unto you upon whom the devils descend. They descend upon
every lying and wicked person. 221.
But all those who thus scoff and mock should take warning by the punishment
which came to the