Page 30 - The Struggle of the Messengers

28 The Struggle of the Messengers

judgments they are jealous of someone who is not a member of the
elite assuming a leadership position and evaluate matters in the
light of their own unpleasant logic.

These Leaders Cannot Appreciate What
Messengers Are

The major characteristic of unbelievers, especially of their
leaders, is that they cannot evaluate a situation according to the
dictates of their conscience. This is described in detail in the
Qur'an. And there is no doubt that this characteristic also applies
to the leading unbelievers. One of the clearest indications of this is
their inability to understand what a Messenger is: an envoy of
Allah sent to direct a society in His way. This is certainly an
important responsibility, but the leaders cannot grasp this
subtlety and so regard a Messenger as an ordinary individual, the
same as themselves. Naturally, they evaluate his message in terms
of their own distorted logic and silly traditions and rules, which

are not based upon the Qur'an.
One of the strictest rules and traditions concerns a leader's
qualifications. As a general rule, one who wants to lead a society
must have certain material qualifications: a good lineage or
wealth. In other words, he must be a member of a class that
regards itself, in its own eyes, as the elite .
Unbelievers interpret a Messenger's message according to this
distorted logic. In their unintelligent eyes, "if Allah is to have a
Messenger," he must be someone from their group: wealthy or
well known. They believe that someone who does not come from
their social class cannot be Allah's Messenger and, therefore,
cannot be a leader. This foolishness inflicts great losses and