Page 70 - The Struggle of the Messengers

68 The Struggle of the Messengers

full well that these deities cannot talk." He said: "Do you
worship, instead of Allah, that which cannot help or harm you
in any way? Shame on you and what you worship besides
Allah! Will you not use your intellect?" (Surat al-Anbiya', 51-
67)

The Struggle between a Messenger and

Representatives of the Religion of the Ancestors

So far we have dealt with the struggle between a Messenger
and the unbelievers' leaders. But there are other groups who, for
various reasons, also oppose a Messenger. In addition, it would be
wrong to imagine all the "elite" as one; there are different groups
among this section of society. In the pages that follow we shall be
looking at these groups as described in the Qur'an.
Among the most important of these groups are those people
who practice the superstitious religion of their ancestors and
oppose the true religion as proclaimed by a Messenger.
Earlier, when we spoke of a society that does not know Allah,
we said that this group had separated themselves from the
essence of religious moral values and disregarded Allah's
manifest existence. But in nearly every ignorant society revealed

in the Qur'an there is some religious belief. In some aspects it may
resemble Allah's religion, but its essence is quite different. True
religion is based on knowing and serving Allah alone, being
devoted to Him and to nothing else, and following His
Messengers. But these misguided people's concept of religion is
based on their devotion to their ancestors and the determination
to continue their superstitious traditions. This religion may often