Page 74 - The Struggle of the Messengers

72 The Struggle of the Messengers

nothing but pretense, because they have no interest in Allah or His
religion. Allah reveals in the Qur'an that these people, even if they
commit the greatest crime of martyring a Messenger, claim to be
acting in Allah's name. The following is revealed in the Qur'an
about such people:

To the Thamud people We sent their brother Saleh, telling
them to worship Allah... (Surat an-Naml, 45)
They said: "We see you, and those with you, as an evil omen."
He [Saleh] replied: "No, your evil omen is with Allah; you are
merely a people undergoing a trial." A group of nine men in
the city was causing corruption in the land and not putting
things right. They said: "Let us swear an oath with each other
that by Allah we will fall on him and his family in the night
and then say to his protector: 'We did not witness the
destruction of his family, and we are telling the truth.'" They
hatched a plot, and We hatched a plot while they were not
aware. So look at the end result of all their plotting; We utterly
destroyed them and their whole people! (Surat an-Naml, 47-51)
There is another group that uses the name of Allah in their
hostility against a Messenger. Almost every Messenger has
encountered these people who are called "hypocrites" in the
Qur'an.

The Messengers' Struggle against the Hypocrites

Messengers and believers also have to confront the hypocrites
who, unlike the groups discussed above, are "secret deniers" who
appear to be believers. In the Qur'an such people are described as
follows:
Among the people are some who say: "We believe in Allah and