Quran 21:36 · Al-Anbya

The gods of the Quraysh were, in reality, the great ones of the community. On the one hand, there was their imaginary greatness which was imbedded in their minds. On the other hand, there was the Prophet, whose image at that time was not more elevated than that of an ordinary man. In this comparison, the Prophet appeared, indeed, to be an ordinary man with no special merit. They used to ask contemptuously, ‘Is this the man who criticises our great men, who rejects the religion of these great men which we follow, and seeks to introduce a new religion?’ The Prophet Muhammad used to invite people to accept the oneness of God. But these people were not interested in God. All their interests were centred round their great men, whom they had elevated to the status of gods. As it was these false gods who were affected by the call of the Prophet, their devotees became his deadly opponents. They forgot that, by rejecting the false gods, he was presenting the cause of the real God and not promoting his own self.