Quran 5:67 · Al-Ma'idah

When the Prophet Muhammad appeared in Arabia , it was not the case that there was nobody professing religion there at that time. The whole of Arabian society was founded on religion. It was in the name of religion that many people had assumed positions of prominence and leadership. Being holders of high religious positions was the symbol of a high status in society and something to be proud of. In spite of this, the Prophet had to endure the worst type of opposition from the people of Arabia. The reason for this was the prevalence among them of a new self-made religion which had usurped the real religion of God. In this region, centuries of tradition had resulted in the formation of various seats of power and centres of vested interests. This being the situation, when the Prophet gave a call for pure religion, the people felt that it was damaging to their religious status. They were afraid that once this pure religion took root, the old religious order which had given them prominent status would be destroyed. Such a state of affairs is very hard on the preacher of the word of God. Openly pursuing his religious activities becomes equivalent to struggling against the established religious authorities of the time. He feels that if he makes no compromises in propagating true religion, he shall have to face the most severe reaction; he will be ridiculed; he will be degraded; he will become impoverished, violent action will be taken against him; and he will be deprived of all assistance and support. Now he has two ways open to him. He can either take worldly considerations into account, in which case successful communication of the word of God appears impossible. Or he can ignore  the constraints of worldly considerations, in which case in fulfilling his responsibilities, God’s promise of help will assist him to concentrate. God promises that if he focuses fully on preaching, His help will be enough in case of any difficulties created by the addressee community. The purveyor of God’s will should simply trust in God. The reaction of the addressee community is natural and the preacher has to face it at all events. But its sphere is limited to the scope of God’s Law relating to the trial of man. It can never happen that opponents gain control of the situation to the extent of stopping the preacher’s work or preventing its completion. Achieving the target of such work is the plan of God. So, it will inevitably be completed. Thereafter, acceptance by the addressee group is its own responsibility, and can be effective only to the extent the addressees desire.