Overview (Verses 123 - 124)

Who May be Entrusted with a Divine Message?
 
By the same token and for the same reasons, God has placed in every land criminals who enjoy a position of power so that they can scheme and plot. Their scheming allows the test to be completed, and God’s will to take effect. Everyone is thus able to follow the path made easy and reap his reward at the end of the day: “And thus in every city have We placed arch-criminals so that they weave their schemes there. But it is only against themselves that they scheme, though they do not perceive it.” (Verse 123)
 
It is an aspect of the law God has set in operation that in every main or capital city, a group of those who have power and are hardened in sin take a very hostile attitude towards divine faith. This is due to the fact that divine faith begins by depriving such people of the power which enables them to establish their authority over others, making them subservient and for whom they claim they have the power to legislate. It re-establishes God’s authority as He is indeed the Lord, King and God of mankind. It is part of the laws of human nature that God sends His messengers with the truth which deprives those who claim Godhead of every aspect of lordship and authority over mankind. Hence, such people declare their opposition to the divine faith and to God’s messengers. They weave their schemes and try to inspire one another with deceptive falsehoods, cooperating with the evil ones among the jinn to try to win their battle against the truth and divine guidance. Thus they work hard spreading falsehood and error, deceiving people with their scheming.
 
The fight is inevitable because it is caused by the inherent and complete opposition between the basic principle of faith, which declares that all sovereignty belongs to God, and the ambitions of those criminals occupying positions of power. Every prophet will inevitably fight this battle because he cannot avoid it. Similarly, those who believe in a prophet will inevitably be engaged in this battle to the end. God reassures the believers that no matter how great and powerful the scheming of these criminals may appear to be, it will inevitably turn against them in the end. The believers are not alone in this battle, because God is their patron. That is sufficient for them, because it is He who makes the scheming of the criminals turn against them: “But it is only against themselves that they scheme, though they do not perceive it.” (Verse 123) Let the believers then be reassured.
 
The sūrah then reveals the arrogant nature of those who are hostile towards God’s messengers and His religion. It is their arrogance which prevents them from surrendering themselves to God because that would place them on the same level as the rest of God’s servants. They want a place of distinction to preserve their positions among their followers. They feel that it is beneath them to believe in the Prophet after having enjoyed a position of lordship over others. Hence, they come out with their singularly stupid declaration: “When a sign comes to them, they say: ‘We shall not believe unless we are given the same as God’s messengers were given.’“ (Verse 124)
 
Al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah, one of the tribal chiefs of the Quraysh, said to the Prophet: “Had prophethood been true, I would have been more entitled to it than you, because I am older and richer than you.” Abū Jahl, the most hardened opponent of Islam among the Quraysh said: “By God, we shall never accept or follow Muĥammad, unless we are given revelations just as he receives.”
 
It is clear that their self-esteem and the special position they enjoyed among their followers and the fact that their orders were obeyed were the real reasons to justify their opposition and hostility to God’s messengers and the divine faith. God replies to their singular statement by making it clear first that the question of choosing messengers to be entrusted with His message is something that He determines in accordance with His knowledge of who may be trusted with it. He then warns them that they will suffer great humiliation: “God knows best whom to entrust with His message. Humiliation before God and severe suffering will befall those guilty of evildoing for all their scheming.” (Verse 124)
 
The divine message is something very serious because it provides a link between God’s will and a single one of His servants, and between the supreme society and the limited world of human beings. Through the message a linkage is made between heaven and earth, this life and the life to come. The eternal truth is placed in human hearts and implemented in human society and becomes the initiator of historical events. A human being is purged of every trace of self-interest so that he or she may be totally dedicated to God, not only in intention, purpose and action, but in their whole being. Thus, God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) has a direct link with this truth and its source. Such a direct link can only be established with a soul that is worthy of this honour, of receiving the truth directly without impediments. God alone knows whom to entrust with His message. He chooses that person from among billions of people, and assigns to him his mission.
 
Those who aspire to be given that honour or demand that they be given similar revelations are unsuitable by their very nature for this task, because they think themselves to be the pivot around which the whole universe turns. Messengers are of a totally different nature, because they receive their message with complete surrender, dedicate themselves to it and have no aspirations or ambitions of their own: “You could never aspire to that this Book would be offered to you, but it [came to you] only by the grace of your Lord.” (28: 86) Moreover, such people are ignorant of the seriousness of the divine message and do not know that it is God alone who chooses His messengers. Hence, God gives them His decisive answer: “God knows best whom to entrust with His message.” (Verse 124) He certainly chose for it the noblest souls among His creation and the most dedicated of them. These were the messengers of whom Muĥammad was the last.
 
This is followed with a warning that humiliation and severe suffering awaits those criminals: “Humiliation before God and severe suffering will befall those guilty of evildoing for all their scheming.” (Verse 124) The humiliation is an answer to their arrogance and their impudent aspiration to be given divine messages. Their severe suffering is a fitting retribution for their scheming and hostility towards God’s messengers and the believers.