ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Theological Instructions LESSON THIRTY: PROPHETS AND PEOPLE Introduction When referring to the prophets (a) and their illustrious lives, the Holy Qur’an discloses the reactions of the people against them. On one side we are informed about the stance the people took towards the prophets and the reasons for their opposition.

On the other side the methods employed by the prophets to guide and educate the people are explained and the way in which they struggled against the roots of disbelief, polytheism, and deviation. The Holy Qur’an upholds Divine regulations for governing societies, particularly with reference to the mutual relationships between people and prophets. Such discussions include the most instructive and insightful issues. These points are not in direct relation with ideological or discoursal points.

This is due to the fact that they shed light on prophecy and its related aspects, and destroy a number of relevant doubts, and due to their importance in teaching and educating people and functioning as examples for the people to learn from, they are considered to be vital. Therefore, in this lesson, I will discuss some of the most important points of this nature.

The people’s reaction against the prophets (a) When God’s prophets (a) began to invite people to worship the unique God (refer to al-Nahl:36, al-Anbiyā’:25], Fussilat:14, al-Ahqāf:21), obey His orders, stay away from idols and false gods, avoid Satan and other misleaders, and refuse committing oppression, corruption and wrong doing, they generally faced opposition from the people (refer to Ibrāhīm:9, al-Mu’minūn:44).

Such opposers were the rulers of societies, the rich who were drowning in their own worldly pleasures (refer to Saba’:34) and proud of their wealth, social positions, or knowledge (refer to Ghāfir:83, al-Qasas:78, al-Zumar:49). They held great influence and managed to mislead many away from the true path of life (refer to al-Ahzāb:67, Saba’:31-33). Nevertheless, little by little, a group of people who were mainly among the deprived accepted the prophets’ invitation (refer to Hūd:40).

However it has rarely occurred that a society has been formed on the principles of correct beliefs, norms of justice and with obedience to God and His prophets. For instance, this happened at the time of Solomon. Nevertheless, some of the Divine teachings gradually affected the culture of some societies and were later transferred to others.