The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume I — Page 188
Seal of the Prophets - Volume I 188 distinctions, developed a universal brotherhood, and brought both master and slave in the same row before God the Almighty. For the chieftains of the Quraish, this was no less than a cup of death. 5. Many people of influence and wealth existed among the Quraish. Despite the fact that the Holy Prophet sa , belonged to a noble dynasty, he possessed neither. In other words, due to his reclusive disposition, he was not among the chieftains of the Quraish, nor was he distinct in terms of his money and wealth. In this case, to act in obedience to the Holy Prophet sa , for the leaders of the Quraish, was a sacrifice of such magnitude as they were not at all ready to make. It is for this reason that they would say: “Why has not this Qur’ān been sent down to some great man of Makkah or Ṭā ’ if?” 1 6. In addition to these causes, another reason was that between the various tribes of the Quraish, there existed extreme hostility and enmity. As such the remaining tribes were in no way prepared to accept the superiority of the tribe of the Holy Prophet sa over their own. The tribes of the Banū Umaiyyah and Banū Makhzūm particularly harboured great enmity against the Banū Hāshim. For this reason, these two tribes were most fervent in their opposition to Islām. Chieftains among the Infidels Among the Quraish, those who fiercely opposed Islām, and were considered the leaders of others in this movement, were not entirely of the same disposition. Some possessed personal decency, and in their own way desired to deal in goodness. Others, however, on account of their haughtiness, could not accept obedience to the Holy Prophet sa and were also exasperated due to the notion that the religion of their forefathers was being destroyed by various so-called ‘vain idealists’. Among them, the following seem to stand out: Firstly, Muṭ‘im bin ‘Adiyy who was from the Banū Nawfal and was among the chieftains of the Quraish. Muṭ‘im was a staunch idolater but observed as much 1 Az-Zukhruf (43:32)