And they called him (peace and blessings be upon him) crazy

Preaching something new (or forgotten) can be an overwhelming task. This is especially true for the Prophets and Messengers (peace be upon them all). After all, what they preached was something that would radically change the fabrics of the society. It was so simple yet so fundamental that people would understand it, but refuse to accept it because of its consequences. It changes the way people would view the world. That God is one and worship Him, obey Him.

Thus, the Prophets and Messengers (peace be upon them all) had oppositions. Usually the rich and the powerful would oppose. Sometimes the whole nation would oppose, leave a few who accept the message. Those who oppose would use character assassination to distract people from the message itself. These opponents would call the Prophets and Messengers as magicians, poets, and even worse, they would call them crazy. While in truth, these Prophets and Messengers are from their own people. And the people always knew they were upright, truthful and just. Having better character than everyone else in the society.

This was also the case for the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). He was given the name Al Amin, the truthful, and everyone knew about his noble character. But when he started spreading God’s word, his opposition called him crazy. But, God gave the Prophet consolation. Reassuring him that he is not. In fact, God revealed that for the Prophet, there is endless praise. It may not have made sense for the opposition at the time, but it sure makes sense now.

After more than one and a half millennia, the Prophet (pbuh) is indeed praised without end. There is no human being on earth that is praised more than him (pbuh). Now there are 2.1 billion Muslims all around the world. And all of them (well most of them) when being recited the name of the Prophet will say “Shallallahu ‘alaihi wa salam”, may God honor him and grant him peace. Muslims praise him in their daily prayers, and because of the time difference between different regions, it is most likely that there is always a Muslim praying somewhere, praising him while doing so. And Muslims all around the world, not even ever meeting him, would burst to tears when remembering him, and long to meet him.

What God has promised is the truth. And no, he (peace and blessings be upon him) is not what they said he was (crazy).

When being rejected by people

Whenever someone brings something new to the people, whether it’s a scientific theory, an invention, an idea, or even only reminding people of what they have forgotten, it is often met with rejection and hostility. This is true with many of the greatest minds of the past, where they were persecuted for their inventions and ideas. This is also true for the Prophets and Messengers of God when they were told to remind/bring the message of the oneness of God to the people.

All the Prophets experienced hardship and challenges throughout their difficult task, but they hung on to their mission. However, in most cases, not many would come to accept what they had to say. The Prophet Noah (AS) preached to his people for more than 900 years to no avail. He even had to bear the pain of watching his own son being amongst the wretched. The Prophet Isa / Jesus (AS) was betrayed by his own people, and many other examples.

We must understand that these Prophets and Messengers are the best of God’s creation. They conveyed the message out of sincerity and love for their people. And you can try to imagine the feeling of advising someone that we love, for him or her only to reject it. This was also true for our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW). He wanted his people to follow the right path – guidance, and was so sad that his people did not listen to him, that the Qur’an mentions that he could have destroyed himself through sorrow.

But God, advised the Prophet (SAW) to not be (sad). Because in truth, it is not in the Prophet’s authority to give guidance to the people, but rather it is God’s. That He guides whomever He wills and leaves astray whomever He wills. That no matter how hard the Prophet tries, he has no power whatsoever in deciding whether someone will be guided or not. If God wanted everyone to be one nation, He could have easily done so. But in fact He didn’t. And we must try to understand the wisdom behind this. That everything has a purpose in their creation. That some were meant to try others.

And so from this we are reminded to be patient and not be overly sad if we are rejected when calling others towards goodness. Because in truth, we have no authority whatsoever in what other people do or decide in their lives. May we all become those who say only what is good and be able to emulate the patience of our beloved Prophets.