We have all heard and read accounts from different religions about the supposedly enlightened or divinely inspired people who preach new religions to their people and claim that they are "guiding" them to the "truth." What is also common is that we are put in the shoes of the preacher of the new religion, not the receiver thereof. Therefore, I think it is worth exploring the perspective of the disbelievers—or the kuffar, in Islamic terms.
Imagine there were a charismatic, sociable fellow named Hossam. Further imagine that Hossam one day claimed to have been visited by an entity of indescribable immensity and that he has been chosen to deliver a message to you, a message containing a new religion that is wholly different from Islam, Christianity, or whatever religion you currently follow. He claims that you have been wrong your entire life and that you are misguided and in need of deliverance from your sins.
But Hossam is an ambitious man, and he takes it a step further: he preaches that you will inevitably go to an eternal abode where you will suffer endless torture if you don't accept his new religion. Furthermore, he says that the omnipotent, omniscient deity who sent him has chosen him above all of creation, and that he is more exalted and loved by his deity than the greatest archangels.
Most people in the 21st century would laugh at Mr. Hossam; however, he believes that their laughter will only incite the wrath of his deity upon them and that they will eventually suffer greatly for their mockery of the "truth" revealed to him by his god. Most Muslims and Christians today would call Hossam a mentally ill man and may even physically hurt him and call him a blatant liar. Whether you personally agree with Hossam or not, he believes that he has the ultimate truth from the lord of all of creation. He is ready to fight wars, lose friends, and even claim that family members are in Hell according to his new religion.
If you reject Hossam as a liar or a mentally ill or unstable man, then you probably understand where the Pagan Arabs of the 7th century were coming from. The only difference between you and the 7th century kuffar, then, is that you live in an age where there is so much information and scientific knowledge that such claims of prophecy can easily be dismissed as nothing more than hoaxes or products of mental illness.
Hossam is a hypothetical fellow today, but he actually existed in the 7th century. The only difference is that his name was Muhammad.
Imagine there were a charismatic, sociable fellow named Hossam. Further imagine that Hossam one day claimed to have been visited by an entity of indescribable immensity and that he has been chosen to deliver a message to you, a message containing a new religion that is wholly different from Islam, Christianity, or whatever religion you currently follow. He claims that you have been wrong your entire life and that you are misguided and in need of deliverance from your sins.
But Hossam is an ambitious man, and he takes it a step further: he preaches that you will inevitably go to an eternal abode where you will suffer endless torture if you don't accept his new religion. Furthermore, he says that the omnipotent, omniscient deity who sent him has chosen him above all of creation, and that he is more exalted and loved by his deity than the greatest archangels.
Most people in the 21st century would laugh at Mr. Hossam; however, he believes that their laughter will only incite the wrath of his deity upon them and that they will eventually suffer greatly for their mockery of the "truth" revealed to him by his god. Most Muslims and Christians today would call Hossam a mentally ill man and may even physically hurt him and call him a blatant liar. Whether you personally agree with Hossam or not, he believes that he has the ultimate truth from the lord of all of creation. He is ready to fight wars, lose friends, and even claim that family members are in Hell according to his new religion.
If you reject Hossam as a liar or a mentally ill or unstable man, then you probably understand where the Pagan Arabs of the 7th century were coming from. The only difference between you and the 7th century kuffar, then, is that you live in an age where there is so much information and scientific knowledge that such claims of prophecy can easily be dismissed as nothing more than hoaxes or products of mental illness.
Hossam is a hypothetical fellow today, but he actually existed in the 7th century. The only difference is that his name was Muhammad.