Muhammad the Prophet of Mercy

10. Is this the one whom
Allah has sent
as a Messenger?

The shallow criteria, such as power and wealth, by which the Quraish
judged people barred them from the truth. Had the Qur’an been sent down to one
of the chiefs of Quraish, perhaps they might have believed in it:

(And they say, “Why is not this Qur’an
sent down to some great man of the two towns (Makkah and Ta’if)?”)1

Al-Walid bin Al-Mughirah is reported to have said, “Had prophethood
been true, I would have been more entitled to it than you. I am older and
wealthier than you.”2

They begrudged the
gift of prophethood that Allah U bestowed upon Muhammad r. They deemed it to be too implausible that
Allah would choose from among them a poor orphan, who was not a chief or a
ruler, as His Messenger. They arrogantly expressed their doubt, saying as the
Noble Qur’an relates: (Has the Reminder (the Qur’an) been sent
down to him from among us?
)3

Their disapproval of the
Choice of Allah is answered with a question, angry and reproachful: Are
they the owners of Allah’s Mercy and Blessings to give and not to
give?

(Or
do they have the treasures (depositories) of the Mercy of your Lord, the
Exalted in Might, the Real Bestower? Or is theirs the dominion of the heavens
and the earth and what is between them? If so, let them ascend with means (to
the heavens)!)4

Nothing can grant or withhold the Mercy of Allah U:

(Whatever
Allah grants to people of mercy (i.e. of good), none can withhold it; and
whatever He withholds, none can grant it thereafter. And He is the Exalted in
Might, the All-Wise.)5

Humans
own nothing of whatever is in the heavens or on the earth. Allah bestows of His
Blessings and Mercy upon whom He wills of His servants and chooses those He
knows are the worthiest of good. He showers His endless Bounties on them,
without limit, without end.6