Foreword

Throughout history, Allah has sent messengers to every society to deliver His Divine message. As we see in the Qur'an, the behavior and moral quality of these special people have been examples to the believers. For this reason, it is important for every believer to learn what they experienced during their lives.

What the Qur'an says about the struggles of the messengers is certainly enlightening and instructive for believers. Prophet Muhammad (saas) is the last messenger. As the Qur'an tells us:

Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but the Messenger of Allah and the Final Seal of the prophets. Allah has knowledge of all things. (Surat al-Ahzab, 40)

But as revealed in another verse, "Or did you suppose that you would enter the Garden without facing the same as those who came before you? Poverty and illness afflicted them, and they were shaken to the point that the messenger and those who believed with him asked: 'When is Allah's help coming?...'" (Surat al-Baqara, 214), future generations will experience similar things to what His messengers have undergone.

Those who are hostile to our Prophet (saas) and other messengers and so try to prevent the spread of the true religion they communicated will harass the believing community following their path. As the Qur'an says: "Allah desires to make things clear to you, to guide you to the correct practices of those before you, and to turn toward you. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise" (Surat an-Nisa', 26). All Muslims will witness this. And so it is very important for them to examine carefully what the Qur'an says about the messengers' struggles.