Yahya - Justice and Tolerance in the Qur'an (2003)

THE PROPHETS HAVE BROUGHT JUSTICE
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their race, religion or language. People were forced to work
under very hard conditions, and were virtually tortured.
In commercial life, under the burden of the interestridden
system, small-scale businesses disappeared, whereas
the wealthy tended to extravagant consumption. Some of
these immoral acts became almost like traditions. For
instance, the Arabs of the ignorant age who raided and
plundered commercial caravans sold their spoils at very low
prices and influenced market conditions. Sometimes, they
kept these goods deliberately and generated a black market.
In the Qur'an, God gives information about the desert
Arabs who made up the majority of society before the time of
the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). This society's disinclination
to comply with the words of the messenger is related in the
following verse:
The desert Arabs are the worst in disbelief and
hypocrisy, and more fitted to be ignorant of the limits
which God has sent down to His Messenger. But God
is Knowing, Wise. (Qur'an, 9:97)
The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was sent to such
ignorant people to summon them to good morals and the
right path. No difficulty could shake his commitment. He
communicated God's message to a tribe which was
particularly inclined to disbelief, and was throughout his life
a role model for them. As also stated in the verse below, he
called on his people to be just:
Say: "My Lord has commanded justice..." (Qur'an, 7:29)
The message of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), coupled
with his good morals, had a great impact all over the Arabian