not merely of that one nation but, through it, of the whole of humanity. He started with that one Force, the Force Divine, which makes possible the impossible — “Read in the name of thy Lord!” “Arise and warn and thy Lord do magnify.” The cause was Divine, and it was on Divine help that its success depended. With every new dawn the task grew harder, and the opposition waxed stronger, until, to an on-looker, there was nothing but disappointment everywhere. Nonetheless, his determination grew stronger with the strength of the opposition and, while in the earlier revelation there were only general statements of the triumph of his cause and the failure of the enemy, those statements became clearer and more definite as the prospects, to all outward appearances, grew more hopeless. Some of these verses in the order of their revelation are: “By the grace of thy Lord thou art not mad. And thine is surely a reward never to be cut off ” (68:2, 3). “Surely We have given thee Abundance of good” (108:1). “Surely with difficulty is ease” (94:5). “And surely the latter state is better for thee than the former. And soon will thy Lord give thee so that thou wilt be well pleased” (93:4, 5). “Surely it is the word of an honoured Messenger, the possessor of strength, having an honourable place with the Lord of the Throne” (81:19, 20). “And during a part of the night, keep awake by it (i.e., the Holy Qur’ān) … maybe, thy Lord will raise thee to a position of great glory” (17:79). “O man! We have not revealed the Qur’ān to thee that thou mayest be unsuccessful” (20:1, 2). “And on that day the believers will rejoice in Allāh’s help” (30:4, 5). “We certainly help Our Messenger, and those who believe, in this world’s life and on the day when the witnesses arise” (40:51). “Blessed is He Who, if He please, will give thee what is better than this: Gardens in which flow rivers. And He will give thee palaces” (25:10). “Allāh has promised those of you who believe and do good that He will surely make them rulers in the earth as He made those before them rulers, and that He will surely establish for them their religion, which He has chosen for them, and that He will surely give them security in exchange after their fear” (24:55). “He it is Who sent His Messenger with the guidance and the religion of Truth, that He may make it prevail over all religions” (48:28).

In like manner, the end of opposition is described more clearly in