The Qur’an makes frequent reference to the fact that the Meccans rejected the idea of the resurrection and judgement of the dead. At the rise of Islam, it seems that most Arabs believed that a measure of immortality could be gained only by performing heroic deeds for the sake of one’s tribe, in the hope that later generations would continue to relate stories of these deeds after one’s death. In this way, the hero’s name might live on, and this was as much immortality as a man could hope for. The Qur’an indicates that Meccans were not unaware of the concept of life after death; however, they simply did not find the idea compelling. Their response to the concept seems to have been based on a combination of pragmatism and materialism: although for generations the idea of the resurrection of the dead had been professed by some individuals, until now, no one had ever witnessed a person being resurrected; rather, all they ever witnessed was the physical decay and eventual annihilation of all traces of the dead. In response, the Qur’an tries to engage their imaginations to think beyond their material experiences and to show that in their rather detached belief in a transcendent God lay the possibility of a greater purpose for humanity:

They say, “When we have died and become dust and bones will we be resurrected?

This was promised to us and to our forefathers before and it is nothing but tales of the ancients.”

Say (in response) “To whom belongs the earth and everyone who is in it if you have knowledge?”

They will say, “To God.”

Say, “Will you not then remember (Him)?”

Say, “Who is the Lord of the seven heavens and the Lord of the great throne?”

They will say “(That is) for God.”

Say, “In whose hand is the dominion of all things, and He extends protection but there is no protection from Him, if you have knowledge?”

They will say, “God.”

Say, “Then how are you bewitched?”

(Mu’minun; 23:82-89)

This passage was interesting as it presents the promise of afterlife as having not been a serious motive for the conversion of many Arabs to Islam. The belief in an afterlife is historically extremely common, and the lack thereof among Arabs in this time period shows a unique aspect of the culture.The lack of a belief in an afterlife seems surprisingly pessimistic (especially combined with a belief in God), as in many cultures religious beliefs served as motivation for heroic behavior. Furthermore, the belief that the only form of immortality that could be attained was that which lived on through tales of heroic deeds performed for the sake of one’s tribe demonstrates divisions in the Middle East at this time, as individuals worked not towards the benefit of a larger idea of a nation or ethnicity, but their own tribe. That the Meccans did not find the idea of an afterlife compelling is fascinating, as it is a historic argument that many individuals likely converted either to reap the potential rewards of an afterlife or the avoid the punishments for heresy that came with it. The Qur’an presents the idea of a larger purpose for humanity, beyond that of merely one’s own tribe. Such an idea would be especially useful in uniting people splintered and fragmented among varying tribes of differing loyalties, and as can be seen historically the Mohammed and the Qur’an helped to do just that. The lack of the belief in an afterlife must have been a common enough difficulty for Mohammed if the Qur’an itself addresses how to confront those who do not believe.