sent anyone to them before Noah. Allah Most High also says:

“And the people of Noah—when they denied the messengers, We drowned them.”

Likewise, any heretic or adherent of philosophy who disparages the messengers as a whole, as discussed above, by claiming that they did not know the truth or did not explain it, thereby denies all the messengers. Such people are like those of whom He says:

“Those who deny the Book and that with which We sent Our messengers will come to know, when, with shackles around their necks and in chains, they are dragged through scalding water, then burned in the Fire.”

Allah Most High also says:

“When their messengers came to them with clear proofs, they rejoiced in the knowledge they possessed, but they were overwhelmed by what they used to ridicule. Then, when they saw Our punishment, they said, ‘We believe in Allah alone and reject what we used to associate with Him.’ But their faith could not benefit them once they had seen Our punishment. Such has been Allah’s established way with His servants. And there the disbelievers lost everything.”

Allah Most High says concerning al-Walīd:

“He thought and deliberated. May he be destroyed! How he deliberated! Again, may he be destroyed! How he deliberated! Then he looked, then frowned and scowled, then turned away arrogantly and said, ‘This is nothing but magic handed down. This is nothing but the speech of a human being.’”

Among the People of the Book are those who believe in messengership in principle but deny some messengers, such as the Messiah and Muhammad. Because they believed in some and disbelieved in others, they were truly disbelievers.

Many philosophers and esotericists, and many practitioners of speculative theology and Sufism, neither explicitly deny the messengers nor believe in the reality of prophethood and messengership. Rather, they acknowledge their excellence in general, while maintaining that others are more knowledgeable