24 Preface فَقالَ إِن هٰذا إِلّا سِحرٌ يُؤثَرُYusuf AliThen said he:1 “This is nothing but magic, derived from of old;The Commentators understand the reference to be to Walid ibn Mughayrah, who was a wealthy Sybarite, Pagan to the core, and an inveterate enemy to the Prophet. He and Abū Jahl did all they could, from the beginning of the preaching of Islam, to abuse and persecute the Preacher, to run down his doctrine, and to injure those who believed in it. But the meaning for us is much wider. There are Walids in all ages. They cannot understand divine inspiration, and seek to explain its wonderful influence over the lives of men by some such unmeaning formula as “magic”. The eternal Hope is to them mere human delusion!