9.3 Reasoning of Quraysh's Leaders At first the leading men of Quraysh had no objection to Mohamed personally but only to the revelation he brought and the concepts it contained. When they saw how Mohamed was revered, how people listened attentively when he taught and when he read the Koran, they became jealous of him. They could no longer deny the beauty and majesty of the Koran, they could no longer ignore the truth and justice of its precepts, so they began to tell each other that they would have believed in the Koran if only it had descended upon someone other than Mohamed. Why was he chosen from among all the men of Quraysh? And they named two men in particular, two men of great wealth and power, one in Mecca, the other in Taif, a rich city which the nobles of Quraysh had made their summer resort. The Koran quotes their own words to them, then answers them with the following arguments: "And they said, 'If only this Koran were sent down upon one of the chiefs of the two cities.' Are they distributing your Lord's mercy? It is We who distribute their livelihoods upon them in the life of this world and raise some above others in degrees so that they subjugate them, and your Lord's mercy is better than all they collect." (43:31,32)