Surah Ha-Mim as-Sajdah, Footnote 30

This was one of the schemes of the disbelievers of Mecca by which they sought to defeat the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) mission of calling people to the truth. They knew very well what tremendous impact the Qur’an carried within it, what caliber of man it was who recited it, and how effective his manner of delivery was combined with his personal standing. They understood that whoever heard this matchless discourse recited by the tongue of such an exalted person would, in the end, inevitably be moved to the core. So they devised this plan: neither listen to this discourse yourselves nor let anyone else listen to it. Whenever Muhammad (peace be upon him) began to recite it, raise a commotion, clap your hands, jeer, hurl a barrage of objections, and raise your voices loud enough that his voice would be drowned out against them. Through this strategy, they hoped they would succeed in defeating God’s Prophet.