(Az-Zukhuruf) 43 : 23
وَكَذَٰلِكَ مَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ فِي قَرْيَةٍ مِنْ نَذِيرٍ إِلَّا قَالَ مُتْرَفُوهَا إِنَّا وَجَدْنَا آبَاءَنَا عَلَىٰ أُمَّةٍ وَإِنَّا عَلَىٰ آثَارِهِمْ مُقْتَدُونَ
And just like that, We have not sent before you any warner in any country except the affluent people of it said: “Indeed, we have found our forefathers upon a practice, and we are following upon their footprints step by step.”
In every period, the affluent, hypocritical transgressors among the people of the concerned Messengers were in the forefront of oppressing the Messengers and the Book they were sent with. See explanation 2: 170; 5: 104; 7: 75-78; and 6: 123.