Why was Muhammad not warmly received in his own city when he returned with his divine revelation?

Answer 1

Answer: Two reasons: 1) because people don't want to obey God - they are too busy enjoying themselves in this short, silly life, and 2) because the people of Mecca earned their wealth and earned the respect of all the Arabian tribes because of the idols they placed around the Kaabah in Mecca. Muhammad came to tell them that all of their idols were false gods - and that only the One God is the true God.

Answer 2

I've been recently studying about origins and spread of Islam.

Muhammad's preaching wasn't accepted by Makkans because Muhammad supported monotheism (believing in 1 God) and others supported polytheism (believing in more than 1 god).

Merchants: they thought if Islam and its montheism spread, then less pilgrims would visit Makkah for idols in Ka'bah, which would be bad for their business.

Rich People: One of Muhammad's teachings is to share wealth with the poor and donate, however the rich people did not want to give away their wealth.

Leaders: They feared that Muhammad would seize political power if Islam spread, threatening their position.

Source (but not directly copied from it. these are my own words):

History Alive! The Medieval World and Beyond

(it's a textbook)

Answer 3

Abu Sufyan and the Meccans did not oppose Muhammad arbitrarily. They had specific grievances, which included:

Preserving Religious Plurality: Abu Sufyan opposed Muhammad because the religious plurality permitted in Mecca was critical for maintaining Mecca's important position along the Arabian trade routes. It was on account of the fact that Mecca was holy site for all Arabian faiths that spared it from internal conflict and allowed the flourishing of commerce in the city. Muhammad made clear that he intended to purge the idols from the Kaaba which would cause mass uproar and ended Mecca's position as a holy site for all Arabians.

Of course, what Abu Sufyan did not take into account is that nearly all Arabians would convert to Islam after the fall of Mecca.

Keeping His Own Power: Abu Sufyan was one of the Chief Leaders of the Qoreish Tribe and one of the most powerful men in all of Arabia. Should Mecca fall to the Muslims, he would certainly lose substantial power. Many Muslims hold that he was corrupt as well, meaning that he stood to face criminal acts if he were subject to Muhammad's authority.

Protecting Commerce: During Muhammad's Medinan Period, Muhammad organized and executed numerous raids on caravans heading to and leaving from Mecca, causing disruption to Arabian trade routes. Since Abu Sufyan was in an important position in Mecca, this was something he would be expected to ameliorate.

Polytheism: It was likely that Abu Sufyan was fighting in defense of Arabian henotheist religion to which he ascribed against Muhammad who would demand that he abandon all gods but Allah.