by Harun Yahya
The basis of idolatry is the preference for a person, or a thing over God, for instance, to prefer somebody's approval to God's, to fear somebody as one fears God or to love him as one loves God…Or to do for an idol what he doesn't do for God, or to make a sacrifice which he does not do for God's approval.
Given the foregoing arguments, it would be a shallow interpretation indeed to define idolatry as the worship of statues. This is surely an argument used by unbelievers to justify their stance. According to their explanation, idolatry ceased when the idols in the Ka'ba were broken at the time the message of Islam was communicated. If this argument were true, then the hundreds of verses warning believers against idolatry, and providing a detailed explanation about it, would have relevance only to a few primitive tribes in our day-a piece of a reasoning quite contradictory to the essence of the Qur'an. Furthermore from the Qur'an which will prevail until the Day of Judgement we understand that, in every age, pagans lived together side by side with believers. The related verse follows:
Strongest among men in enmity to the believers you will find the Jews and Pagans... (Al-Maeda, 82)
Turn back in repentance to God, and fear Him: establish regular prayers, and do not be among those who associate other gods with God Turn to Him, be careful of your duty to Him, be steadfast in prayer and do not be of the polytheists, who split up their religion, and become (mere) sects, each party rejoicing in its own beliefs! (Ar-Rum, 31-32)
As the verses suggest, one of the most significant characteristics of polytheistic societies is their approach to true religion; they reject some commandments of the religion revealed by God and hence form divisions within the religion. The members of these divisions assume themselves to be on the right path and fight with one another. However, it should be kept in mind that even a minor diversion from the Qur'an is an addition or alteration to what God has revealed, and consequently a source of polytheism.
In the verses below it is stated that no deed of the pagans is accepted by God; even their prayers and worship:
But it has already been revealed to you, as it was to those who went before you, "If you were to associate other gods with God, truly fruitless would your work in life be," and you would surely be in the ranks of those who lose all spiritual good". (Az-Zumar, 65)
Out of what God has produced in abundance in tilth and in cattle, they assigned Him a share: they say, according to their fancies: "This is for God, and this for our partners!" But the share of their "partners" does not reach God, whilst the share of God reaches their "partners" ! Evil and unjust is their judgement! (Al-Anaam, 136)
A believer may commit various sins. However, behind these sins, there is no question of a revolt or a similar intention or act against God. What makes idolatry different from other sins is that, in contrast to the other sins, idolatry assigns another god besides God and invents a lie against Him. Thus idolatry is the greatest sin. It is in a way a manifestation of disrespect to God.
Accordingly, God mentions in the Qur'an that He will forgive any sin except idolatry:
God does not forgive those who set up partners with Him; but He forgive to whom He pleases; for anything else; to set up partners with God is to devise a sin most heinous indeed. (An-Nisa, 48)
God does not forgive the sin of associating other gods with Him; but He forgives whom He pleases for sins other than this: one who associates other gods with God, has strayed far, far away (from the right). (An-Nisa, 116)
Therefore in many verses of the Qur'an, God warns believers against idolatry and deters them from this greatest sin. The Qur'an explains idolatry in detail:
O you who believe! Truly, the Pagans are unclean... (At-Tawba, 28) Being true in faith to God, and never assigning partners to Him: if anyone assigns partners to God, it is as if he had fallen from heaven and been snatched up by birds, or the wind had swooped (like a bird on its prey) and carried him off to far-distant place. (Al-Hajj, 31) Turn back in repentance to God, and fear Him: establish regular prayers, and do not be among those who associate other gods with God. (Ar- Rum, 30) Behold, Luqman said to his son by way of instruction: "O my son! Serve no other deity besides God: for false worship is indeed the greatest wrong-doing." (Luqman, 13) Say: "I am but a man like yourselves, (but) the inspiration has come to me, that your God is one God: whoever expects to meet his Lord, let him do what is right, and, in the worship of his Lord, admit no one as partner." (Al-Kahf, 110)
Anything, living or non-living, which the pagans assign as partners to God by no means possess any divine attributes.
God states in the Qur'an that these partners can neither harm them nor profit them (Jonah, 18), cannot create anything (Jonah, 34, Al-Araf, 191), they cannot help anyone, not even themselves (Al-Araf, 192), and cannot lead to the righteous way (Jonah, 35). Despite their all being inherently weak, these "partners with God" are set up by pagans. The main reason for such an attitude is the fact that God bestows some of His attributes upon these beings.
The authority, sovereignty, supremacy, and prosperity a person possesses, for instance, truly belong to God. As a trial, God grants some of his attributes to some people in this life. Attributing all the power, possessions, etc. to a person's personality, and thus showing fear for him, would be merely associating partners with God. That person is neither a divine being nor someone who possesses the power to attain anything by himself. At this point, we hardly need mention that these are only imaginary beings one creates in one's own mind. In the Qur'an it is described thus:
Behold! Truly to God belong all creatures, in the heavens and on earth. What do they follow who worship as His "partners" other than God? They follow nothing but fancy, and they do nothing but lie. (Jonah, 66)
A person who worships someone other than God will live to regret his delay in understanding that those partners had no virtues whatsoever. Those partners, whom they preferred to God in this life, will lead them to a great grief in the hereafter. Those partners are also the main reasons why pagans take God, Who has the sole power, honor, and glory, and Who is also the only One to be taken as the Protector, as their enemy. On the Day of Judgment , their fate will be as narrated in the following verses:
One day shall We gather them all together. Then we shall say to the idolaters, "To your place! You and those you associated with us as 'partners'. We shall separate them, and their "partners" will say: "It was not us that you worshipped! God is sufficient for a witness between us and you: we certainly knew nothing of your worship of us!" There every soul will prove the fruits of the deeds it sent before it: they will be brought back to God their rightful Lord, and their invented falsehoods will leave them in the lurch. (Jonah 28-30)
Then they will be asked: "Where are the deities to which you gave part-worship in derogation of God?" They will reply: "They have left us in the lurch: Nay, we did not invoke of old, anything that had real existence." Thus God leaves the unbelievers to stray. (Al-Ghafir 73-74)
The Qur'an defines the end of the pagans as follows:
But when they saw Our punishment, they said: "We believe in God, the one God and we reject the partners we used to associate with Him." But their professing the faith when they actually saw Our punishment was not going to profit them. Such has been God's way of dealing with His servants from the most ancient times. And so the rejecters of God perished utterly! (Al-Ghafir, 84-85)
Under the pen name of Harun Yahya, Adnan Oktar has written some 250 works. His books contain a total of 46,000 pages and 31,500 illustrations. Of these books, 7,000 pages and 6,000 illustrations deal with the collapse of the Theory of Evolution. You can read, free of charge, all the books Adnan Oktar has written under the pen name Harun Yahya on these websites www.harunyahya.com
About the Author
ABOUT THE AUTHOR, HARUN YAHYA Born in Ankara in 1956, Adnan Oktar writes his books under the pen name of Harun Yahya. Ever since his university years, he has dedicated his life to telling of the existence and oneness of Almighty Allah, and to disseminating the moral values of the Qur'an. He has never wavered in the face of difficulties and despite oppression, pls visit: http://www.harunyahya.com/theauthor.php
The basis of idolatry is the preference for a person, or a thing over God, for instance, to prefer somebody's approval to God's, to fear somebody as one fears God or to love him as one loves God…Or to do for an idol what he doesn't do for God, or to make a sacrifice which he does not do for God's approval.
Given the foregoing arguments, it would be a shallow interpretation indeed to define idolatry as the worship of statues. This is surely an argument used by unbelievers to justify their stance. According to their explanation, idolatry ceased when the idols in the Ka'ba were broken at the time the message of Islam was communicated. If this argument were true, then the hundreds of verses warning believers against idolatry, and providing a detailed explanation about it, would have relevance only to a few primitive tribes in our day-a piece of a reasoning quite contradictory to the essence of the Qur'an. Furthermore from the Qur'an which will prevail until the Day of Judgement we understand that, in every age, pagans lived together side by side with believers. The related verse follows:
Strongest among men in enmity to the believers you will find the Jews and Pagans... (Al-Maeda, 82)
Turn back in repentance to God, and fear Him: establish regular prayers, and do not be among those who associate other gods with God Turn to Him, be careful of your duty to Him, be steadfast in prayer and do not be of the polytheists, who split up their religion, and become (mere) sects, each party rejoicing in its own beliefs! (Ar-Rum, 31-32)
As the verses suggest, one of the most significant characteristics of polytheistic societies is their approach to true religion; they reject some commandments of the religion revealed by God and hence form divisions within the religion. The members of these divisions assume themselves to be on the right path and fight with one another. However, it should be kept in mind that even a minor diversion from the Qur'an is an addition or alteration to what God has revealed, and consequently a source of polytheism.
In the verses below it is stated that no deed of the pagans is accepted by God; even their prayers and worship:
But it has already been revealed to you, as it was to those who went before you, "If you were to associate other gods with God, truly fruitless would your work in life be," and you would surely be in the ranks of those who lose all spiritual good". (Az-Zumar, 65)
Out of what God has produced in abundance in tilth and in cattle, they assigned Him a share: they say, according to their fancies: "This is for God, and this for our partners!" But the share of their "partners" does not reach God, whilst the share of God reaches their "partners" ! Evil and unjust is their judgement! (Al-Anaam, 136)
A believer may commit various sins. However, behind these sins, there is no question of a revolt or a similar intention or act against God. What makes idolatry different from other sins is that, in contrast to the other sins, idolatry assigns another god besides God and invents a lie against Him. Thus idolatry is the greatest sin. It is in a way a manifestation of disrespect to God.
Accordingly, God mentions in the Qur'an that He will forgive any sin except idolatry:
God does not forgive those who set up partners with Him; but He forgive to whom He pleases; for anything else; to set up partners with God is to devise a sin most heinous indeed. (An-Nisa, 48)
God does not forgive the sin of associating other gods with Him; but He forgives whom He pleases for sins other than this: one who associates other gods with God, has strayed far, far away (from the right). (An-Nisa, 116)
Therefore in many verses of the Qur'an, God warns believers against idolatry and deters them from this greatest sin. The Qur'an explains idolatry in detail:
O you who believe! Truly, the Pagans are unclean... (At-Tawba, 28) Being true in faith to God, and never assigning partners to Him: if anyone assigns partners to God, it is as if he had fallen from heaven and been snatched up by birds, or the wind had swooped (like a bird on its prey) and carried him off to far-distant place. (Al-Hajj, 31) Turn back in repentance to God, and fear Him: establish regular prayers, and do not be among those who associate other gods with God. (Ar- Rum, 30) Behold, Luqman said to his son by way of instruction: "O my son! Serve no other deity besides God: for false worship is indeed the greatest wrong-doing." (Luqman, 13) Say: "I am but a man like yourselves, (but) the inspiration has come to me, that your God is one God: whoever expects to meet his Lord, let him do what is right, and, in the worship of his Lord, admit no one as partner." (Al-Kahf, 110)
Anything, living or non-living, which the pagans assign as partners to God by no means possess any divine attributes.
God states in the Qur'an that these partners can neither harm them nor profit them (Jonah, 18), cannot create anything (Jonah, 34, Al-Araf, 191), they cannot help anyone, not even themselves (Al-Araf, 192), and cannot lead to the righteous way (Jonah, 35). Despite their all being inherently weak, these "partners with God" are set up by pagans. The main reason for such an attitude is the fact that God bestows some of His attributes upon these beings.
The authority, sovereignty, supremacy, and prosperity a person possesses, for instance, truly belong to God. As a trial, God grants some of his attributes to some people in this life. Attributing all the power, possessions, etc. to a person's personality, and thus showing fear for him, would be merely associating partners with God. That person is neither a divine being nor someone who possesses the power to attain anything by himself. At this point, we hardly need mention that these are only imaginary beings one creates in one's own mind. In the Qur'an it is described thus:
Behold! Truly to God belong all creatures, in the heavens and on earth. What do they follow who worship as His "partners" other than God? They follow nothing but fancy, and they do nothing but lie. (Jonah, 66)
A person who worships someone other than God will live to regret his delay in understanding that those partners had no virtues whatsoever. Those partners, whom they preferred to God in this life, will lead them to a great grief in the hereafter. Those partners are also the main reasons why pagans take God, Who has the sole power, honor, and glory, and Who is also the only One to be taken as the Protector, as their enemy. On the Day of Judgment , their fate will be as narrated in the following verses:
One day shall We gather them all together. Then we shall say to the idolaters, "To your place! You and those you associated with us as 'partners'. We shall separate them, and their "partners" will say: "It was not us that you worshipped! God is sufficient for a witness between us and you: we certainly knew nothing of your worship of us!" There every soul will prove the fruits of the deeds it sent before it: they will be brought back to God their rightful Lord, and their invented falsehoods will leave them in the lurch. (Jonah 28-30)
Then they will be asked: "Where are the deities to which you gave part-worship in derogation of God?" They will reply: "They have left us in the lurch: Nay, we did not invoke of old, anything that had real existence." Thus God leaves the unbelievers to stray. (Al-Ghafir 73-74)
The Qur'an defines the end of the pagans as follows:
But when they saw Our punishment, they said: "We believe in God, the one God and we reject the partners we used to associate with Him." But their professing the faith when they actually saw Our punishment was not going to profit them. Such has been God's way of dealing with His servants from the most ancient times. And so the rejecters of God perished utterly! (Al-Ghafir, 84-85)
Under the pen name of Harun Yahya, Adnan Oktar has written some 250 works. His books contain a total of 46,000 pages and 31,500 illustrations. Of these books, 7,000 pages and 6,000 illustrations deal with the collapse of the Theory of Evolution. You can read, free of charge, all the books Adnan Oktar has written under the pen name Harun Yahya on these websites www.harunyahya.com
About the Author
ABOUT THE AUTHOR, HARUN YAHYA Born in Ankara in 1956, Adnan Oktar writes his books under the pen name of Harun Yahya. Ever since his university years, he has dedicated his life to telling of the existence and oneness of Almighty Allah, and to disseminating the moral values of the Qur'an. He has never wavered in the face of difficulties and despite oppression, pls visit: http://www.harunyahya.com/theauthor.php
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