Allah is the Creator of the heavens and earth. He alone is deserving of worship and He alone has true power. As such we should follow whatever He commands, whether we wish to or not. And that is what differentiates us from the rest of creation. We have the choice to choose to worship or not worship. Will we worship the creation which is transient and deny Allah who is eternal? Will we chase the fulfillment of our desires in the worldly life, where it can never be fulfilled, at the expense of Jannah where it can be fully fulfilled? Is it really even a choice?
Abu Huraira reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “No child is born but that he is upon natural instinct. His parents make him a Jew, or a Christian, or Magian. As an animal delivers a child with limbs intact, do you detect any flaws?” Then, Abu Huraira recited the verse, “The nature of Allah upon which he has set people,” (Luqman 30:30).
We are all Born Believing in our Creator
Every child is born a Muslim believing in the Oneness of Allah, his Creator. Belief in Allah is not something that needs to be taught. It only requires cultivation and perfection. Shirk, however, is learned behavior. We know this because Adam and his wife were created knowing who Allah was. For generations after them, that remained the case up until before the time of Nuh alayhi-salaam (AS) when the people were tricked into idolatry. This means worshiping the creation is not something innate.
Allah created us in a good state. We did not randomly evolve to have our bodies and our souls. They were created purposefully. In fact as human beings we are actually devolving. Adam AS was much taller than any of us, and he lived nearly 1,000 years. Whereas we are all small kittens compared to him and live less than 1/10th of his lifespan. Rather than progressing we are regressing as a species. If we want to improve ourselves we should look to the past and not the present
As a result of regressing into shirk we would be dooming ourselves in this life and the next. In this life we would live a life of misery and worthlessness. While in the next, never ending suffering would await us. May Allah protect us from that.
Idols Can’t Benefit Anyone
In Surah Yaseen verses 23 and 24 Allah subhana wa ta’ala says:
“How could I take besides Him other gods whose intercession would not be of any benefit to me, nor could they save me if the Most Compassionate intended to harm me? Indeed, I would then be clearly astray.” (Yaaseen 36: 23-24)
The person whom Allah is paraphrasing is a man from the outskirts of the city coming to defend the Prophets sent to his town. He tries to convince his people from attacking the Prophets, and as a result destroying themselves. He’s reminding his people that why would you choose to worship idols that can neither help you nor harm you. And before Allah, the All-Mighty, what could they do if Allah intended to put you in the fire? Worshiping the idols instead of Allah would be clearly illogical.
The Psychology of Idol Worshippers
Unfortunately for the idol worshipers they don’t really care about any of that. They worship their idols because that’s what everyone else is doing. That’s what their ancestors did. They don’t question what their ancestors did.
“And when it is said to them, “Come to what Allāh has revealed and to the Messenger,” they say, ‘Sufficient for us is that upon which we found our fathers.’ Even though their fathers knew nothing, nor were they guided?” (Al Ma’idah 5:104)
We agree that this is foolish but many of us fall into the same state. We must ask how many Muslims are only Muslim because they were born into Muslim households. If they were born into a Hindu family would they be Hindu? If they were born into a Christian family would they be Christian? Statistically, yes they would. So we must then ask ourselves, do I just want to be a statistic? Am I a Muslim by choice or by happenstance? If we’re just Muslim because everyone else is, then we’re no different than the mushrikeen.
Idol Worshippers Love their Idols More Than Allah
Another argument is they aren’t really worshiping the idols but rather they’re trying to get closer to Allah by requesting the idols pray to Allah on their behalf. They’re assuming these idols which are representations of their dead can hear them and pray for them.
Unquestionably, for Allāh is the pure religion. And those who take protectors besides Him [say], “We only worship them that they may bring us nearer to Allāh in position.” Indeed, Allāh will judge between them concerning that over which they differ. Indeed, Allāh does not guide he who is a liar and [confirmed] disbeliever. (Az-Zumar 39:4)
But in the end who are their hearts attached to? Is it attached to Allah or the idols? And when Prophets come with good arguments and grand miracles, how can they insist on worshiping idols and ignore the worshiping of Allah directly. They are attributing weakness to the Creator. The idols can hear them and aid them, but somehow the Creator of the heavens and Earth cannot. This is clearly unjust. Allah says in the Quran:
And they say, “The Most Merciful has taken [for Himself] a son. You have done an atrocious thing. The heavens almost rupture therefrom and the earth splits open and the mountains collapse in devastation. That they attribute to the Most Merciful a son. (Maryam 19:88-91)
It’s About Sincerity
The idol worshippers however are not searching for truth. They’re not meaning well. They’re not using the minds that God gave them. They are just blindly following their forefathers and just like their forefathers an evil end awaits them. In verses 23 and 24 of surah Yaseen we learn about tawheed and shirk. Tawheed is logical and rational. It’s evidence based and the same message of all the prophets. Shirk is illogical and irrational. It’s completely baseless. The only arguments for it, are that it’s what our culture does, and somehow it gets us closer to God. Both arguments are completely invalid. May Allah guide the people back to Islam. May Allah make us daees in that cause.
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