The Shirk of the Arabs in Intercession (Shafa'ah)

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In particular, one form of polytheism in worship was widespread among the early Arabs, namely shirk in intercession. The Arabs worshipped their idols based on the belief that their objects of worship would intercede (shafa'ah) for them with Allah سبحانه وتعالى in return. This idea of supposed intercession by their worshipped beings with Allah lastly led the Arabs to polytheism in all areas of 'ibadah.

The Arabs believed that the idols were representations of the souls of deceased noble people or other beings. This, at least, was the belief of the vast majority.

The theory of intercession among the Arabs was based on the belief that those whom they worshipped would enjoy extraordinary favor with their Creator due to their righteousness. From this belief arose the idea that these worshipped beings had particularly significant influence with Allah. According to their assumption, any intercession made by these beings would be accepted with absolute certainty.

This is mentioned in several places in the Qur'an, such as in the following verse, which conveys this statement from the Arabs themselves:

Intercession thus served as a false argument for the Arabs to justify their polytheism. While they believed that Allah is the Creator of all things, they also thought that the worshipped alihah could either benefit or harm them through their intercession.

This central role of shafa'ah is ultimately the reason why it is mentioned so frequently in the Qur'an:

These Arabs had no foundation from revelation for this concept of shafa'ah/intercession. Furthermore, the Qur'an points out the Arabs' mistaken belief that some beings had a certain right to have their intercession accepted by the Creator.

The Qur'an describes this way of thinking as a central aspect of polytheism in the intercession theory of the pre-Islamic idolaters, as it implies a dependence of the Creator on His creation. The Arabs thus believed – as also discussed in the Qur'an – that their deities had a permanent right of intercession with their Creator.

In the Qur'an, we read, for example, the following:

The mushrikun therefore sought to draw closer to their deities through inner and outer 'ibadat – as it is expressed in Islamic terminology. They loved the idols in the same way they loved the Creator and likewise strove to gain their favour. They also feared the wrath of the alihah. Because of all these acts of the heart (a'malu l-qulub), they eventually offered sacrifices to their idols, called upon them, and directed all their requests to them.

Through these circumstances explained here, the general understanding of the pagan Arabs can thus be illustrated, even though, in some cases, certain Arabs deviated even further from true monotheism.