Chapter of the book: The Doctrine of Monotheism · Read as PDF

The Pre-Islamic Idolaters Believed in a Single Creator

As previously mentioned, Islamic sources – starting, of course, with the Qur'an itself – clearly show that the pre-Islamic Arab idolaters were convinced of the existence of Allah as the one and only Creator of all existence.

This chapter will provide multiple examples of such passages from the Qur'an. Additionally, the interpretations of the earliest Muslim scholars regarding these very Qur'anic verses will be presented to demonstrate that these texts were understood only in this manner by Muslims from the very beginning. For the early Muslims, it was self-evident that the Arab mushrikun / idolaters were aware of the existence of a single Creator. They understood that the Qur'an specifically rebuked them for worshipping others alongside Him despite this knowledge.

The Qur'anic Verse: “Has He Made the Worshipped Ones into a Single Worshipped One?”

In the Qur'an, it is stated in sura Sad:

At-Tabari provides the following explanation regarding this verse:

يَقُولُ: وَقَالَ هَؤُلَاءِ الْكَافِرُونَ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا: مُحَمَّدٌ سَاحِرٌ كَذَّابٌ: أَجْعَلَ مُحَمَّدٌ الْمَعْبُودَاتِ كُلَّهَا وَاحِدًا، يَسْمَعُ دُعَاءَنَا جَمِيعَنَا، وَيَعْلَمُ عِبَادَةَ كُلِّ عَابِدٍ عَبَدَهُ مِنَّا {إِنَّ هَذَا لَشَيْءٌ عُجَابٌ} [ص: 5] أَيْ إِنَّ هَذَا لَشَيْءٌ عَجِيبٌ ...

And so, those kafirun who claimed that Muhammad was a sorcerer and a liar said: “Has Muhammad made all the worshipped ones (al-ma'budat) into a single one, who hears all our supplications and knows about the worship of everyone among us who worships Him?! Indeed, this is a curious thing.” …

For the word “worshipped ones”, at-Tabari did not use the word alihah in his explanation, a term that, due to the prevailing ignorance today, has led to great confusion. Rather, he used the clear and unambiguous term ma'budat.

At-Tabari thus explained the meaning of this Qur'anic statement around the end of the 3rd century AH, clearly in the sense explained above. This unquestionably demonstrates that the word alihah used in the Qur'an must be understood to mean “worshipped ones” and not “creator” or something similar.

Anyone who reads the Qur'an attentively should recognize that the term ilah cannot be understood as “creator.” It is all the more astonishing that for centuries, people who were regarded as great scholars and even engaged in Qur'anic exegesis persisted in a wrong understanding.

In the case of the verse mentioned above, for example, one wonders how such individuals could simply overlook the statement it contains. After all, it is clear that the idolaters meant: “Does Muhammad want to make our worshipped ones into a single worshipped one?” It should be obvious to any reader of the Qur'an that this passage cannot possibly refer to Muhammad supposedly reducing multiple creators to a single creator. This would make no sense.

Now, someone unfamiliar with the early Qur'anic exegeses might assume that this is just an isolated statement. However, this would be a grave misconception. Rather, it represents a consensus opinion, mentioned multiple times within this single work of at-Tabari alone and narrated from even earlier tafsir scholars. Moreover, it is also found in numerous other early works of Islamic transmission.

Therefore, in the following section, several additional texts will be cited as examples.

The Call of the Prophets and the Response of Their Peoples

In the Qur'an, the following statement of the prophets عليهم السلام to their peoples is repeatedly mentioned. It is repeated in the same wording in various places – often multiple times within the same sura, especially in sura al-A'raf:

Here, the word ilah is once again used. However, the response of those peoples to this call makes it exceedingly clear that they understood it as a call to the exclusive worship of the Creator, which is why they often rejected it.

For example, the response of the people of 'Ad to their prophet Hud عليه السلام was:

They clearly and unmistakably understood that the call referred to monotheism in worship and that the word ilah meant “worshipped one” and not “creator.” This is because they already knew from birth about monotheism in matters of creation, provision, and the like.

At-Tabari confirms this with the utmost clarity when he explains this verse as follows:

يَقُولُ تَعَالَى ذِكْرُهُ: قَالَتْ عَادٌ لِهُودٍ: أَجِئْتَنَا تَتَوَعَّدَنَا بِالْعِقَابِ مِنَ اللَّهِ عَلَى مَا نَحْنُ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الدِّينِ كَيْ نَعْبُدَ اللَّهَ وَحْدَهُ وَنَدِينَ لَهُ بِالطَّاعَةِ خَالِصًا وَنَهْجُرَ عِبَادَةَ الْآلِهَةِ وَالْأَصْنَامِ الَّتِي كَانَ آبَاؤُنَا يَعْبُدُونَهَا وَنَتَبَرَّأَ مِنْهَا؟

The Exalted says that the people of 'Ad said to the Prophet Hud: “Have you come to us, threatening us with Allah's punishment for our religion? So that we worship only Allah alone and are obedient only to Him, to no one else, in complete devotion?! And so that we abandon the worship of our alihah and idols, which our forefathers worshipped? That we renounce them?!”

Once again, at-Tabari, the tafsir scholar, provides an exceptionally clear explanation that these idolaters of an earlier people mentioned in the Qur'an were indeed aware of Allah as the only Creator and also worshipped Him. However, they associated others with Him in worship and obedience.

The Verse: “So Do Not Set Up Equals to Allah While You Know (Better).”

As another example, the following verse from sura al-Baqarah can be cited. It states:

Ibnu Abi Hatim – and likewise at-Tabari – narrates the following statement of the Companion of the Prophet, Ibnu 'Abbas رضي الله عنهما, in his tafsir regarding this verse:

عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ: {فَلا تَجْعَلُوا لِلَّهِ أَنْدَادًا وَأَنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ} [البقرة: 22] أَيْ لَا تُشْرِكُوا بِاللَّهِ غَيْرَهُ مِنَ الأَنْدَادِ الَّتِي لَا تَنْفَعُ وَلا تَضُرُّ، وَأَنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهُ لَا رَبَّ لَكُمْ يَرْزُقُكُمْ غَيْرُهُ، وَقَدْ عَلِمْتُمُ الَّذِي يَدْعُوكُمْ إِلَيْهِ الرَّسُولُ مِنْ تَوْحِيدِهِ هُوَ الْحَقُّ لَا يُشَكُّ فِيهِ.

“So do not set up equals to Allah while you know (better).” This means: Do not associate anything with Allah from among those (supposed) equals who (in reality) can bring neither benefit nor harm, while you know that there is no Lord besides Him who provides for you, and while you know that what the Messenger calls you to, namely the tawhid of Allah, is the truth, about which there is no doubt.

If one considers this statement alone, it is entirely sufficient to definitively refute the confused ideas about the meaning of the word ilah and the Islamic testimony of faith that prevail worldwide today. It should also be taken into account that this is a narrated statement from a well-known Companion of the Prophet and, moreover, one of the most significant scholars in Islam.

The same applies to the following statement from Qatadah, which is narrated by Ibnu Abi Hatim in his tafsir regarding the same Qur'anic verse:

عَنْ قَتَادَةَ: {فَلا تَجْعَلُوا لِلَّهِ أَنْدَادًا وَأَنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ} أَنَّ اللَّهَ خَلَقَكُمْ وَخَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ، ثُمَّ أَنْتُمْ تَجْعَلُونَ لَهُ أَنْدَادًا.

“So do not set up equals to Allah while you know” that Allah has created you as well as the heavens and the earth, and yet you associate equals with Him!

The preceding quotations thus establish clearly and indisputably that the idolaters at the time of the revelation of Islam believed in a Creator, Giver of life, and Sustainer, but they associated others with Him in worship, in acts of worship, and in obedience.

The mushrikun of Makkah believed in one Creator and did not associate anyone else with Him in terms of His attribute as the Creator and Giver of life.

Therefore, their issue with the testimony of faith could not have been about recognizing Allah سبحانه وتعالى as the only Creator. Rather, they – unlike many people today who profess Islam (!) – had a very precise understanding of the meaning of the testimony of faith and thus also of the core message of Islam to which they were being called.

And precisely because they understood this meaning so clearly, they rejected Islam. They knew that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was not primarily calling them to acknowledge a single Creator but rather to worship Him alone! This latter demand was one they were by no means willing to meet. That was precisely their fundamental problem.

The Verse: “Make for Us a Worshipped One (ilah) Just as They Have Worshipped Ones (alihah)”

Another example of what has been stated is the story described in the Qur'an when Musa / Moses عليه السلام and his own people passed by another people who were idolaters, and some of his people said:

The word ilah cannot possibly mean “Creator” in this context. If that were the case, the meaning of the verse would be: “Make for us a creator, just as they have multiple creators.”

Instead, it must mean: “Make for us a worshipped one, just as they have multiple worshipped ones.”

The Verse: If You Asked Them, “Who Created the Heavens and Earth …”

Another important Qur'anic statement in this context is the following phrase, which is repeated several times in similar form in the Qur'an:

In this and many other Qur'anic verses, as previously mentioned, the early Qur'anic exegeses provide a clear explanation of the word ilah and thus of the Islamic testimony of faith.

According to these explanations by the early Qur'an commentators – such as at-Tabari and Ibnu Abi Hatim, as well as the even earlier scholars cited by these two – the final statement in this verse can be described as follows: “Why then do these idolaters turn away from Allah and from worshipping Him alone?”

In the tafsir of the nearly identical verse 43:87 by the early mufassir / Qur'an commentator Muqatil ibnu Sulayman⁴⁵,

who is counted among the so-called atba'u t-tabi'in⁴⁶, this is expressed with utmost clarity when he says:

قال الله تعالى لنبيِّه ﷺ قل لهم: {فَأَنَّى يُؤْفَكُونَ} يقول مِن أين يكذبون بأنَّه واحد لا شريك له، وأنتم مقرّون أنّ الله خالق الأشياء وخلقكم، ولم يشاركه أحد في ملكه فيما خلق؟ فكيف تعبدون غيره؟

Allah, the Exalted, said to His Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم: “Say to them: ‘Then how are they turned away?’ meaning:

‘Why then do they deny that He is One with no partner?’ while you affirm that Allah is the Creator of all things, that He also created you, and that no one shares in His dominion over what He created?

How then can you worship others besides Him?”

Comparing the examples mentioned so far with the present-day reality already discussed thus clearly shows how far removed many people have been for centuries, and still are, from a correct understanding of various fundamental issues of Islam.

Anyone who reads the commentaries of some scholars influenced by philosophy will find that they made confusing and contradictory statements in their explanations of such source texts.

Nevertheless, the strong influence of philosophy continues to be felt throughout the entire Islamic world, which is why such misconceptions about the foundation of faith are taught as the standard doctrine at most universities.