The Majority of People Fall into shirk Due to Ignorance
Another issue lies in the belief that all or most polytheists from past nations or other religions rejected the message of the prophets with full awareness. In reality, the opposite is true.
As previously mentioned, the idolaters of pre-Islamic Arabia were in a state of great ignorance about monotheism. If it were possible to consider a polytheist a Muslim, this would certainly apply more to such people than to those who hold the Qur'an in their hands and have perhaps even memorized parts of it or the entire book.
However, among many people today, it seems that the more knowledge a polytheist has, or the more access he has to knowledge, the more excusable he becomes! A clear contradiction.
How could, for example, an idolater from two thousand years ago, who lived in the desert, was illiterate, and had not a single written verse in his possession, be less excusable than someone who reads Arabic and memorizes parts of the Qur'an?!
According to the proponents of this theological error, many Jews and Christians today would also have to be far more excusable, since their access to Islamic sources, too, is undoubtedly much more difficult.
In contrast, Islamic sources mention that most people were led into shirk precisely through ignorance.
In this regard, the Qur'an, for example in sura Nuh, mentions five individuals by name who were eventually worshipped by their descendants.
In the Sahih collection of al-Bukhari, it is narrated from the Companion of the Prophet, Ibnu 'Abbas رضي الله عنهما, that he explained this Qur'anic passage and clarified how the first polytheism emerged among the people of Nuh / Noah:
عَنْ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا صَارَتْ الْأَوْثَانُ الَّتِي كَانَتْ فِي قَوْمِ نُوحٍ فِي الْعَرَبِ بَعْدُ أَمَّا وَدٌّ كَانَتْ لِكَلْبٍ بِدَوْمَةِ الْجَنْدَلِ وَأَمَّا سُوَاعٌ كَانَتْ لِهُذَيْلٍ وَأَمَّا يَغُوثُ فَكَانَتْ لِمُرَادٍ ثُمَّ لِبَنِي غُطَيْفٍ بِالْجَوْفِ عِنْدَ سَبَإٍ وَأَمَّا يَعُوقُ فَكَانَتْ لِهَمْدَانَ وَأَمَّا نَسْرٌ فَكَانَتْ لِحِمْيَرَ لِآلِ ذِي الْكَلَاعِ أَسْمَاءُ رِجَالٍ صَالِحِينَ مِنْ قَوْمِ نُوحٍ فَلَمَّا هَلَكُوا أَوْحَى الشَّيْطَانُ إِلَى قَوْمِهِمْ أَنْ انْصِبُوا إِلَى مَجَالِسِهِمْ الَّتِي كَانُوا يَجْلِسُونَ أَنْصَابًا وَسَمُّوهَا بِأَسْمَائِهِمْ فَفَعَلُوا فَلَمْ تُعْبَدْ حَتَّى إِذَا هَلَكَ أُولَئِكَ وَتَنَسَّخَ الْعِلْمُ عُبِدَتْ
(They are) the names of righteous men from the people of Nuh. When they died, Satan inspired their people to name statues after them and place them at the places where they used to sit.
Finally, they did so. However, these statues were not worshipped until those people died and knowledge was lost. Only then were they worshipped.
Thus, Nuh عليه السلام – like all other prophets عليهم السلام – was sent to a people of mushrikin who, due to their ignorance, believed themselves to be Muslims and followers of the prophetic teaching.
Despite this prevailing ignorance, Nuh, just like all other prophets عليهم السلام, judged his people as mushrikin. That is why he addressed his people as described in the following Qur'anic verse:
﴿لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا إِلَى قَوْمِهِ فَقَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مَا لَكُمْ مِنْ إِلَهٍ غَيْرُهُ إِنِّي أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ﴾
We had certainly sent Nuh to his people, and he said, “O my people, worship Allah (alone); you have nothing worthy of worship other than Him. Indeed, I fear for you the punishment of a tremendous Day.”
[sura al-A'raf, 7:59]
﴿وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحاً إِلَى قَوْمِهِ فَقَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنْ إِلَهٍ غَيْرُهُ أَفَلَا تَتَّقُونَ﴾
And We had certainly sent Nuh to his people, and he said, “O my people, worship Allah (alone); you have nothing worthy of worship other than Him; then will you not fear Him?”
[sura al-Mu'minun, 23:23]
This one example will suffice here. Anyone who carefully reads the Qur'an will undoubtedly recognize that monotheism is repeatedly emphasized in this manner as the core message of all prophets.
It is also worth recalling the statement of the early Qur'an commentator Ibnu Jarir at-Tabari regarding the verse in sura az-Zumar [39:29], where he said:
﴿بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لا يَعْلَمُونَ﴾ يَقُولُ جَلَّ ثَنَاؤُهُ: وَمَا يَسْتَوِي هَذَا الْمُشْتَرَكُ فِيهِ، وَالَّذِي هُوَ مُنْفَرِدٌ مُلْكُهُ لِوَاحِدٍ، بَلْ أَكْثَرُ هَؤُلَاءِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ بِاللَّهِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهُمَا لَا يَسْتَوِيَانِ، فَهُمْ بِجَهْلِهِمْ بِذَلِكَ يَعْبُدُونَ آلِهَةً شَتَّى مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ.
“But most of them do not know”, meaning: this one who is divided among several (masters) and the one who belongs exclusively to a single master are not equal.
But most of “those who associate something with Allah” do not know that the two are not equal. In their ignorance of this, they worship various different alihah besides Allah.