The Claim That Polytheism Is Always Associated with the Idea of a Second Deity
As already explained, many people today believe that the declaration of faith merely involves affirming belief in a single Creator. For this reason, individuals with such a view do not recognize any form of polytheism in worship. This raises the question of what the significance is of the idolaters' worship frequently mentioned in the Qur'an, or the objects of their worship, if worship itself is not considered problematic.
Some people explain this by claiming that actual “worship/'ibadah” only occurs when a person attributes divine qualities to the “object of worship.” According to this statement and the understanding of those who argue this way, the act of worship itself would not be the issue. Rather, the real problem would be the beliefs (i'tiqadat, singular: i'tiqad) behind these actions and statements.
Some even go so far as to claim that, according to their understanding, a person only worships something if he believes that the object of worship possesses complete independence and self-sufficiency (al-istiqlal). For this reason, such individuals – often from the Sufi spectrum – frequently use the supposed condition of istiqlal to defend followers of various grave-worship practices.
According to this argument, people who engage in such forms of veneration of the dead would have to be considered Muslims since they do not claim that these deceased individuals perform their miraculous acts independently (mustaqill) from the Creator. Their supposedly miraculous acts are believed to be performed only with the permission of the Creator, which, according to this line of reasoning, would not be considered problematic in Islamic theology.
In the discussion regarding the word ilah and the true meaning of the declaration of faith, the following must be kept in mind:
The most fundamental aspect of Islam is the exclusive worship of the Creator and the complete abandonment of worshiping any other thing or being. The term “worship/'ibadah” is consistently used in the revealed texts to express this. Even when explaining the foundation of Islam – as has already been shown in the well-known hadith about the five pillars and in numerous other texts – worship is explicitly mentioned. These texts clearly state that Islam requires refraining from worshiping anything other than the Creator, and that this is the central meaning of Islam.
How absurd, then, is the claim that worship itself is not the issue, but only the beliefs behind it – the so-called i'tiqad. This would mean that the revelation repeatedly condemns the idolaters' worship literally countless times, while in reality, it supposedly is not about this worship at all, but only about the beliefs behind it! This raises the pressing question: Why would a term be used repeatedly if something entirely different is actually meant?
For example, why should Muslims recite “Only You do we worship” at least 17 times daily during their prayers in the opening sura al-Fatihah, if the decisive factor is allegedly the belief? Rather, it would have to say: “Only in You alone do we believe.”
Even in the aforementioned explanation of Islam by the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم himself, it is explicitly stated: “Islam is that you worship only Allah and do not associate anything with Him.”
According to the distorted view described, this statement would more likely have to be: “Islam is that you do not believe that Allah has a son or a mother, or that there is anyone who is completely independent (al-istiqlal) from Him.” Similarly, this would not prohibit associating others in worship but rather such beliefs.
Worship itself, the actions in and of themselves, would play no role at all. However, this does not align with the wording used in the Islamic revelation texts.