Monotheism

Before any human being says it, God states it Himself, as His own testimony: “GOD bears witness that there is no god except He, and so do the angels and those who possess knowledge.” [3:18]

The angels bear witness to it, and so do the people who have knowledge. So this statement did not start as something people worked out on their own. It started as a witness given by God, the angels and those who know, and we are invited to join them in that witness.

God then gives this statement to us as something we should know: “You shall know that: ‘There is no other god beside GOD,’ and ask forgiveness of your sins and the sins of all believing men and women.” [47:19] Please notice where the verse goes next. It goes straight from the statement to asking forgiveness. This shows us that the statement was never meant to be something we only say and then leave. It is meant to lead us to act on it.

There is a whole sura that is a proclamation of this statement: “Proclaim, ‘He is the One and only GOD. The Absolute GOD. Never did He beget. Nor was He begotten. None equals Him.’” [112:1-4] In these four short lines, God rules out four things about Himself: having a partner, having children, having a beginning, and being compared to anything.

It is possible for a person to agree that God is one and still change nothing in the way they live. The Quran does not call that monotheism.

What the Quran asks about is the direction of our whole life. God gives us the words to say ourselves: “Say, ‘My Contact Prayers (Salat), my worship practices, my life and my death, are all devoted absolutely to GOD alone, the Lord of the universe.’” [6:162] Our Contact Prayers (Salat), our worship practices, our life and our death are all mentioned in this verse, and all of them are devoted to God alone.

The Contact Prayers (Salat) are there to keep God in front of us, so that we remember Him: “I am GOD; there is no other god beside Me. You shall worship Me alone, and observe the Contact Prayers (Salat) to remember Me.” [20:14]

God also tells us why He created us: “I did not create the jinns and the humans except to worship Me alone.” [51:56] This purpose was given to us by the One who created us, so there is no one better to tell us what our life is for.

So far, we have looked at what the first commandment says and what it rules out. Now, let's look at why there is only one God. The Quran does not ask us to simply accept this on trust. It gives us an argument, and the argument starts with what we can see with our own eyes.

God tells us: “If there were in them (the heavens and the earth) other gods beside GOD, there would have been chaos.” [21:22] If two authorities were in charge of one system, they would make rules that compete with each other. The verse reasons from the fact that there is no chaos, and leaves us looking at the one order we can see all around us.

God takes the argument further in another verse. If power were divided, it would not stay divided for long: “Otherwise, each god would have declared independence with his creations, and they would have competed with each other for dominance.” [23:91] So partners would first separate from each other, and then they would fight each other.

In a third verse, God puts it as a challenge: “Say, ‘If there were any other gods beside Him, as they claim, they would have tried to overthrow the Possessor of the throne.’” [17:42]

Then the Quran does something that may surprise us. It accepts that the people it is speaking to already agree with the starting point: “If you ask them, ‘Who created the heavens and the earth, and put the sun and the moon in your service,’ they will say, ‘GOD.’ Why then did they deviate?” [29:61] So the disagreement was never about who created everything. They already knew that it was God.

The Quran treats monotheism as something we already know and need to come back to, and not as new information.

God tells us: “Therefore, you shall devote yourself to the religion of strict monotheism. Such is the natural instinct placed into the people by GOD. Such creation of GOD will never change.” [30:30] God placed this instinct into the people, and the verse does not mention any exception.

Behind this instinct, there is an event that actually happened. Every human being was asked directly, and every one of them answered: “Recall that your Lord summoned all the descendants of Adam, and had them bear witness for themselves: ‘Am I not your Lord?’ They all said, ‘Yes. We bear witness.’” [7:172] The same verse also tells us why this happened, so that on the Day of Resurrection nobody can say they were not aware of this [7:172].

What remains of this in our everyday life is a reaction we have without thinking about it. When a person is truly frightened, the cry that comes out of them is usually not addressed to a saint or to some system. The Quran describes this at sea: “When violent waves surround them, they implore GOD, sincerely devoting their prayers to Him alone.” [31:32]

So far, we have looked at why there is only one God. Now, let's look at what idol worship really is. When most of us hear the words idol worship, we think of a carved figure in a temple, and so we assume it has nothing to do with us. The Quran, however, defines an idol by the place it has been given in a person's life, and not by what the object is.

The clearest statement about this is about love: “Yet, some people set up idols to rival GOD, and love them as if they are GOD. Those who believe love GOD the most.” [2:165] Please notice that no statue is needed here. All that is needed is a rival, and the rivals in our life are usually things we would defend as good.

From there, the Quran names the idols we least expect. The first one is our own desires: “Have you seen the one whose god is his own ego? Will you be his advocate?” [25:43] Another one is religious authority that people treat as final: “They have set up their religious leaders and scholars as lords, instead of GOD. Others deified the Messiah, son of Mary. They were all commanded to worship only one god.” [9:31]

God tells us very plainly where these idols come from: “These are but names that you made up, you and your forefathers. GOD never authorized such a blasphemy. They follow conjecture, and personal desire, when the true guidance has come to them herein from their Lord.” [53:23] So we make these idols ourselves, and usually we make them out of something we wanted.

We understand from these verses that our god is whoever or whatever occupies our mind most of the day.

The Quran does not make fun of the people it disagrees with, or describe them unfairly. It quotes their reasoning, and then it answers it.

God tells us: “Absolutely, the religion shall be devoted to GOD alone. Those who set up idols beside Him say, ‘We idolize them only to bring us closer to GOD; for they are in a better position!’ GOD will judge them regarding their disputes. GOD does not guide such liars, disbelievers.” [39:3]

Please read carefully what these people believe. These people are not atheists. In their own view, they have not left God at all. They think they have found a better way to reach Him, through someone they believe is closer to Him. This is how idol worship usually looks, and this is the reason sincere people fall into it.

The same excuse comes back under the name of intercession, and God answers it with a question: “and they say, ‘These are our intercessors at GOD!’ Say, ‘Are you informing GOD of something He does not know in the heavens or the earth?’” [10:18] An intercessor would only be useful if the One being approached were missing something, and nothing is hidden from God.

God also rules out the claim that any prophet ever invited people to do any of this: “Never would a human being whom GOD blessed with the scripture and prophethood say to the people, ‘Idolize me beside GOD.’ Instead, (he would say), ‘Devote yourselves absolutely to your Lord alone,’ according to the scripture you preach and the teachings you learn.” [3:79]

Of everything God tells us is serious, idol worship is the one thing He puts in a category of its own: “GOD does not forgive idol worship (if maintained until death), and He forgives lesser offenses for whomever He wills. Anyone who idolizes any idol beside GOD has strayed far astray.” [4:116]

Every other sin falls within the range of God's mercy. Idol worship falls outside it, but only on one condition, and that condition is in the verse itself: if it is maintained until death.

God tells us that idol worship cancels all of our works, and this warning is addressed to the messenger himself: “It has been revealed to you, and to those before you that if you ever commit idol worship, all your works will be nullified, and you will be with the losers.” [39:65]

There is also a plainer word for it, spoken by a father to his son: “O my son, do not set up any idols beside GOD; idolatry is a gross injustice.” [31:13] It is an injustice because it gives to something else what belongs to God, and God is the One who created the very person who is doing the giving.

So far, we have looked at what idol worship really is and why it is so serious. Now, let's look at how we can tell whether it has entered our own worship, and how we can come back from it. God does not leave this to guesswork. He describes the sign clearly enough that we can look for it in ourselves, and the first sign is a reaction we have, and not a belief we hold.

“When GOD ALONE is mentioned, the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter shrink with aversion. But when others are mentioned beside Him, they become satisfied.” [39:45] We see this verse as the greatest test of all.

We can use this verse to test ourselves. If you say God's name by itself, with nothing added to it, please notice what happens inside you. If it feels incomplete, and something in you wants to add another name to complete it, this verse is describing exactly that feeling.

This is not the only verse about it. The same test is mentioned a second time, when it is said to people on the Day they are judged: “This is because when GOD ALONE was advocated, you disbelieved, but when others were mentioned beside Him, you believed.” [40:12]

In both verses, the sign is a reaction, and not an argument. A person can hold the correct belief and still dislike hearing it, both at the same time.

Let's read the hard verse again, slowly, because most people skip over the condition that is inside it: “GOD does not forgive idol worship (if maintained until death), and He forgives lesser offenses for whomever He wills.” [4:116]

Please notice the condition in this verse, that the idol worship is maintained until death. As long as a person is still alive, nothing is final yet, and there is still time to come back to God.

What God offers on the other side of this door is very generous, and He addresses it directly to the people who went the furthest: “Proclaim: ‘O My servants who exceeded the limits, never despair of GOD's mercy. For GOD forgives all sins. He is the Forgiver, Most Merciful.’” [39:53]

The verse right after it tells us what to do with this mercy, and it is not only a feeling. It is something we have to do: “You shall obey your Lord, and submit to Him totally, before the retribution overtakes you, then you cannot be helped.” [39:54] So we are asked to submit to Him totally, and to do it now, while there is still time.

The standard God sets for the rest of us is not a perfect record. He describes the believers as people who fall, then remember God and ask for His forgiveness, “and they do not persist in sins, knowingly” [3:135]. So being a believer does not mean never falling. It means not staying down after we fall.