POLYTHEISM AND IDOLATRY

Title: A STUDY OF POLYTHEISM AND IDOLATRY IN THE QURAN
Author: Sayyid ،Abbas Sayyid Karimi (Husayni)
Translator: Kelvin Lembani (Muhammad ،Abd al-Aziz)
Prepared by: Translation Unit, Cultural Affairs Department; the Ahl al-Bayt (a) World Assembly
Editor: Sayyidah Iffat Shah
Proofreader: Majid Karimi
Publisher: ABWA Publishing and Printing Center
First Printing: 2010
All rights reserved.

Foreword: — 1
Chapter 1: POLYTHEISTIC BELIEFS WITH RESPECT TO ALLAH — 3
Allah, the only Creator and Governor of the existing cosmos — 3
Belief that Allah has a child — 15
Belief that Allah has a spouse — 25
Aversion to monotheism — 26
Chapter 2: POLYTHEISTIC BELIEFS WITH RESPECT TO IDOLS — 29
Equating idols with Allah — 30
Reasons for asserting that idolaters used to believe that idols were longitudinal with Allah and dependent on Him and critiquing those reasons — 45
Chapter 3: IDOLATROUS BELIEFS WITH RESPECT TO THE RESURRECTION — 67
Two theories about idolatrous beliefs with respect to the Resurrection — 67
Idolaters and denial of the Resurrection — 70
Chapter 4: IDOLATROUS RELIGIOUS RITES — 77
Idolatrous rites — 78
Chapter 5: THE SOCIAL CULTURE OF IDOLATERS — 87
Chapter 6: IDOLATRY IS AN ILLOGICAL CREED — 89
Is idolatry a reality or a delusion? — 94
The monotheism of polytheists in crises — 95
Awakening the primordial nature of polytheists — 97
Demonstrating the weakness of idols — 99
Chapter 7: CAUSES OF IDOLATRY — 105
Chapter 8: CATEGORIES OF POLYTHEISTS — 111
Chapter 9: TYPES OF POLYTHEISM — 115
Chapter 10: WHAT IS TAWHID (MONOTHEISM)? — 125
Chapter 11: THE ETYMOLOGICAL AND JURISTIC MEANING OF WORSHIP [‘IBADAH] — 131
The etymological meaning of worship [‘ibadah] — 131
The term worship [‘ibadah] in the Holy Qur’an — 132
Concordance between the meaning of supplication [du‘a] and worship [‘ibadah]— 134
Sincere worship — 135
The meaning of prostration [sajdah] — 136