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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Islam and the Contemporary Man Chapter 7: Refuting Wahhabi Contentions The Question of Invoking the Prophet and the Imams Question Rational reasoning, the Qur’an, and the Sunnah all condemn invoking the Prophet and the Imams, which is practiced by the Shi‘ah, as a heretical practice that amounts to polytheism. The reasons why this practice is heretical follow.

First, based on rational reasoning, God alone is the Creator and thus all causality springs from Him; the Qur’an avers, قُلِ اللَّهُ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ.… “…God is the Creator of all things…” [^1] In this light, the only real cause in the world is God. What we assume to be a cause is merely a thing that God has willed to occur prior to something else: there is no causal relationship among phenomena.

When, for instance, timber burns, it is not due to a causal relation between it and fire; rather, it is the way God has willed to manage the affairs of this world. In the same vein, the Prophet and the Imams are merely creatures with no particular function, and so to invoke them would constitute polytheism.

Third, we know that the Prophet fought the beliefs of idol-worshippers and Christians though they all accepted God as the Creator of the world. The Prophet opposed them as they sought help from angels and invoked the souls of prophets to fulfill their requests. In this respect, the Prophet confronted Christians as he confronted idol-worshippers; both groups held polytheistic beliefs.