On the other hand...

On the other hand, however, as he wanted to traverse this path without the guidance of the Prophets, who are the Divine guides and have been appointed to ensure the completion of the spiritual journey of man, he took refuge in inanimate objects as well as in animals and men before he could reach his real object (i.e. the One Allah) and find His trace by observing the signs of creation and seek refuge in Him. He therefore, imagined that these were the objects which he had been seeking.

In view of this the scholars have acknowledged, after studying the Heavenly Books and the manner of the invitation extended to the people by the Prophets and their debates with them, that the object of the Prophets was not to make people believe in the existence of the Creator of the Universe. In fact their basic role in the society was to free the people from the clutches of polytheism and idol-worship. In other words they had come to tell the people, "O people!

Allah in whose existence all of us believe is this and not that; He is One and not two. Don't give the creatures the place of Allah. ah as One. Don't accept any partner or peer for Him". The sentence 'There is no god but Allah' bears a glowing testimony to what we have stated above. This was the starting point of the preaching of the Holy Prophet.

The purport of this sentence is that there is no one fit to be worshipped except Allah and this necessitates that the existence of the Creator should evidently be an admitted fact, so that the people may be invited to accept His 'Unity'and 'Oneness'. This sentence shows that in the eyes of the man of that time the first portion (i.e. the Universe has Allah) was not a matter of dispute.

Besides this, the study of Qur'anic stories and the conversations of the Prophets with the people clarify this point further.[^1] Birthplace of Prophet Ibrahim The Champion of 'Monotheism' was born in the environments which were permeated with the darkness of idol-worship and man-worship. Man expressed humility before the idols made with his own hands as well as before the stars.

In these circumstances the thing which elevated the position of Ibrahim and crowned his efforts with success was his patience and fortitude. The birth-place of the standard-bearer of monotheism was Babylon. The historians have considered it to be one of the seven wonders of the world and have recorded many narrations about the grandeur and magnificence of the civilisation of this territory.