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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A Study of Polytheism and Idolatry in the Qur’an Chapter 4: Idolatrous Religious Rites Before commencing the discussion, it is necessary to mention that polytheists used to perform special rituals or idolatrous religious rites with the intention of worshipping idols and manifesting their love for them.

Among the many proofs of this discussion is the following verse: “Say, ‘Indeed, my Lord has guided me to a straight path, the upright religion, the creed of Abraham, a hanīf, and he was not one of the polytheists.’ Say, ‘Indeed, my prayer and my worship, my life and my death are for the sake of Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.

He has no partner, and this [creed] I have been commanded [to follow], and I am the first of those who submit [to Allah].’ Say, ‘Shall I seek a Lord other than Allah, while He is the Lord of all things?’ No soul does evil except against itself, and no bearer shall bear another’s burden; then to your Lord will be your return, whereat He will inform you concerning that about which you used to differ.” [^1] It can be gathered from the above quoted verses that Abraham ( ‘a ) was not one of the polytheists; “…Abraham, a hanīf, and he was not one of the polytheists.” The Noble Prophet ( s ) is being ordered to follow in the footsteps of Abraham ( ‘a ), a hanīf , and to perform all religious rites, whether they are prayers or the hajj , for the sake of Allah, as well as to live and die for Him.

This shows that the opposing camp, the polytheists, never used to perform their religious rites for Allah the One God, but for idols. It seems that the outstanding difference between the Noble Prophet ( s ) and idolaters was that the Noble Prophet ( s ) used to perform his acts of worship for the sake of Allah while polytheists used to perform their rites for idols.

Idolatrous rites We will hereunder cite examples of polytheistic rites: a) Slaughtering animals in the name of idols Idolaters used to slaughter their animals in the name of an idol and perhaps one of the reasons why Islam has ordered that it is obligatory to mention the name of Allah at the time of slaughtering animals is to counter wrong idolatrous rites.

It is clear that idolaters used to slaughter animals in the name of idols, but not clear which idol was invoked at the time of slaughtering; whether it was the name of the greatest idol, or the name of the clan idol, or the local idol.