5. THE MESSAGE OF FALSE RELIGIONS
False religions, on the other hand, all teach the worship of creation (Paganism) in one way or another. Some religions call to idolatry indirectly while proclaiming God’s unity, while others openly call to the worship of other gods besides God or along with God, instead of calling to the worship of God alone (pure Monotheism). Idolatry is the greatest sin that a human being could commit because it equates the Creator with the creation and diverts worship from the Creator to the creation. It also contradicts the very purpose for which humans were created; the worship of God alone. One who dies in a state of idolatry has sealed his or her fate in the next life. This is not an opinion, but a divinely revealed fact stated by God in the Quran: “Verily, Allah will not forgive joining of partners with Him, but He may forgive sins less than that for whomsoever He wishes.” (4:48 & 116)
Man should not worship other than God because it makes no sense to worship the creation which is weak in nature, and neglect the Creator who controls the whole Universe! God says in the Qur’an: “Do they attribute to Me partners who created nothing but are themselves created? They can neither help others nor can they help themselves. And if you call them for guidance they will not follow you. It is the same for you whether you call them or you keep silent. Certainly, those whom you call upon besides Allah are slaves like yourselves. So call upon them and let them answer you if you are truthful. Do they have feet with which they walk, hands with which they hold, eyes with which they see? Or do they have ears with which they hear?” (7:190-195)
The following is an example of a sign revealed by God to a man to show him the error of his idol-worship. In the southeastern region of the Amazon jungle in Brazil, South America, a primitive tribe erected a new hut to house their main idol Skwatoo, representing the supreme God of all creation! The following day a young man entered the hut to pay homage to his god. While he was prostrating to what he had been taught was his creator and sustainer, a mangy, old and flea-ridden dog slunk into the hut. The young man looked up just in time to see the dog lift its hind leg and pass urine on the idol. Outraged, the young man chased the dog out of the temple, but when his rage died down, he realized that the idol could not be the Lord of the Universe. God must be elsewhere, he concluded. As strange as it may seem, the dog urinating on the idol was a sign from God for that young man that his idol does not deserve to be worshipped. This sign contained the divine message that what he was worshipping was false. It liberated him from slavishly following his traditionally learned worship of a false god. As a result, this man was given a choice: either to seek the true God or to continue in the error of his ways.
by Majed S. Al-Rassi
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