The Arabs believed they were devout and god-mindful.
Then came Muhammad, pushing them away from their gods.
Did you know that the Arabs before the advent of Islam regarded idols as a form of taqarrub (seeking proximity) to God?
“As for those who have adopted guardians other than Him (saying), “We worship them for no other reason but because they would bring us near to Allah.”
al-Quran 39:3
From their point of view then, this person named Muhammad was calling for Shirk against their gods and religious traditions.
Tracking back the history of how idolatry worship started among the Arabs, you will be surprised to learn that it stemmed from blind religious obsession.
According to historians, it all started from Amru ibn Luhay, an Arab known for his generosity, good deeds and concern with religious matters. People thus loved and respected him. To them, he was their ulama’.
He travelled to Syam and found that people there were worshipping idols. “Syam was a place where Allah sent prophets and messengers and revealed the Books, so this must be good,” he thought.
Amru brought back an idol named Hubal and put it inside Kaaba. To make it even more ‘religious’, Amru claimed that the Jinn revealed to him the location of the idols from the era of Nuh AS – Wad, Suwa, Yaghuth and Nasr.
During the opening of Mecca by ar-Rasul SAW later on, there were 360 idols in Masjidil Haram alone.
‘Thanks’ to these idols and other idolatry religious practices invented, the Arabs felt ‘closer’ to Allah.
Then came Muhammad with the message of Tawheed. He SAW challenged their faith and their religious tradition taught by their respected ‘ulama’ and upheld by their leaders.
This situation made the work of Da’wah more difficult – to confront the widely practised customs of people who believed themselves to be already highly religious and devoted, just as you are facing today.
People wanted to be more religious. Unfortunately, their religious figures sometimes tend to lead them astray.
Indeed, people do want to be more religious. Are you ready to enlighten them with the real truth?
