This might seem obvious, but, man's worship of
creation instead of the Creator is to a large degree
based on ignorance of this concept. It is the belief that
the essence of Allah is everywhere in His creation or
that His divine being is or was present in some aspects
of His creation, which has provided justification for the
worship of creation though such worship may becalled
the worship of Allah through his creation. How ever, the
message of Islam as brought by the prophets of Allah is
to worship only Allah and to avoid the worship of his
creation either directly or indirectly.
In the Qur'aan Allah clearly states:
"For We assuredly sent amongst every people
a prophet,(with the command)worship me and avold
false gods" (Soorah AI-Nahl 18:36)
When the idol worshipper is questioned as to why
he or she bows down to idols created by men, the
invariable reply is that they are not actually
worshipping the stone image, but Allah who is
present within it. They claim that the stone idol is
only a focal point for Allah's essence and is not in
itself Allah! One who has accepted the concept of
the presence of God's being within His creation in
any way will be obliged to accept this argument of
idolatry. Whereas, one who understands the basic
message of Islam and its implications would never
concede to idolatry no matter how it is rationalized.
Those who have claimed divinity for themselves
down through the ages have often based their
claims on the mistaken belief that Allah is present in
man. They merely had to assert that although Allah
according to their false beliefs, is in all of us, He is
more present in them than in the rest of us. Hence,
they claim, we should submit our will to them and
worship them as they are either God in person or
God concentrated within the person.
Similarly, those who have asserted the godhood
of others after their passing have found fertile
ground among those who accept the false belief of
God's presence in man. One who has grasped the
basic message of Islam and its implications could
never agree to worship another human being under
any circumstances. God's religion in essence is a
clear call to the worship of the Creator and the
rejection of creation-worship in any form. This is the
meaning of the motto of Islam:
لا إله إلا الله
"Laa Elaaha Illallaah"
(There is no god but Allah)