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From: xoxoxo xoxoxo on 25 Dec 2009 15:04

Islam came at a time when there were many forms of worship in the
world. Some of these were remnants of the previous divinely revealed
******ures. Others were completely man-made. Even those acts of
worship that were of divine origin had been corrupted, altered, and
removed from their proper con****s.

Some religions exaggerated the importance of formalism and mindless
ritual. Others went to extremes to free themselves of all notions of
form and order. Some religions went to extremes that made worship a
harmful and painful thing. Some of them also demanded monasticism from
their adherents. Other religions went to extremes in indulgence, often
completely abandoning religious obligations altogether.

Islam came to correct and reform these excessive tendencies, while
establishing principles of its own. It provided principles to bring
about reform and to safeguard worship. The most important of these
principles are as follows:

1. No one deserves to be worshipped except for Allah:

The first thing that Islam came with was the concept of monotheism.
Bearing witness to monotheism is how a person enters into the fold of
Islam and is considered to be a believer. The testimony is as
follows:

“There is no god but Allah. Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.”

These words are a testimony that there is no one worthy of worship
except for Allah. In this way, Islam negates every possible
manifestation of polytheism. The following are some of the ways that
Islam safeguards the idea of monotheism:

A. Islam makes polytheism a cause of negating the effects of good
works and as a way of leaving the fold of Islam. Allah addresses His
Messenger (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) with the
following words:

“It has been revealed to you and to those who came before you: If you
commit polytheism, your deeds will be naught and you will be among the
losers.”


B. Islam closes all the doors to polytheism. It pays careful attention
to all the ways polytheism can be prevented. Among these are the
following:

- The Messenger (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
prohibited the people from honoring him excessively, because this
could lead to excessiveness in belief. He made it clear that he was
merely a slave of Allah and His Messenger. He said: “Do not praise me
excessively the way that the Christians praised `Isâ (Jesus) the son
of Maryam (Mary). I am only Allah’s slave and Messenger so say that I
am His slave and Messenger.”

- He prohibited people from seeking assistance through him or through
the agency of any other righteous person. It has been related that one
of the hypocrites used to abuse the believers, so some of the
believers suggested that they collectively seek help from that
Hypocrite by means of Allah’s Messenger (may the peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him). The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) said: “None should seek help through me. Help
should be sought from Allah alone.”

C. The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
prohibited people from turning gravesites into places of worship. He
strongly warned against this practice. Near the time of his death, he
repeatedly mentioned this prohibition. He would say: “Allah’s wrath
became severe towards those people who turned the graves of their
prophets into places of worship.”

D. The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
prohibited people from taking oaths in other than Allah’s name,
because an oath implies the aggrandizement of the one in whose name it
is taken. The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) said: “Whoever takes an oath in other than Allah’s name has
fallen into polytheism.”

E. The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
prohibited people from performing sacrifices to other than Allah. He
said: “Allah has cursed those who offer sacrifices to other than
Allah.”
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