THE IDOLATERS’ CHARACTERISTICS

One of the idolatrous community’s main characteristics is bigotry, which the Qur’an defines as limiting and regulating a person’s life via man-made prohibitions, principles, and sanctions that are not based upon valid, logical, and rational evidence. In the case of religion, this term refers to those who cast aside religion’s true and valid sources and adopt rules and principles based on speculation and conjecture. Such a misguided undertaking is often (and inaccurately) attributed to devout Muslims, although it actually describes idolaters who live by the stipulations, rules, and prohibitions of their distorted faith while proclaiming that they are following the true Islam. Indeed, bigotry is one of the main factors that encourages idolaters to adopt such a superstitious religion, for earthly desires tend toward bigotry and many other negative traits.
Idolaters might find it far more attractive to live by and defend such bigotry than to adopt the true path. They derive a mystical pleasure from this. In fact, this is one of the main reasons why many Jews have gone astray since the days of Prophet Musa (as). Some conservative Jews today appear to be very devout – and we apologize to those who genuinely are – and scrupulously adhere to the religious laws they have established for themselves. However, this faith is not the true religion sent by Allah, and it is practiced not for His approval but for the earthly pleasure derived from living according to one’s devotion to conservatism and one’s ancestors.
Idolaters fill their bigotry-based religions with odd symbols, customs, and rituals so that they can put on a great show. As a result, they become known as very devout individuals who possess considerable degree of fear and respect for Allah and eventually come to enjoy great prestige in their community. But this bigotry is actually no more than a structure designed by them to satisfy themselves, because, for whatever reason, the essence and truth of Allah’s religion, or, to put it more clearly, its true contents and framework, are not enough for them. They cannot accept the fact that Islam is easy to live by and is based on reason and clarity; they can feel at ease only if Islam is “difficult,” for this will allow them to display their “piety” to other people. Uncomfortable with the idea that it is enough for Allah alone to know what they do, they prefer to follow a man-made religion that will enable other people to observe and comment upon their “piety.”
However, unlike the pre-Islamic idolaters who belonged to the religions revealed before Islam, these later idolaters have been unable to change even a single word of the Qur’an, Allah’s final scripture. Our Prophet (saas) revealed that no other scripture will be sent down, that no other religion will come, and that the Qur’an is valid until the Day of Judgment. Allah has protected – and will continue to protect – the Qur’an. Thus, those who sincerely wish to learn what Islam requires in a clear and detailed manner can do so by taking the Qur’an and our Prophet’s (saas) Sunnah, which is entirely compatible with the Qur’an, as their guide.
The idolaters, on the other hand, defend superstitious beliefs that keep people away from the Qur’an. As one verse tells us, they speak falsehoods based upon their own (non-Qur’anic) speculations and conjectures. Harboring various suppositions regarding Allah, they live in a state of insecurity and oppression. Sometimes, they attempt to regain their self-confidence and determination by means of aggression, hypocrisy, mockery, and disregard of others’ opinions.
At the same time, they are spiritually ignorant. Even if they read and memorize countless books, they cannot be enlightened by the Qur’an’s radiance or know Allah as they should, because He has revealed Himself only in the Qur’an. Such people worship a very different deity, one that is man-made and based upon their superstitious faith. Their subsequent ignorance and irrationality are reflected in all that they do. Unable to understand the Qur’an, their spiritual ignorance, lack of reason, and defective logic constantly cause them to be humiliated before other people. Since they are devoted to a superstitious religion, they cannot defend their belief system in a rational manner.
They do not turn directly to Allah or establish a sincere closeness to Him because they are hard-hearted and feel no closeness or devotion to Him. Islam is on their tongue, but not in their heart. They appoint intermediaries to gain access to Allah, regard obtaining their approval as sufficient, and imagine that they will be able to help them. However, all such intermediaries actually move them even further away from Allah and increase their idolatry:

They worship, instead of Allah, that which can neither harm nor help them, saying: “These are our intercessors with Allah.” Ask: “Would you inform Allah of something about which He does not know either in the heavens or on Earth?” May He be glorified and exalted above what they associate with Him! (Surah Yunus: 18)

Being far removed from the Qur’an means that they are also far removed from its moral values. Since they do not read the Qur’an, or read it only with a idolatrous mentality that prevents them from understanding it correctly, they remain deprived of the blessings, knowledge, fine moral values, and spiritual virtues that it offers to the believers. The idolaters cannot see its superior virtues, for they find all kinds of immorality and fraud far more attractive. In addition, they are quite capable of suppressing their conscience and violating the bounds established by Allah for humanity in order to justify their decisions when placed in a difficult position or when their earthly desires and wishes conflict with Islam’s regulations.
Another one of their characteristics is parsimony. One verse reveals that the believers use whatever money is left after meeting their needs to care for other people. Idolaters, on the other hand, spend only a very small amount – and even that is usually dispensed for show. Accumulating possessions and wealth is one of their greatest passions. Indeed, this is far more pleasing to them than spending what they have in Allah’s way. Since they lack true faith and thus have no trust in or submission to Allah, they are always afraid of what the future will bring.
Idolaters constantly invest for their future. Of course such an activity is allowed; however, it must not become an all-consuming passion, for such an attitude indicates a lack of true submission to Allah as well as a deficiency in one’s faith and understanding of Him as the sole provider.
In addition, idolaters are characterized by envy, greed, selfishness, and other moral vices. Having no sense of true aesthetics, art, and beauty, they behave in a very coarse manner toward others and try to portray this as a sign of their superiority and awareness of Allah. They are also consumed by fear, the cause of which they cannot identify:

We will cast terror into the hearts of those who do not believe, because they have associated others with Allah for which He has not sent down any authority. Their shelter will be the Fire. How evil is the abode of the wrongdoers! (Surah Al ‘Imran: 151)

Furthermore, they are also unhappy and pessimistic because troubles, difficulties, woes, and sorrows never leave them alone. This is the beginning (in this world) of the punishment and humiliation they will face in the Hereafter. Besides this, they subconsciously rebel against Allah, for they refuse to give up their man-made religion, which they claim to be practicing in His name, upon which they have based all of their various lifestyles, family structures, surroundings, and social and business relationships. Therefore, it does not suit them at all to abandon this way of life.
One of the idolaters’ most important features is “the idolaters are unclean” (Surat at-Tawba: 28). This may well be an indication that they are both physically and spiritually unclean. Their bodies, clothes, and surroundings are so dirty as to endanger their health. They literally have no conception of proper cleanliness. Since their dietary habits are based on superstitions and man-made beliefs, they sometimes manifest physical or mental impairments stemming an unbalanced diet.
Their mental health is also unsound, for their resulting negative and unhealthy lifestyle can affect their mental development and cerebral functions. This applies to their powers of judgment as well, which makes their speech and behavior unbalanced and inconsistent, far removed from rationality. Prone to ups and downs, they may suddenly become highly excited, experience rapid mood swings from depression to aggression, or speak in an uncomfortable, high, and impaired tone of voice.
All of these negative characteristics cause people to turn away from religion. Imagining that they are serving religious moral values and fighting atheism, they actually inflict more damage on the faith than the atheists do. In fact, they remain blissfully unaware that their large-scale and intense activities are working against the true religion:

If someone closes his eyes to the remembrance of the All-Merciful, We assign him a satan who becomes his bosom friend-they debar them from the path, yet they still think they are guided. (Surat atl-Zukhruf: 36-37)

When idolaters are told of this, they either cannot or refuse to comprehend it because they are not sincere in matters of religion. Even if they read books and articles on the subject, they will be unaware of the fact that they are not approaching the subject directly; if they do realize this, they will pretend not to. Even if all of these descriptions fit them to the letter, they will still refuse to accept it and will look for idolatry elsewhere.
However, those people who are sincere in their faith but fell into such misunderstanding initially, through spiritual ignorance, can still apply to their consciences when they learn the true facts. If they return to the true path they can be saved, if Allah wills, through sincere repentance. It may be hoped that people who join the idolaters out of spiritual ignorance and who do not have a truly idolater character themselves may attain Allah’s true path as a result of their sincerity and good intentions. One goal of this website is to reach such people and enable them to see their errors and deficiencies, to make them aware of the darkness that surrounds them, and to encourage them to repent and enter Allah’s pure religion.
Unless Allah lifts the veil over a person’s eyes, ears, and heart, one cannot expect the conscience of a true idolater to begin working and the person concerned to achieve salvation. The reason why any person fails to realize the truth and believes that it does not apply to him or her, despite reading this website, is one of Allah’s miracles. Naturally, the best and hoped for outcome is for such people to attain salvation. It must not be forgotten that all hearts are in His hands and that He may will to guide those who sincerely draw close to Him, repent, realize the reality of their situation, and seek salvation only from Him. Therefore, one has to guard against succumbing to idolatry. One way to do this is to consider the possibility right from the start that He exists, what this fact means, and, with this in mind, review the beliefs and worldview of one’s society, as well as one’s personal beliefs, worldview, and opinion of Islam. There is no shame in recognizing and correcting one’s faults; on the contrary, this is a sign of sincerity and a proof of one’s fear for and respect of Allah.
As we have seen thus far, rejecting the Qur’an and the Sunnah and adhering to superstitious and misguided rites, practices, and beliefs in the name of the faith, in the name of Islam, lead one to strife and idolatry rather than to the true path. For that reason, the only solution is to tightly embrace the Sunni way, the way of the Qur’an.