when he said, “Night and day will not cease until al-Lāt and al-Uzzā are worshipped.” Aisha said, “O Messenger of Allah! When Allah revealed, ‘It is He who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth, to make it prevail over every other religion, even though the polytheists detest it’ (1), I had thought that this would be fully realized.” He said, “This will indeed remain so for as long as Allah wills. Then Allah will send a pleasant wind that will take the soul of everyone who has the weight of a mustard seed of faith in his heart. Those in whom there is no good will remain, and they will return to the religion of their forefathers” (2).

The manifestations of polytheism are many. They are not confined to worshipping stones, trees, and graves; they also include setting up false authorities as rivals to Allah Most High. These authorities legislate for people on their own initiative and compel them to seek judgment according to their laws and to forsake the law of Allah. They thereby set themselves up as gods alongside Allah—exalted and holy is He. As Allah Most High says, “They have taken their rabbis and monks as lords besides Allah” [al-Tawbah: 31]. That is, they made their scholars and devout worshippers into gods who legislated for them, for they followed them in what they declared lawful and unlawful (3).

If this is the case merely with regard to declaring things lawful and unlawful, then what of those who have cast Islam behind their backs and embraced atheistic ideologies such as secularism, communism, socialism, and nationalism, yet still claim to be Muslims?