And Abraham, the intimate friend, peace be upon him, said to his people:

“Have you seen what you and your earliest forefathers have been worshipping? They are enemies to me—except for the Lord of all worlds.”

The Exalted also says:

“You have had a fine example in Abraham and those with him when they said to their people, ‘We disown you and whatever you worship apart from Allah. We reject you, and enmity and hatred have arisen between us and you forever, until you believe in Allah alone’—except for Abraham’s saying to his father, ‘I shall surely seek forgiveness for you, though I have no power to help you in the least against Allah.’”

And He says:

“Say, O disbelievers: I do not worship what you worship, nor are you worshippers of what I worship. I will never worship what you worship, nor will you ever worship what I worship. Your religion is yours, and my religion is mine.”

This pronouncement affirms his disavowal of their religion; it does not imply his approval of it. The Exalted likewise says:

“If they deny you, then say: ‘My deeds are mine and your deeds are yours. You are innocent of what I do, and I am innocent of what you do.’”

Whoever from among the atheists imagines that these verses signal approval of the unbelievers’ creed is among the most mendacious and godless of people. The same holds for anyone who supposes that His words, “Your Lord has decreed,” mean “pre-destined,” claiming that whatever Allah decrees must necessarily occur and therefore that the idol-worshippers, in reality, worshipped none but Allah. Such a person is an extreme denier of the revealed scriptures.