is nothing but the very claim voiced by the earliest idol-worshippers, who said: “We worship them only so that they may bring us nearer to Allah” (Qur’an 39:3).

Yet despite the long history of such polytheism, the vast majority of mankind has in fact affirmed the oneness of divine lordship; their error lies in worship, for they direct acts of devotion to others alongside Allah. Concerning them the Almighty says: “Most of them do not believe in Allah except while they are associating partners with Him” (Qur’an 12:106).

Only a tiny fraction of humanity has ever denied the very existence of the Creator: Pharaoh of old, the materialist dahriyyūn, and, in our own era, the communists. Even their denial is mere obstinacy, for deep within they are compelled to acknowledge Him, as He says: “They rejected them, though their own souls were convinced of them, out of wrongdoing and arrogance” (Qur’an 27:14).

Reason itself testifies that every created thing must have a Creator, every existent a Maker, and that the precise order governing this universe requires a wise, all-powerful, all-knowing Administrator. Whoever denies this is either bereft of reason or wilfully suppressing it, reducing himself to foolishness—and such a person’s opinion carries no weight.