Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets — Page 55
MUHAMMAD : SEAL OF THE PROPHETS 55 Ka’aba, which had originally been built for the worship of the One True God, had, in the course of time, become studded with idols. As against this, the Unity of God Almighty was the basic doctrine of Islam. As the Holy Quran has admonished: ‘Prostrate not yourselves before the sun, nor before the moon, but prostrate yourselves before Allah, Who created them’ (41:38). Not only this, but their idols and their gods and their goddesses were described in the Holy Quran as the fuel of hell: ‘Surely, you and that which you worship beside Allah are destined to be the fuel of hell’ (21:99). Such severe condemnation had greatly provoked Quraish who were united in their determination to wipe out Islam. 2. Aside from idol - worship, the customs and habits of the Arabs were sunk low. Adultery, liquor, gambling, plunder, murder and all sorts of illicit practices were rife among them. These were all condemned by Islam, and embracing Islam meant discarding all of them and adopting a new mode of life. Quraish were not at all ready to do that. 3. The Arabs were very sensitive with regard to the good name of their fathers and took pride in following in their footsteps, right or wrong. As is said in the Holy Quran: ‘When it is said to them: Follow that which Allah has sent down; their response is: In deed not. We shall follow in the way of our fathers. But what if their fathers had no sense and were not rightly guided?’