Library Islam Philosophy of Islam chapter 06 - Monotheism of the Qur’an Refutation of polytheism
Refutation of polytheism
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Refutation of polytheism
The Qur'an refutes the theory of the plurality of gods in the following manner.
"Allah has not taken to Himself any son, nor is there any other god with Him. Otherwise each god certainly would have taken off his creation, and some of the gods would have gained superiority over the others. Glory be to Allah who is far above what they allege. He has the knowledge of the seen and the unseen alike. Therefore exalted be He above the deities they associate with Him ". (Surah al‑Mu'minun, 23:91 ‑ 92).
Should the world have more than one creator their subsequent relation with it is bound to assume one of the following forms:
1. Each of them would have sovereign authority in one part of the world, for example in that part which he himself created. In this case the various parts of the world would have different systems totally independent of each other. But we see that the whole world has one compact and inter‑related system.
2. One of the creators and the regional gods would hold a position superior to that of all others, and in this way maintain some sort of co‑ordination and general harmony. In this case the one who exercises supreme authority will be the real sovereign of the whole world and all others will be his functionaries only.
3. Each of these gods would have authority over the world and be free to act independently and to issue commands as he pleases. In this case there will be complete chaos and confusion, and no law and order will be left, as the Qur'an says:
"Had there been gods besides Allah, both the heavens and the earth would have been ruined. So glory be to Allah, the Lord of the Throne, free of what they ascribe to Him ". (Surah al‑Anbiya, 21:22).
Thus the uniformity of the system which prevails over the entire world contradicts the theory of the plurality of gods with separate dominions, and its compactness denies the theory of several gods with one dominion.
The presumption that two or more gods may exercise authority over the whole world, but they always and everywhere co‑operate with each other and issue uniform commands, is a fantastic idea. Their plurality entails automatically that they must differ at least on one occasion.
