The point that is become clear from all this discussion is that like all other deeds there is no single cause for polytheism; many causes join together to give it a shape.

The feelings of man, his inclinations, and the need for a god that can be perceived through sense, decadence in ideas and thoughts, searching for help from presupposed entities have all led to the foundation of idolatry. The idea that the idols can be the intermediary with God, and the whim that God can not be worshipped directly so some intercessor is required for it and the idea of purifying the idols made in the form of previous apostle and other such ideas

have led to the nurturing of idolatry.

This of course together with blind following of the forefathers and not be inclined to search for the truth; the benefit derived by the tyrants from the inclinations of the common people towards idolatry to fulfill their evil plans have also contributed as causes for the birth of idolatry and its commonality.

On the one hand the apostles of God invited the people to the open doors of Tawhid in opposition to the birth of idolatry and its development; they invited the people to rise above the world materialism and conquer to conquer it through high values and thoughts. On the other side they enjoined the people to worship God directly, to be rid of whims and fancies, and to bow before the One God believing Him to be the lord of the universe, to seek His refuge and to raise them. In the third instance the apostles of God asked the people to break the barriers of ignorant following, to search for the truth in this world, and to recognize the spiritual and material signs of God. The fourth part of their message was that they the asked the people to break the idols of confrontation and chaos, to be united, and to be rid of the tyranny of the oppressive rulers.

This is the outline of disbelief and belief and polytheism and monotheism.

We conclude our discussion from Allama Tabatabai’s explanation in the Tafsir Al Mizan of verses 36 to 49 of Surah HUD about how idolatry began. He says, “We learn from our previous discussion that man was always busy in converting the spiritual things and those beyond the human senses into idols and paintings and etchings.

It is his natural tendency to bow and respect all powers and lofty things.

This is the reason that idolatry was always present in the human society. This waywardness is not prevalent just in the developed societies but in all human groups that have based their lives on the denial of God for they share equally in it. We find the statues of big people in their society and they bow before them in respect but it reminds the beholder of the ancient idol worship. Today in both the west and the east millions of people have taken to idolatry.

We can easily conclude that idolatry started with people making statues of their famous ones or preserved their bodies and then they bowed before them. Today we find many statues of different nations of famous people installed in the religious institutions. There are thousands of statues or idols of Gautam Buddha and Brahma.

Their bowing to the bodies of the dead people and idols are proof that that tell us that they believed that these people do not leave them even after their death and their souls still remain back. They also believed that their ideas and deeds attain perfection because they are now free from a material body and limitations of the material world. We also observe that despite his statues being worshipped and his claim to be God the pharaoh too worshipped other idols. (1)

It is necessary that we should analyze the causes of idolatry that are evident.

There is nothing wrong if we in the end of this discussion look towards the strange and surprising point that has been mentioned by Will Durant in his History of Civilization and those who have traveled to other countries have confirmed that there are some idols shaped in the form human genitals and people worship them.

Will Durant writes, “The first thing to be worshipped was most probably the moon that was high in the sky and it was the most popular god of the women for they considered it to be their special god and worshipped it. They thought that the moon ruled the sky and rain and ice are its gifts and the frogs to pray to the moon for rain.

He then talks about the worship of the sun, earth, mountains and rivers and then adds: “The people of the ancient times were unaware that the human semen comes from the merger “Ispar” and “Owal” so they thought that this strange birth of human is because of sexual intercourse and they believed that this intercourse or use of sexual organ too has a soul which is the base of creation of humans. This assumption soon became a port of their belief and they began to consider them as god, made idols in their shape and worshipped them.

It is very surprising that Will Durant writes that there has not been any civilization in this world that has not worshipped these sexual organs. (2) As we have said earlier these organs are still being worshipped proudly in Japan and India.

This tells us that when man denies the teachings of the apostles of God he falls into the foul smelling abyss of disbelief and then resorts to foolish and shameful practices.

The Muslim Mominin cannot thank God enough for having been born into a society of monotheism that believes in Oneness of God and its teachings separates them from polytheism and idolatry and from entering into the wayward paths of similar evils.

1. Tafsir Al Mizan Vol.10 Page 275-277

2. Will Durant History Vol. 1 Page 95.