Last Updated: November 2023
Religion is the guideline of life. No other religion can work effectively except the one given by the Creator Himself. Allah, therefore, kept sending His messengers to every era to remind people:
Follow, [O mankind], what has been revealed to you from your Rubb and do not follow other than Him any allies. Little do you remember (7: 3)
Your Allah is One Allah. There is no god but He, the Benevolent, the Merciful (2: 163)
Do not set up another god with Allah, lest you become condemned and damned (17: 22)
And do not call, apart from Allah, on what neither benefits you nor harms you. If you do, you are then one of the wrongdoers (10: 106)
In Chapter Eight we have seen that Allah has given proofs of His presence by describing how He has created everything and is regulating all the affairs of the earth and the heavens.
That is Allah, your Rubb, Creator of all things; there is no deity except Him, so how are you deluded? (40: 62)
And to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs. (4: 132) He does not need any helpers or associates.
He created the heavens and earth in truth. High is He above what they associate with Him (16: 3)
12.1 WHY IS SHIRK/POLYTHEISM NOT A RECOMMENDED PRACTICE IN THE RELIGION OF ALLAH?
The focus on the Main Guiding Source is essential; otherwise, a person cannot learn the right course of life. Deflection from the True Guiding Source not only puts one’s own life in trouble, but also spoils the whole society by introducing misguiding directions for life. As we have learned in Chapter Two, all the affairs of the universe are based on peace, introduction of misguiding concepts and practices may spoil the [overall] peace. Therefore:
Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives anything less than that to whomever He wills. Whoever associates anything with Allah has devised a monstrous sin [mistake] (4: 48)
We have seen in previous chapters that everything is obedient to Allah and therefore, it acts like a servant. Allah does not like if someone associates His servants with Him. He explains the logic of His detest.
He illustrates an example for you, from your own selves: do you make your own servants, full partners in the wealth We have given you? Do you revere them as you revere one another? We thus explain the revelations for a people who understand. (30: 28)
A person who does not like something for himself, how can he expect that Allah will like it?
Allah has favored some of you over others in livelihood. Those who are favored would not give their properties to their servants, to the extent of making them partners in it. Will they then renounce Allah’s blessings? (16: 71) and associate others with Him.
12.2 WHY DO HUMANS COMMIT SHIRK? [CAUSES OF SHIRK]
LACK OF KNOWLEDGE [IGNORANCE] IS THE MAIN CAUSE OF SHIRK
Humans, as mentioned in previous chapters, have not attained perfection yet. This is the reason they make several mistakes; and the biggest of these is associating others with Allah. Perfection comes with knowledge; lack of knowledge [ignorance] is the main cause behind making mistakes.
And of the people is he who disputes about Allah without knowledge ……… (22: 3)
In the absence of complete information [knowledge], people only make assumptions; and assumptions are always erratic.
Most of them [people] follow nothing but assumptions; and assumptions avail nothing against the truth……………. (10: 36)
It is erroneous assumptions that misguide people. It was lack of knowledge that led people in the past to consider the sun and other celestial bodies as their gods.
And they took, besides Allah, other gods, to be for them a source of strength. (19: 81)
Allah, however, has kept people informed about the reality throughout time.
And of His signs are the night and day and the sun and moon. Do not prostrate to the sun or to the moon, but prostrate to Allah, who created them, if it should be Him that you worship [obey] (41: 37)
And that it is He who is the Rubb of *Sirius. (53: 49) *Sirius is the brightest star in the constellation and was given the status of god by the ancient people.
It was ignorance which led some ancients to invent baseless fables/stories/myths.
………… “Do you not fear? Do you call on Baal [a god from ancient mythology], and forsake the Best of creators? Allah is your Rubb, and the Rubb of your ancestors.” (37: 124-126)
………. Allah is the Truth, and that which they call upon other than Him is falsehood………(22: 62)
… “Have you considered those you worship [obey/rely on] instead of Allah? Show me which portion of the earth they have created. Or do they own a share of the heavens? Bring me a scripture [written proof] prior to this one, or some trace of knowledge [which shows that it is created by someone other than Allah], if you are truthful (46: 4)
And to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And ever is Allah, of all things, encompassing (4: 126)
He who made for you the earth a bed [spread out] and the sky a ceiling and sent down from the sky, rain and brought forth thereby fruits as provision for you. So do not attribute to Allah equals while you know [that there is nothing similar to Him] (2: 22)
And yet they [some people] serve besides Allah what possesses no provisions for them in the heavens, nor on earth, nor are they capable (16: 73)
A chain of systems is required for the sustenance of life. If any link goes missing, it becomes impossible for humans to sustain their lives. A complete knowledge of all these links not only keeps a person aware of the realities, but it leads to Allah. It is only Allah who guides people to the straight path – how to sustain a healthy and peaceful life and attain perfection for eternity [details of eternal life in section 6.5 of Chapter Six:]. In this matter, Allah guides people towards the points of attention. Though humans can attain different chunks of knowledge, without guidance from Allah, they cannot link them together to see the broader picture.
Say, “Praise Allah, and peace be upon His servants [messengers] whom He has selected [to convey His message to humanity]. Is Allah better, or what they [people] associate? Or, who created the heavens and the earth, and rains down water from the sky for you? With it We produce gardens full of beauty, whose trees you could not have produced. Is there another god with Allah? But they are a people who equate. Or, who made the earth habitable and made rivers flow through it, and set mountains on it, and placed a partition between the two seas? Is there another god with Allah? But most of them do not know. (27: 59-61)
O people! Remember Allah’s blessings upon you. Is there a creator other than Allah who provides for you from the heaven and the earth? There is no god but He. So how are you misled? (35: 3)
…. “Call upon those whom you claim besides Allah. They possess not an atom’s weight in the heavens or the earth, and they possess no share of either, and He has no backers from among them.” (34: 22)
He merges the night into the day, and He merges the day into the night; and He regulates the sun and the moon, each running for a stated term. Such is Allah, your Rubb; His is the sovereignty. As for those you call upon besides Him, they do not possess a speck. If you pray to them, they cannot hear your prayer. And even if they heard, they would not answer you……….. (35: 13-14)
….“Do you worship besides Allah that which holds for you no [power of] harm or benefit while it is Allah who is the Hearing, the Knowing?” (5: 76)
You only worship [seek help/serve], besides Allah, idols, and you produce a falsehood. Indeed, those you worship besides Allah do not possess for you [the power of] provision. So seek from Allah provision and worship Him and be grateful to Him……….. (29: 17)
How many a creature there is that does not carry its provision? [But still, they live for so many years] Allah provides for them, and for you. He is the Hearer, the Knowledgeable (29: 60). [some animals, like the whale and elephant, eat tons of food daily. In deserts, where there is a scarcity of food and water, several creatures can still find their food somehow. It is Allah who provides sustenance to billions of such creatures every day and thus keeps the system running.
Allah cites the example of a bonded slave, who has no power over anything; and someone to whom We have given plentiful provision, from which he gives secretly and openly. Are they equal in comparison? All praise belongs to Allah, but most of them do not know (16: 75)
…………………………Say, “Is the blind equivalent to the seeing? Or is darkness equivalent to light? Or have they attributed to Allah partners who created like His creation so that the creation [of each] seemed similar to them?” Say, “Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the One, the Prevailing.” (13: 16)
Say, “Can any of your partners [upon whom you rely] guide to the truth?” Say, “Allah guides to the truth. Is He who guides to the truth more worthy of being followed, or he/that who does not guide, unless he himself/ itself is guided/programed? What is the matter with you? How do you judge?” (10: 35)
And those they invoke other than Allah create nothing, and they [themselves] are created. (16: 20)
Then is He who creates like one who does not create? So will you not be reminded? (16: 17)
………….He brings the living from the dead, and He brings the dead from the living. Such is Allah…………………. (6: 95) [details in next chapter]
Allah is the one who created you, then provided for you, then will cause you to die, and then will give you life. Are there any of your “partners” [upon whom you rely] who does anything of that? Exalted is He and high above what they associate with Him. (30: 40) [details of the life Hereafter in Chapter Six]
Say, “Are there of your “partners” [upon whom you rely] any who begins creation and then repeats it?” Say, “Allah begins creation and then repeats it, so how are you deluded?” (10: 34)
……………Is there another god with Allah? Say, “Produce your evidence, if you are truthful.” (27: 64)
Making innovations in the name of rites and rituals about which Allah has sent no instructions is also a form of shirk.
And they assign to what they do not know a portion of that which We have provided them. By Allah, you will surely be questioned about what you used to invent (16: 56)
You worship not besides Him except [mere] names you have named them, you and your fathers [ancestors], for which Allah has sent down no authority. Legislation is not but for Allah. He has commanded that you worship [obey] not except Him. That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know. (12: 40) and thus invent falsehood.
And most of them do not believe in Allah unless they associate others (12: 106)
…………………, and they say, “These are our intercessors with Allah” Say, “Do you inform Allah of something He does not know in the heavens or on the earth?” Exalted is He and high above what they associate with Him (10: 18)
……………………… And those who take protectors besides Him (say), “We only worship them that they may bring us nearer to Allah in position.” …………………. (39: 3)
Say, “Are you going to teach Allah about your religion, when Allah knows everything in the heavens and the earth, and Allah is aware of all things?” (49: 16)
Does He who created not know, while He is the Subtle, the Acquainted? (67: 14)
Who does greater wrong than he who invents lies about Allah, or denies His revelations? ….. (7: 37)
… they attribute to Allah partners – the sprites – although He created them. And they invented for Him sons and daughters, without any knowledge. Glory be to Him. He is exalted, beyond what they describe (6: 100)
And they say, “The Most Merciful has begotten a son.” You have come up with something monstrous. At which the heavens almost rupture, and the earth splits, and the mountains fall and crumble. (19: 88-90)
… It is not appropriate for the Most Merciful that He should take a son. (19: 92)
Allah, there is no god but He, the Living, the Eternal. (3: 2) why would He then need any heir.
Say, “If the most Merciful had a son, then I would be the first of [his] worshippers.” Exalted is the Rubb of the heavens and the earth, Rubb of the Throne, above what they describe (43: 81-82)
Allah has never begotten a son, nor is there any god besides Him. Otherwise, each god would have taken away what it has created, and some of them would have gained supremacy over others. Glory be to Allah, far beyond what they describe. (23: 91)
Logic also rejects the presence of multiple gods.
Say, “If there had been with Him [other] gods, as they say, then they [each god] would have sought to the Owner of the Throne a way.” (17: 42)
And say, “Praise be to Allah, who has not begotten a son, nor has He a partner in sovereignty, nor has He an ally out of weakness, and glorify Him constantly.” (18: 111)
Say, “He is Allah, the One. Allah, the Absolute. He begets not, nor was He begotten. And there is nothing comparable to Him.” (112: 1-4)
…..We set you upon a pathway of faith, so follow it, and do not follow the inclinations of those who do not know. They will not help you against Allah in any way. The wrongdoers are allies of one another, while Allah is the Protector of the righteous. (45: 18-19)
Surely your god is Allah, the One besides whom there is no other god. He comprehends everything in knowledge (20: 98)
Ignorance is the mother of all evils. It generates unnecessary fears, impatience, desires, and arrogance which ultimately becomes a cause of shirk.
Knowledge provides solutions, which gives confidence and courage to face the reality. Whereas ignorance begets unnecessary fears. True knowledge tells people that it is only Allah who should be feared because whatever goes against His rules, is ruined/destroyed. Therefore, if someone goes against the rules, he will be ruined. Fear of Allah thus generates obedience, which puts a person on the right course – the course of coherence.
It was because of unnecessary fears that humans in the past made up so many gods: the god of weather, rain, wind, lightning, seasons, fertility, war etc. Whenever they found themselves helpless in front of anything, they started to worship it to mellow down its severity.
Those who seek help from others rather than Allah accumulate unnecessary fears in their lives. These fears make their lives stressful and miserable.
Allah has said: “Do not take two gods; He is only One Allah; so fear only Me.” To Him belongs everything in the heavens and the earth; and to Him obedience is due always. Do you then fear anyone other than Allah? (16: 51-52)
Allah, there is no god but He; and in Allah let the believers put their trust. (64: 13)
Submission to a Single/ Sole Power is beneficial for mental health. It relieves humans from the stress of unnecessary fears such as whom to obey, rely on and give priority.
……………Worship Allah and fear Him. That is the best for you, if you should know. (29: 16)
Shirk makes life miserable – to please a number of gods is a stressful job. Belief in the Single Authority, on the other hand, is for the benefit of humans. It gives peace to the mind and relieves a person from the stresses of the incoherent demands of multiple gods.
If there were in them gods other than Allah, they would have gone to ruin. So glory be to Allah, Rubb of the Throne, beyond what they allege. (21: 22)
…………..are separate lords better or Allah, the One, the Prevailing? (12: 39)
Allah presents an example: a slave owned by quarreling partners and another belonging exclusively to one man – are they equal in comparison? Praise be to Allah! But most of them do not know. (39: 29)
And these examples We present to the people, but none will understand them except those of knowledge (29: 43)
Ignorance obscures truth and builds impatience. Whereas knowledge gives understanding and patience.
And how will you endure what you have no knowledge of? (18: 68)
Impatience actually comes when a person does not hold complete knowledge about anything. Sometimes worldly knowledge is not enough to understand things or situations. At that time guidance [from Allah] played a helping role. Patience comes with understanding. Impatience makes people associate others with Allah. If people do not get the desired results quickly, they turn to other sources for quick solutions to their problems. In doing so, they not only lose faith but also all those advantages [like peace of mind] that are related with the faith in a Single Authority [details in section 6.1 of Chapter Six].
The human being never tires of praying for good things; but when adversity afflicts him, he despairs and loses hope (41: 49)
And of the people is he who worships Allah on an edge. If he is touched by good, he is reassured by it; but if he is struck by trial, he turns on his face [to the other direction]. He has lost [this] world and the Hereafter. That is what is the manifest loss. He invokes instead of Allah that which neither harms him nor benefits him. That is what is the extreme error. He invokes one whose harm is closer than his benefit – how wretched the protector and how wretched the associate. (22: 11-13)
Say, “It is Allah who delivers you from it, and from every disaster. Yet then you associate others with Him” (6: 64)
If Allah touches you with adversity, none can remove it except He. And if He touches you with good – He is Capable of everything (6: 17)
… put your trust in the Almighty, the Merciful (26: 217)
Another product of ignorance is desire. By ignoring guidance, one can easily become a victim of desire. Desire is usually a silly wish that drives a person to act upon it.
……… wrongdoers follow their desires without knowledge…………. (30: 29)
As Allah is invisible to human senses, a desire to see how Allah looks like urges some humans to carve idols to give their imagination a concrete form.
When he (Abraham) said to his father and his people, “What do you worship?” They said, “We worship idols, and we remain devoted to them.” He said, “Do they hear you when you pray? Or do they benefit you, or harm you?” (26: 70-73)
Desire can only be controlled by logic.
……….. “Do you worship what you carve?” (37: 95)
………………..why do you worship that can neither hear, nor see, nor benefit you in any way (19: 42)
Some people defend their stance for desire by saying:
“Indeed, we found our fathers upon a religion [way of life], and we are, in their footsteps following.” (43: 23)
They are not but [mere names] you have named them – you and your forefathers – for which Allah has sent no authority. They follow not except assumption and what [their] soul desire, and there has already come to them from their Rubb guidance. (53: 23)
Say, “I am forbidden from worshiping those you pray to besides Allah.” Say, “I will not follow your desires; else I would be lost and not be of those guided.” (6: 56)
Festivity and celebrations seem appealing to some people. They think that through these celebrations they can please Allah. Such attractions or desires have led so many people to error and malign their religion and culture.
And We delivered the Children of Israel across the sea. And when they came upon a people who were devoted to some statues of theirs, they said, “O Moses, make for us a god, as they have gods”. He said, “You are truly an ignorant people.”(7: 138)
An idol is not necessarily a statue or an image; it can be anything with which people associate their hopes and desires. It can be wealth, status, or power; and it can be a gadget or technology. The reliance on these idols sometimes gets so intense that people assume that these things can give them everything; and they can protect them from every disaster. Giving more or equal importance to these idols than Allah is shirk.
They said, “O Shuaib, we do not understand much of what you say, and we see that you are weak among us. Were it not for your tribe, we would have stoned you. You are of no value to us.” He said, “O my people, is my tribe more important to you than Allah? And you have turned your backs on Him? My Rubb comprehends everything you do.” (11: 91-92)
… among the people are those who take other than Allah as equals to Him. They love them as the love of Allah………………. (2: 165)
No wealth, status, power, gadget, or technology can take people out from adversity, if Allah intends to send it upon someone [details in chapter –].
Say, “Call upon those you claim besides Him. They have no power to relieve your adversity, nor can they change it.” (17: 56)
Have you seen he who has taken as his god his [own] desire, and Allah has sent him astray due to [lack of] knowledge and has set a seal upon his hearing and his heart and put over his vision a veil? ……………… (45: 23)
All the matters of the universe are running with logic, but desires push people towards unrealistic goals. This is why:
If the truth conformed to their desires, the heavens, the earth, and everyone in them would have gone to ruin ……………………… (23: 71)
Allah provides all the clues and guidance to learn technology [details in Chapter Nine] He, however, does not like that humanity should become a slave to their inventions. Though people do so in a number of cases, they deny it. We have learned in Chapter Eleven and all previous chapters that the qualities that Allah possesses are exclusive to Him. If someone ascribes/associates these qualities to someone or something else, it means he is equating others with Allah and thus, committing shirk. Moreover, if someone relies or expects, trusts, loves, fears and obeys someone or something else equally or more than Allah, it means his belief in Allah is not as strong as it ought to be.
On the Day when We gather them all together, then say to the idolaters, “Where are your idols, those you used to claim?” Then their only argument will be to say, “By Allah, our Rubb, we were not idolaters.” Look how they lied to themselves. And what they invented deserted them (6: 22-24)
The ones whom the angels take in death [while] wronging themselves, and [who] then offer submission, [saying], “We were not doing any evil.” But, yes! Indeed, Allah is Knowing of what you used to do (16: 28)
Indeed, Allah knows whatever thing they call upon other than Him. And He is Exalted in Might, the Wise. (29: 42)
The Knower of the hidden and the manifest. He is exalted, far above what they associate. (23: 92)
Sometimes ignorance gives rise to arrogance; and people assume that they can do everything with their wealth, status, power, knowledge, and even technology.
Have you not considered the one who argued with Abraham about his Rubb [merely] because Allah had given him kingship [status, and he became arrogant]? When Abraham said, “My Rubb is the one who gives life and causes death,” he [king] said, “I give life and cause death.” Abraham said, “Indeed, Allah brings up the sun from the east, so bring it up from the west.”…………… (2: 258)
Holding just partial powers is not enough to claim equality or superiority. Whatever humans possess, it cannot match the Power, Wisdom and Sovereignty of Allah [details have already been given in Chapter Ten]
Pharaoh proclaimed among his people, saying, “O my people, do I not own the Kingdom of Egypt, and these rivers flow beneath me? Do you not see? Am I not better than this miserable wretch [Mosses], who can barely express himself? (43: 51-52)
[In his arrogance Pharaoh] said, “If you accept any god other than me, I will make you a prisoner.” (26: 29)
Whatever Allah gives to humanity, it is either a blessing to be grateful or a test to be fearful. Allah gave people the knowledge to make and invent things for their comforts and luxuries [details in Chapter Nine]. Instead of being grateful to Allah most people turn arrogant when they learn some skill or hold some knowledge. Arrogance makes people think that they can create things like Allah can.
He created the human being from a drop of fluid, yet he becomes an open adversary. (16: 4)
In fact, man oversteps all bounds [.] when he considers himself exempt [orself-sufficient] (96: 6-7)
……………….. when We favor him with a blessing from Us, he says, “I have attained this by virtue of my knowledge.” However, it is a test, but most of them do not know (39: 49)
And when it is said to them, “Bow down to the Merciful,” they say, “And what is the Merciful? Are we to bow down to whatever you command us?” And it increases their aversion (25: 60)
Say, “Shall We inform you of the greatest losers in their works? Those, whose efforts in this world are misguided, while they assume that they are doing well.” (18: 103-104)
Every era and every nation have different idols about which they believe that they are their protectors. For some, it is statues; for others, it is wealth and status; and for some it is technology.
And warn of the Day He will call them and say, “Where are my “partners” which you used to claim?” And We will extract from every nation a witness and say, “Produce your proof,” and they will know that the truth belongs to Allah, and lost from them is that which they used to invent. (28: 74-75)
On the Day when He will say, “Call on My partners whom you have claimed.” They will call on them, but they will not answer them. And We will place between them a barrier (18: 52)
Those who were followed will then disown those who followed them, and they will see the retribution, and ties between them will be severed (2: 166)
“You have come to Us individually, just as We created you the first time, leaving behind you everything We gave you. We do not see with you your intercessors – those you claimed were your partners. The link between you is cut, and what you had asserted has failed you.”(6: 94)
As mentioned before, everything behaves like an obedient servant of Allah.
To Him belongs everyone in the heavens and the earth. All are submissive to Him (30: 26)
And to Allah prostrates [obeys] whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth of creatures, and the angels [as well], and they are not arrogant. They fear their Rubb above them, and they do what they are commanded. (16: 49-50)
Allah has made everything in a way that humans can utilize for their benefit [Chapter Nine].
……….say, “Glory be to Him Who placed these at our service; surely we could not have done it by ourselves. (43: 13)
Yet they turn one of His servants into a part of Him. Man is clearly ungrateful. (43: 15)
Then do those who disbelieve think that they can take My servants [under-command commodities] instead of Me as allies? …………………… (18: 102)
He is the Supreme over His servants [under-command]. He is the Wise, the Expert (6: 18)
And those they invoke besides Him do not possess [power of] intercession; but only those who testify to the truth [can benefit], and they know (43: 86)
Only those things can bring change in our lives that Allah has designed to bring change. For instance, aspirin can reduce pain and fever because Allah has designed it to block the inflammation-causing compounds [cyclooxygenases] in our body. Water quenches our thirst because it is designed to hydrate our body cells. Similarly, wood is designed to burn; fire is designed to produce heat. All things are designed to give us standard results; they can do nothing on their own. However, there are a number of things and even forces that do not give the expected results even though they possess all the qualities to bring certain results – we see several people dying despite getting ‘life-saving drugs’ and a ‘super-power’ country facing the embarrassment of defeat even from small nations or countries despite using all hi-tech weapons against them.
How many an angel [forces] is there in the heavens whose intercession avails nothing, except after Allah gives permission to whomever He wills, and approves? (53: 26)
…..Who is it that can protect you from Allah if He intends for you an ill or intends for you a mercy?” And they will not find for themselves besides Allah any protector or any helper. (33: 17)
Do you not know that to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and [that] you have not besides Allah any protector or any helper? (2: 107)
None of the human technologies/inventions can stand against the religion [rules] of Allah.
Indeed Allah holds the heavens and the earth, lest they cease. And if they should cease, no one could hold them [in place] after Him……….. (35: 41)
Human technology is nothing in front of the creation of Allah [details in Chapter Ten].
……………their plans are known to Allah, even if their plans can eliminate mountains. (14: 46) [they can do nothing against Allah].
And you will not cause failure [to Allah] upon the earth. And you have not besides Allah any protector or helper (42: 31)
Say, “Have you considered? If Allah’s punishment came upon you, or the Hour overtook you, would you call upon any other than Allah, if you are sincere/truthful?” In fact, it is Him you will call upon; and if He wills, He will remove what you called Him for, and you will forget what you idolized (6: 40-41)
Have they not travelled through the land and observed how was the end of those who were before them? They were greater than them in strength and in impression on the land, but Allah seized them for their sins [wrongdoings]. And they had not from Allah any protector. (40: 21)
……………Most of them were associators [of others with Allah]. (30: 42)
…………. they were not availed by what they used to earn. (40: 82)
…………they were arrogant upon the earth without right and said, “Who is greater than us in strength?” Did they not consider that Allah who created them was greater than them in strength? But they were rejecting our signs. (41: 15)
………………….. The punishment came at them from where they did not perceive. Then, on the Day of Resurrection, He will disgrace them, and say, “Where are My associates for those sake you used to dispute?” Those who were given knowledge will say, “Today shame and misery are upon the disbelievers.” (16: 26-27)
……………And on the Day of Resurrection, they will reject your partnership. None informs you like an Expert (35: 14) [Details about resurrection/life Hereafter in Chapter Six]
12.3 GUIDANCE FROM ALLAH
If there had been no guidance from Allah, humanity would have no clue how to stay on the right course of life – the course of life that is straight, [easy] and free of stress and miseries.
Indeed, We have sent down to you the Book, in truth. So worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion. (39: 2)
So direct your face toward the religion, inclining to truth. [Adhere to] the fitrah of Allah upon which He has created people. No change should there be in the creation of Allah. That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know (30: 30)
And dedicate yourself to the true religion – a monotheist – and never be of the polytheists (10: 105)
[say],“My master is Allah, He who sent down the Book, and He takes care of the righteous.” Those you call upon besides Him cannot help you, nor can they help themselves. And if you call them to guidance, they will not hear. And you see them looking at you, yet they do not see. (7: 196-198)
And why should I not worship Who created me, and to Whom you will be returned? (36: 22)
He who created me and guides me. He who feeds me, and waters me. And when I get sick, He heals me. He who makes me die, and then revives me. He who I hope, will forgive my sins [mistakes] on the Day of the Reckoning (26: 78-82)
Shall I take other gods instead of Him? If the Merciful desires harm for me, their intercession will not avail me at all, nor will they save me. In that case I would be completely lost (36: 23-24)
He is Allah. There is no god but He, the Knower of the secrets and declarations. He is the Compassionate, the Merciful. He is Allah; besides Whom there is no god; the Sovereign, The Holy, the Peace-Giver, the Faith-Giver, the Overseer, the Almighty, the Overwhelming. Glory be to Allah, beyond what they associate (59: 22-23)
Unquestionably, for Allah is the pure religion……………….(39: 3)
Say, “Is it other than Allah that you order me to worship [obey], O ignorant one?” And it was already revealed to you and to those before you that if you should associate [anything] with Allah, your work would surely become worthless, and you would surely be among the losers (39: 64-65)
……….Say, “Indeed, the guidance of Allah is the [only] guidance; and we have been commanded to submit to the Rubb of the worlds (6: 71)