Page 102 - The Worst Slander: Idolatry

100 THE WORST SLANDER: IDOLATRY

He Who feeds and is not fed?" Say: "I am commanded
to be the first of the Muslims" and "Do not be among the
idolaters." (Surat al-An'am: 14)
And yet one of the idolaters' major characteristics is their
persistence in adopting friends other than Allah, although
abandoning Him and taking His servants as friends is a seri-
ous sin that entails terrible consequences unless they repent
and ask Allah for forgiveness. Allah reveals this in the Qur'an:

Do the unbelievers imagine that they can take My ser-
vants as protectors instead of Me? We have prepared
Hell as a welcome for them! (Surat al-Kahf: 102)
While believers take only Allah as their protector, unbe-
lievers and idolaters take satan. Going along with his com-
mands, they flout the Qur'an and the bounds set by Allah for
humanity, deliberately ascribe equals to Him, fail to remem-
ber Him, and show their loyalty and adherence to satan's
commands. This exceedingly irrational action leads to a
very unpleasant end. In the Qur'an Allah reveals:
If anyone takes him (satan) as a friend, he will mislead
him and guide him to the punishment of the Searing
Blaze. (Surat al-Hajj: 4)
Thus, Allah warns the people about the satan in the
Qur'an and states He is the true friend of the humanity:
Allah knows best who your enemies are. Allah suffices
as a Protector; Allah suffices as a Helper. (Surat an-
Nisa', 45)