Religion and Theology

The opening verses portray Allah as a deity that invites his follows to a Home of Peace.  Allah will guide them on a straight path, and will reward all that do good works with promises of abundant blessings.  Allah will protect these followers and will treat them as heirs of Paradise where they will live forever.  However, it is quickly established that while those who do good works will be blessed, those who do evil will be rewarded with evil.  They will not be protected by Allah and will be covered in misery.  The evil doers will also be heirs, but instead of Paradise they will be heirs of Hell where they will spend eternity.

Islam views idolatry as evil.  According this section of the scripture, those who commit idolatry are believed to have turned their backs on Allah.  The scripture asks how they can be turned from the one who turns living from the dead, and the dead from the living  The scriptures question their judgment, and declare that even the idols that they worship will betray them in the end.  The scripture states that the idols will declare that they had no idea that the evil doer was worshiping them, and that Allah is there all-sufficient witness.

The scripture goes on to say that these evil doers who worship idols have no faith.  They pose the question, Can your idols lead you in the truth  Islam believes that only Allah can lead you in the truth therefore, only Allah could have written the Koran.    This portion of the scripture concludes by challenging the evil-doers to have their false idols attempt to write one chapter of the Koran.

Islam sees the worshiping of idols as an ultimate evil.  They believe that not only will idol worshipers be exposed, but that they will pay for their sin by being sent to live in Hell for all of time.  Idol worshipers are seen as those who lack faith, and have turned from Allah.