Ibn-ul-Qaiyim said "Noah's people were led to idolatry because they aggrandized their dead by sculpturing their images. Such is the case with most idolaters." (15) Some were made to worship stars, as they believed that stars are influential elements in the universe. Later, they built shrines, appointed gate keepers and custodians and fixed offerings and rites for the stars. The same method still continues, apparently originating from the Sabians, the people of Abraham. Abraham (peace be upon him) argued with his people pointing out to them the falsehood of idolatry. He silenced them with arguments and shattered their idols. Consequently, his people demanded that he be set on fire.

"We noticed that some people made statues of the moon, thinking that the moon controlled the world and, thus, deserved worship. The Magians, adherents of Mazdaism, worship fire; they make many shrines for it and appoint caretakers who do not allow the flame to die out for a single moment. Some groups worship water, believing that it is the origin and source of everything. Other groups worship animals, like horses or cows. Others have worshipped men, alive or dead, while still others have worshipped jinn, trees or angel.(16)

From the above, we can learn the following

1 - Hanging pictures on walls and setting up statues and sculptured images lead people to idolatry because excessive exaltation of these pictures and statues develops into a belief that they bring good and prevent harm, as evidenced in the example of thepeople of Noah.

2 - Satan is bent on deceiving mankind. He will try every trick to exploit man's sentiments. When Satan observed among the people of Noah their emotional liking forpious people, he tempted them to exceed their love and finally made them placethose people's statues in their dwellings in order to make them stray from the rightpath.

3 - Not only does Satan try to deceive the present generation, he also keeps his eye onthe future generations. When he could not plunge the present generation of thepeople of Noah into idolatry, he anticipated the coming generation to be misled and set a trap for it.

4 - Negligence must not be shown toward evil, but it must be eradicated and all its doorsmust be closed.

5 - The presence of diligent and learned men is a blessing because Satan can deceive the people after the learned men among them had passed away.

KINDS OF BELIEF IN THE ONENESS OF ALLAH

Belief in the Oneness of Allah is of two kinds

1) belief in the Oneness of Allah in the sense that He, alone, has created the whole universe, and

2) belief that He, alone, manages its affairs. He, alone, causes life and death, and He, alone, brings good and drives away evil.

Such belief in the Oneness of Allah is universal and fundamental and there can be no disputes over it. Even' idolaters themselves confessed it as mentioned in the Holy Quran, "Say : who is it that sustains you (in life) from the sky and from earth? Or who is it that has power over hearing and sight? And what is it that brings the living from the dead and the dead from the living? And who is it that rules and regulates all affairs? They will soon say, Allah. Say : Will you not then show piety to Him'' (17)

There are similar verses in the Holy Quran which clearly state that idolaters have been admitting to this kind of Oneness of Allah but yet, they have denied the Oneness of Allah in the sense of worship. Idolaters knew that this requires that Allah the Almighty be worshipped alone, and that He, alone, be invoked for any need or assistance. This is clearly reflected in the article of faith, ''There is no god but Allah". This means that all worship is owed only to Allah, alone. Therefore, when the Prophet (peace by upon him) asked the pagans of Makkah to say these words, they refused by saying, "Has he made the gods (all) into one ilaah (god)? Truly this is a strange thing!"(18) The idolaters realized that whoever uttered these words would nullify homage to all except Allah. These words would prove that worship is owed to Allah Alone. A close look at the Arabic word "ilah" means one who is venerated and worshipped. Worship includes all visible or invisible words or deeds for the pleasure of Allah. Therefore, whoever said these words, and continued to invoke other than Allah, would surely contradict himself. Hence, we notice both kinds of belief in this oneness of Allah are correlated.