Ramadan Lecture Series 1446 A.H. Presented by Al-Sayyid Abdul Malik Badruddin Al-Houthi (Lecture Three)

Monday, 3 Ramadan 1446 A.H. (3 March 2025 A.D.)
The Rise of Polytheism & the Reality Prophet Ibrahim Faced
I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the outcast.
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
Praise is to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. I believe that there is no god but Allah, the Sovereign and the Manifest Truth, and that Muhammad, our master, is His servant, Messenger, and Last Prophet.
O Allah! Confer Your salat and blessings upon Muhammad and the Family of Muhammad as You conferred Your salat and blessings upon Ibrahim and the Family of Ibrahim. You are Owner of Praise, Owner of Glory! And be pleased with Muhammad’s good companions and all Your righteous servants and mujahidin.
O Allah! Guide us and grant us acceptance, for You are the Hearing, the Knowing; accept our repentance, for You are the Relenting and the Merciful.
Brothers and sisters, peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
In the stories of the Quran about the prophets and messengers of Allah, the discussion revolves around their missionary tasks and their efforts to guide humanity: drawing them towards Allah (Glory be to Him) and leading them back to the straight path. The discussion about them also serves as a means of guidance, inspiration, and emulation, given their great perfection in faith. That is in addition to guidance in practical reality, whether through the method of calling people to Allah (Glory be to Him) or addressing the problems of life and dealing with its various circumstances and situations.
They hold this great position in human reality: They are the role models, the examples, the leaders, the guides, and the symbols around whom the human community should rally.
Therefore, the stories about them—which are one of the types of Quranic stories, as we mentioned yesterday—play a tremendously important role in guiding us, providing models to follow, and drawing inspiration for the elevation of our awareness, faith, and wisdom. They also play a tremendously important role in offering what we need in our relationship with Allah (Glory be to Him) throughout our life’s journey and in facing the various challenges, risks, and problems of life. They are the primary source from which a person can seek guidance and draw lessons and insights.
The discussion about the prophets in the examples presented by the Holy Quran also shows their own ranks, which may differ in terms of virtue and significance. As we mentioned yesterday, Allah (the Almighty) said, {‘We have favoured some of those messengers above others’}[Al-Baqarah 2:253]. This also relates to the nature of their missions and the circumstances and challenges they faced in this life.
Divine guidance has existed since the beginning of human existence, so how did the state of deviation arise?
The story of divine guidance for humanity has been intertwined with human existence on the earth from the very beginning. Allah (Glory be to Him) made the first human He created a prophet, who received His revelations and guidance and was taught what he needed to know for his life’s journey. He provided him with guidance so that in this life, he would be on the straight path, allowing him to navigate his life according to divine teachings. Allah taught him the essential obligations in this life, what a person should do, and what he should avoid, within the framework of divine commands and prohibitions, which serve as guidance for our own well-being. In fact, Allah commands what is best for us and forbids what may harm us with its adverse effects. Human society exists within a framework of Allah’s blessings and care. However, people have to know how to interact with Allah (Glory be to Him) and His blessings, recognising that they are servants of Allah (Glory be to Him), that they are within His dominion and management, and that they are in a world that operates under divine management by Allah, the Ever-Living, the Sustaining (Glory be to Him).

Therefore, the march of the prophets in guiding people has never come to an end.
However, human reality witnessed a state of deviation, sin, and a profound failure to adhere to Allah’s commands and guidance and to follow His guiding prophets, whom Allah made leaders for people. The state of deviation intensified in human reality in terms of practical reality, morals, and values and in terms of adherence to what is lawful and what is forbidden. Ultimately, this led to a very serious deviation from monotheism—from the belief that Allah alone is the deity we worship and direct our acts of worship towards, recognising that we are His servants and that He alone is the manager of the affairs of the heavens and the earth. Therefore, we must direct our worship solely to Him. Indeed, He is the Creator, the Provider, and the Manager of the affairs of the heavens and the earth: No one else has any influence or control over the management of the affairs of the heavens and the earth or regarding any creatures, and no one possesses even an atom’s weight in the heavens and the earth except Him (Glory be to Him).
The extent of deviation has reached the level of polytheism: the phenomenon of associating partners with Allah. Although people acknowledged that Allah is the Creator—the One Who created the heavens and the earth out of nothing, Who gives and takes life, and Who provides sustenance—they deviated to the extent that they believed there were partners alongside Him in divinity and that there existed multiple deities. They assigned these deities specific roles and ranks. That is, they viewed the gods whom they believed in as subordinate to Allah, under His lordship, each with particular rank and role. Nevertheless, they considered them within the sphere of divinity. In other words, they regarded these beings as gods alongside Allah, partners with Him in the realm of divinity, each with certain roles and duties.
These beliefs in associating partners with Allah took various forms. Some individuals were influenced by certain cosmetic phenomena and believed these forces to be deities, as was the case with those who worshipped the sun, the moon, or the stars. People’s views on this matter varied. Others turned to inanimate objects, to idols that they carved from stone, wood, or other materials. They fashioned them as statues in particular forms and erected them in temples, considering them to be gods. There were those who deified angels, regarding them as sharing in divinity. Some even deified certain human beings, including tyrannical, criminal, and oppressive figures whose tyranny led them to claim divine status. This is exemplified by Firaawn, who declared, {‘I know of no other god for you but myself’}[Al-Qasas 28:38]; {‘I am your lord, the most high!’}[An-Nazi’at 79:24]. This was also the case with other kings and tyrants. Finally, some adopted deities without their approval such as those who deified Isa (PBUH). Despite the fact that Isa (PBUH) is Allah’s servant and messenger, they elevated Him to a divine status. He did not approve of that, and this occurred very long after Allah had taken him. Nonetheless, due to their deviation, they turned to this misguided direction that completely contradicts Allah’s message and His Messenger’s call to worship only Him. When Allah caused Isa (PBUH) to speak, the first words he uttered were, {‘I am truly a servant of Allah’}[Maryam 19:30]: an acknowledgement of His servitude to Allah, the Almighty. This formed the most prominent theme of his call in his message: {‘Surely Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him [alone]. This is a straight path’}[Maryam 19:36].
The state of deviation among people—in fact, deviation is a dangerous state in people’s reality because paves the way for falsehood to increase. When people follow the path falsehood and misguidance, their misguidance increases and their deviation expands.

Over time, they grow distant from the source and path of guidance, allowing superstitions, myths, and misguidance to prevail more and more, and people therefore reach extremely dangerous levels.
That was the case, even though they took all these things as partners with Allah based on a misguided, incorrect belief. Some of these things, as we said, were carved from stone, wood, metals, or other materials or were limited to certain cosmic phenomena such as the worship of the sun, the moon, and so on. Despite the fact that this state is so ridiculous that people should not have fallen into it or approached it, it is surrounded by legends and certain beliefs that attract people in their various circumstances and life situations, especially when feelings of hope are involved. For example, when someone is ill, they might ask those close to this person they need to make a specific offering or certain vows to this idol, such as a ram or something similar—some would even offer dogs as sacrifices to their idols! By doing so, they believe that this would have an impact on their circumstances, whether in healing a sick person, fulfilling a need or request, averting harm, bringing benefit, or other reasons.
This persistence in falsehood and this state of reaching extremely terrible levels of false and baseless beliefs, as well as the denial of significant truths, including the truth of Allah’s oneness (the Almighty), results from turning away from divine guidance. So when people distance themselves from Allah’s guidance, their falsehood grows, their misguidance increases, and they persist in falsehood and misguidance until it reaches dreadful levels.
Humanity restarted a new life with Prophet Nuh (PBUH) after the Great Flood, based on complete monotheism to Allah (the Almighty), living according to His message, teachings, and religion and adhering to what He permitted and prohibited according to His teachings and instructions. However, mankind once again deviated over subsequent generations. Then came the story of Prophet Hud (PBUH) with his people, ‘Aad, followed by Prophet Salih with his people, Thamud, and so on.
The state of human society during the era in which the Prophet Ibrahim was born
By the time of Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH), human societies had spread over a much larger area, and, politically, a new situation emerged as well, with the formation of kingdoms. This was different from the tribal system that had prevailed within human societies during the time of Prophet Nuh (PBUH) and even earlier, as well as during the times of the prophets Hud and Salih (Peace be upon them). As the population grew and the human settlements spread over a larger area, societies began to evolve into kingdoms, resembling the state-like system we see today. This transformation was a result of the expansion of human society. Initially, people organised their affairs at the tribal level and lived as communities within that framework. However, as tribes multiplied, one after another, society expanded and grew larger; at that point, they formed kingdoms, which were essentially like states in this era: a defined geographical area inhabited by a nation of people, ruled by a ruler.
In some of these kingdoms, the situation in terms of control over people shifted towards a state of extreme tyranny. Leaders and rulers, due to their control and influence, reached such a level of tyranny that they began to present themselves as deities. This occurred during the time of Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) in the region where he was born, grew up, and where Allah sent him with His message. This region was located in southern Iraq, extending into parts of Turkey. The Babylonian Kingdom and its neighbouring areas were among the earliest kingdoms in human societies.
During that era, Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) was born in the region now known as southern Iraq, extending into parts of Turkey. At that time, there was a large kingdom ruled by a tyrannical, arrogant, and misguided ruler, whose oppression became so extreme that he claimed divinity, declaring himself a god.

Meanwhile, polytheism had spread extensively throughout that society, becoming deeply ingrained and passed down through generations. This state of polytheism greatly prevailed among people, establishing itself within their heritage, which was a very serious deviation followed by further deviation in other aspects. This is because where there is polytheism, there is also a departure from most of Allah’s laws and the majority of ethics and values. Polytheism is, in fact, the root of all deviation, from which many other forms of deviation follow, be it in the realm of religious law, ethical and spiritual obligations, or elsewhere.
In that society, the pillars of falsehood were firmly established, with falsehood being officially sponsored by the ruling authority, led by a tyrant who went so far as to claim divinity for himself. Likewise, polytheism was deeply entrenched, with society clinging to it as an inherited tradition. This belief was upheld by an aura of myths, superstitions, and various influences, as previously mentioned, stemming from the realities of life and various circumstances. Also, it was a rigid society.
In fact, the tyrant himself—who is referred to as Nimrod in some accounts, Namroodh in others, with variations in name depending on the language—actively supported and sponsored that state of polytheism, which was closely tied to his rule. Just as in the era of Firaawn, people acknowledged multiple deities and took that tyrant as the chief of the gods, although they fundamentally still acknowledged Allah!
Just like Firaawn, that criminal and tyrannical ruler (Nimrod) who held absolute power at the time of Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) in southern Iraq reached a level of tyranny where he completely prohibited and banned any mention of Allah, any form of worship directed towards Him, any acknowledgment of His existence, or any discussion about Him. Each of them sought to present himself as the supreme deity, prohibiting any mention, worship, or acknowledgment of Allah. However, this did not mean that their societies were unaware of Allah or that they did not acknowledge that He was the Creator and Originator of the heavens and the earth and the One Who brought them into being. That is because even these tyrants themselves, who presented themselves as the supreme god and protected those idols, were in reality created beings. In other words, they had not brought themselves into existence. Their people were aware of the fact that the One Who created them was Allah (the Almighty) and that they had once been nonexistent—that is, they were born at a specific time and in a specific era after they were nonexistent. Thus, they were created beings, and their people were aware of that; therefore, their people must have realised that it was Allah alone Who created them.
Despite that, those tyrants such as Nimrod and Firaawn had no problem with these deities of statues and idols to be worshipped with them, since they did not see them as real competitors. In reality, people were attached to these idols as part of their religious rituals. They built massive temples for them. Even today, remnants of such sites can be found in many parts of the world, reflecting their extreme dedication to ensuring that the temples built for their idols were grand and monumental. They exerted tremendous effort, invested vast amounts of wealth and labour, and took great care to make these structures among the largest ever built by humanity—a clear indication of how much attention they paid to this form of worship. At the same time, the rituals performed in those temples—whether involving specific sacrifices, particular invocations, or other acts of worship—remained confined to that sphere, while the real authority was entirely reserved for these kings, who had even gone so far as to present themselves as the chiefs of the gods. They were satisfied with that situation because they were in control and dominant. As for those statues that were made of stone or other elements, they posed no real problem for them in reality.

So they had no problem with that.
Their real concern lay in people’s connection to Allah (Glory be to Him)—in people turning to Him in worship, mentioning Him, and invoking His name. This could unsettle them because they were fully aware of the fragility of their position. After all, they were merely created human beings—weak and powerless, born into this world only to die and leave it behind. Their claim to be the greatest of the gods could not be threatened or challenged by the idols and statues; rather, it was the principle of monotheism and the remembrance of Allah that could pose a real threat to their tyranny and strike at its very core. Therefore, they prohibited any mention of Allah (Glory be to Him), considering it a danger to the positions they established within society under the title of the greatest of the gods.
The early life of Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH)
Anyway, Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) was raised in southern Iraq, in a society where deviation had reached such a level. It was a community deeply entrenched in falsehood and misguidance that was officially supported by those in power and socially reinforced by individuals who had vested interests in that situation. This is not to mention the superstitions and myths that influenced many people. As a result, people were tied to idols in their everyday lives: They sought benefit, protection from harm, healing, sustenance, and blessings through the rituals they performed.
The upbringing of Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) was similar to that of other prophets and messengers—raised as monotheists devoted to Allah, the Almighty. This is a fundamental matter, a core principle. There has never been a messenger or prophet of Allah who, before their mission, had fallen into such a deviation as to associate others with Allah. Rather, the prophets and messengers are far removed even from other things such as crimes and corruption, even before their divine missions. They grow up under divine care and guidance, as Allah says about Prophet Musa (PBUH), {‘And I have prepared you for Myself’}[Taha 20:41]. They grow up with a spotless reputation in terms of morals and conduct, raised on noble values, exemplary morals, and a deep commitment to the oneness of Allah (Glory be to Him). They are distinguished by their monotheism, exemplary morals, correct direction, and connection to Allah. They are not tainted by the corruption of society, neither in terms of beliefs filled with great falsehood and misguidance nor in terms of behaviour and actions. This is a very important point and a foundation for our understanding of the lessons that will follow about Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH).
However, this state of deviation and polytheism had extended even to his own family. It was a dominant state in the society around him, which was why he felt alienated while confronting that state. This alienation stemmed from the fact that even those closest to him—his own family—fell into that deviation. This is reflected in several places in the Holy Quran, where Allah (Glory be to Him) mentions Ibrahim’s struggle with his father. For example, Allah said, {‘And [remember] when Ibrahim said to his father Azar, “Do you take idols as gods?”‘}[Al-An’am 6:74]. Similar accounts appear in Surah Maryam and Surah Al-Anbiya, highlighting Ibrahim’s dialogue with his father over this issue. Interpreters and historians debate whether the term ‘father’ here refers to Ibrahim’s biological parent or his uncle. In Arabic tradition, the word ‘father’ can sometimes denote an uncle, as seen in the story of Ibrahim, Ismail, and Yaqub. When Yaqub was nearing death, {‘He asked his children, “Who will you worship after my passing?” They replied, “We will [continue to] worship your God, the God of your forefathers—Ibrahim, Ismail, and Ishaq”‘}[Al-Baqarah 2:133]. Here, Ismail is mentioned among his forefathers, even though he is the uncle of Prophet Yaqub. This usage is common in Arabic, where an uncle can also be called ‘father’, while the term ‘birth father’ specifically refers to the biological father.

Many interpreters believe this refers to his uncle, while others argue it refers to his actual father. Regardless of this difference, the key point is that this issue reached his family environment, and he faced this challenge even within his own family. We will see the scale of this issue and its impact in the story of Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH).
In his mission to guide his people and his efforts to deliver the divine message to guide them and bring them out of this significant deviation, he sought to address the phenomenon of polytheism before anything else. In fact, it was at the forefront of what prophets and messengers confronted in societies that became entangled in it. That is because polytheism represents the greatest obstacle to the rest of the matters of religion, and it is the most severe form of deviation. This state is classified and considered as a very grave crime. In fact, it is the greatest crime—a denial of the ultimate truth and a profound insult to Allah (Glory be to Him). For Allah is exalted above having any partners in His dominion or divinity. Associating partners with Him implies weakness and incapacity, suggesting that He needs helpers to manage the affairs of creation and the universe. He is above having partners in His kingdom and authority over His servants; He alone is the deity, while everything else is His creation. He is the Lord of all things. Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) had multiple significant encounters with his people, culminating in a profound confrontation that led them to attempt to burn him. We will come to this story later, Allah willing.
Allah willing, we will delve into these encounters with his people and explore the wise methods employed by Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH) to address the state they had reached, characterised by their strong attachment to the falsehood and deviation that, as we mentioned, was officially sponsored by the authorities, socially supported by influential figures, and reinforced by the spiritual, emotional, and psychological ties created by myths and superstitions that deeply entrenched that society in their beliefs. It was a society strongly committed to falsehood.
We will begin, Allah willing, with the first encounter mentioned in the Holy Quran, among the various encounters, in the next lecture.
We ask Allah (Glory be to Him) to grant us success in seeking what pleases Him. O Allah! Have mercy on our virtuous martyrs, heal the wounded among us, set free our captives, and grant us victory. You are the Hearer of Prayer!
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.