the worship of the sun, the moon, the stars, in fact everything which might appear to control the destinies of man. This is expressly forbidden: “And of His signs are the night and the day and the sun and the moon. Adore not the sun nor the moon, but adore Allāh Who created them” (41:37).5 The argument advanced against the worship of the sun and the moon not only applies to all heavenly bodies6 but also, and equally well, to all the forces of nature, which are in fact again and again mentioned as being made subservient to man.

Trinity

The Trinity is also denounced as a form of shirk: “So believe in Allāh and his messengers and say not, Three. Desist, it is better for you; Allāh is only One God” (4:171). It is sometimes alleged that the Quranic conception of the Trinity is a mistaken one, because it speaks of Jesus and Mary as having been taken for two gods: “O Jesus, son of Mary! Didst thou say to men, Take me and my mother for two gods besides Allāh?” (5:116). The reference here is to Mariolatry. That Mary was worshipped is a fact, and the Holy Qur’ān’s reference to it is significant,7 but it should be noted that neither the Holy Qur’ān nor the Holy Prophet has anywhere said that Mary was the third person of the Trinity. Where the Holy Qur’ān denounces the Trinity, it speaks of the doctrine of sonship but does not speak of the worship of Mary at all; and where it speaks of the worship of Mary, it does not refer to the Trinity.

Doctrine of sonship

Another form of shirk, refuted in the Holy Qur’ān, is the doctrine that God has sons or daughters. The pagan Arabs ascribed daughters to God while the Christians hold that God has a son. Though the doctrine of ascribing daughters to god is mentioned in the Holy Qur’ān several times,8 yet it is against the Christian doctrine that the Holy Book speaks with gravest emphasis: “And they say: The Beneficent God has taken to Himself a son. Certainly you have made an abominable assertion! The heavens may almost be rent thereat, and the earth cleave asunder, and the mountains fall down in pieces, that they ascribe a son to the Beneficent God!” (19:88-91). The