Arabian society knew monotheism as well as polytheism

“Arabian society knew monotheism as well as polytheism, thanks to the presence of Jews and Christians, who were already established for several centuries prior to the time of Muhammad. The Qur’an’s message of a prophetic warning to the people of Arabia is one that builds on the presumption that God has already spoken through other prophets. Islam’s rivalry with its predecessors is a differentiating rivalry; a condemnation of polytheism in the case of Arabian paganism, but an endorsement of the terms of prophetic monotheism in the case of biblical tradition.

The pagan religion of Arabia enumerated largely two types of deities: over-arching heavenly gods, and special tribal spirits and protectors. The sun and moon were the dominant celestial deities, but important also was the planet Venus, appearing sometimes as the morning and sometimes the evening star. Worship of the local deities involved pilgrimage sites and a sense of the localized presence of the deity in unusual trees or rocks. The black stone, likely a meteorite, incorporated into the Ka’bah at Makkah, is an example. While repudiating the pagan deities, Islam incorporated some of their practices, such as pilgrimage, into the worship of one God.”¹

Kaaba

"The Kaaba is a large masonry structure roughly the shape of a cube. (The name "Kaaba" comes from the Arabic word meaning cube). It is made of granite from the hills near Mecca. The most current dimensions for the structure are: 15 m high (49') with sides measuring 10.5 m (34') by 12 m (39'). [Petersen, Andrew. Dictionary of Islamic Architecture. London: Routledge, 1996. p.142.] It is covered by a black silk cloth decorated with gold-embroidered calligraphy. This cloth is known as the kiswah; it is replaced yearly.

"Monotheism did not come to the Arabian Peninsula with Muhammad. Both Judaism and Christianity had a presence there long before Muhammad's birth, and he was familiar with the teachings of both traditions. Muhammad's monotheism—which later became the religion of Islam—differed from both the Jewish and Christian varieties in important respects. First, Allah (God) chooses no special group or tribe of people to be "his people" as in Jewish monotheism. All people are equal in Allah's eyes. Second, Allah is one and indivisible, not divided into a Trinity as in Christian monotheism. Additionally, Islam prohibits the use of icons or pictorial imagery of God more definitively than Christianity. Allah cannot be contained in synthetic form and to even attempt to do so is considered blasphemy, a reduction, and a temptation to worship something other than the one, true God.

The following readings are from the Qur'an and the Hadith, the official collection of traditions of the prophet Muhammad and his companions. These readings demonstrate the centrality and nature of Allah in Islam, as well as Islam's link to the other great monotheisms. Qur'an 1:1-7 is a brief statement of the spiritual essence of Islam—surrender to God and his commands. This sura, or chapter, serves as an opening prayer to all other prayers in Islam. Suras 2, 3, and 5 summarize the history of Allah's revelations through the Jewish and Christian prophets, including Jesus. According to Islam, true worship of Allah was compromised at various points in the history of both traditions, so much so that a final, perfect, and complete revelation through Muhammad and the Qur'an became necessary. In these readings, Allah uses Gabriel as a mouthpiece to recount the errors and vices of the ancient Israelites and early Christians, the "people of the Book." He exhorts them to return to pure worship of God as it is outlined in the Qur'an.

According to Islamic doctrine, ancient Israel erred by turning its worship away from God onto idols like the golden calf. This history is recounted here in the Qur'an, as well as in the Hebrew Bible. The chief error of Christianity, according to Islamic doctrine, is that the followers of Jesus mistook him for a god instead of the prophet he was. Islam emphasizes the role of prophets in God's revelation to people throughout history. Muhammad himself is viewed as the last and final prophet of God, and his message completes the revelation of God for all time. To identify a man with Allah, however, is inconceivable in Islam; not even Muhammad, the last and final prophet, is to be equated with God. The following passages from the Qur'an show the Islamic view of Jesus. Sura 3 fully affirms his miraculous birth to a virgin Mary, as well as his calling as a messenger of God, both to the Jews as purifier of Jewish teaching and to all others as a healer, miracle worker, and messenger of "good news." Suras 5 and 112, however, rebuke the Christian tradition for twisting Jesus' gospel into a self-serving message of his own divinity. In these passages, Islam flatly refutes equating Jesus with God and any notion that God is a being who either "begets" or can be "begotten." Allah utterly transcends such anthropomorphisms; Allah's messengers are never to be mistaken for Allah himself. Jesus himself, according to Islam, did not commit this grievous error. But his followers strayed from the path of true worship of Allah and chose, instead, to worship a man whose beginning was the same as Adam's—dust.

The Hadith reading demonstrates most powerfully the vast, all-encompassing dimension of Allah by describing him with 99 names. Many Muslims memorize the 99 names, recite them in prayers, and meditate upon them to understand God more and draw closer to him. Muslims may use prayer beads divided into sets of 33 to help memorize the names. One of the most famous reflections on the 99 names is that of Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058-1111), a brilliant expositor of Islamic theology, jurisprudence, and Sufism (Islam mysticism). In this selection, al-Ghazali shows how reflection on the particulars of the divine names can help answer difficult questions about evil and suffering in the world, as well as illumine dimensions of the nature of God that compel worship. Note the universality of God and his mercy, the utter transcendence and "otherness" of God compared to anything human, and the ultimate surrender to God's greatness and mercy in the face of what seems to be blatant evil. In short, God is God and we are not, and God is to be praised.”²

Arabian society knew monotheism as well as polytheism