Expedition Think: False gods and their idols

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Those who set the Ranks (37:123-132)

وَإِنَّ إِلْيَاسَ لَمِنَ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ ١٢٣

And Elias was indeed one of the messengers.

— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran

اور الیاس بھی پیغمبروں میں سے تھا

— Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

إِذْ قَالَ لِقَوْمِهِۦٓ أَلَا تَتَّقُونَ ١٢٤

˹Remember˺ when he said to his people, “Will you not fear ˹Allah˺?

— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran

جب کہ اس نے اپنی قوم سے کہا کیا تم ڈرتے نہیں

— Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

أَتَدْعُونَ بَعْلًۭا وَتَذَرُونَ أَحْسَنَ ٱلْخَـٰلِقِينَ ١٢٥

Do you call upon ˹the idol of˺ Ba’l and abandon the Best of Creators—

— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran

کیا تم لوگ بعل کو پکارتے ہو اور بہترین خالق کو چھوڑ دیتے ہو

— Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

ٱللَّهَ رَبَّكُمْ وَرَبَّ ءَابَآئِكُمُ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ ١٢٦

Allah, your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers?”

— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran

اللہ کو، جوتمھارا بھی رب ہے اور تمھارے اگلے باپ دادا کا بھی

— Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَإِنَّهُمْ لَمُحْضَرُونَ ١٢٧

But they rejected him, so they will certainly be brought ˹for punishment˺.

— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran

پس انھوں نے اس کو جھٹلایا تو وہ پکڑے جانے والوں میں سے ہوں گے

— Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

إِلَّا عِبَادَ ٱللَّهِ ٱلْمُخْلَصِينَ ١٢٨

But not the chosen servants of Allah.

— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran

مگر جو اللہ کے خاص بندے تھے

— Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

وَتَرَكْنَا عَلَيْهِ فِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرِينَ ١٢٩

We blessed him ˹with honourable mention˺ among later generations:

— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran

اور ہم نے اس کے طریقہ پر پچھلوں میں ایک گروہ کو چھوڑا

— Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

سَلَـٰمٌ عَلَىٰٓ إِلْ يَاسِينَ ١٣٠

“Peace be upon Elias.”

— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran

سلامتی ہوالیاس پر

— Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

إِنَّا كَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ ١٣١

Indeed, this is how We reward the good-doers.

— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran

ہم نیکی کرنے والوں کو ایسا ہی بدلہ دیتے ہیں

— Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

إِنَّهُۥ مِنْ عِبَادِنَا ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ١٣٢

He was truly one of Our faithful servants.

— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran

بے شک وہ ہمارے مومن بندوں میں سے تھا

— Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

[https://quran.com/37/123-132]

The Bani Israel fell into the worship of idols. The Bible narrates in detail, and The Quran briefly mentions the worship of 'بَعْلًۭا'.

Elijah (Ilyas عليه السلام) was the Prophet of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى among the Bani Israel. They persecuted him.

Worship of 'بَعْلًۭا' became the State religion. There were hundreds of prophets of 'بَعْلًۭا'.

Eventually, they had a 'mubahilla' where Divine Judgement was invoked. Prophet Elijah (Ilyas عليه السلام) won by Divine Help, while the prophets of 'بَعْلًۭا' lost, and then they were killed. [1]

Recently, on February 11, 2026, in Iran, they burned a statue of 'بَعْلًۭا', as a response to the Epstein Files, to protest the moral corruption of the West. They were celebrating the 47th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Weeks later, on February 28, 2026, war was inflicted upon Iran by USA (operation Epic Fury) and Israel (operation Roaring Lion). The Supreme Leader of Iran was killed. The war still rages, and ...

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Several years ago, on February 26, 2001, in Afghanistan, during the previous Taliban regime, Mullah Muhammad Omar ordered the destruction of all statues. The statues of Buddhas of Bamiyan were destroyed over a period of 25 days in March 2001.

The same year, after 9/11 in 2001, Afghanistan was attacked and the war lasted two decades.

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Towards the end of 6 CE, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ started receiving revelation in the polytheistic city of Makkah. He preached there, peacefully, for 13 years, suffered persecution, and then migrated to Medina (then Yasrab).

After 10 years of armed struggle against the polytheistic city-state of Makkah, eventually Makkah was secured. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ purified the Kaaba and its precincts of all the idols, making worship exclusively for Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى .

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Several millennia ago, Abraham (Ibrahim عليه السلام) broke all but the largest idol. The King threw him in a fire. Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى commanded the fire to cool down for Abraham (Ibrahim عليه السلام). Eventually, he had to migrate away from that country.

After several trials, Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى commanded Abraham (Ibrahim عليه السلام) and his eldest son Ishmael (Ismail عليه السلام) to go purify Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى 's House in Makkah.

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The Quran asks Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to follow the uswah of Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim عليه السلام).

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was the greatest follower of The Quran.

Did he insult or harm the idols of the pagans and polytheists? Only after Makkah was secured were their idols destroyed.

By the time of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ death, almost all of the Arabian Peninsula had officially embraced Islam. The fact that they continued to remain on Islam for the past fourteen centuries is itself a testimony to the fact that those idols were no longer objects of worship and reverence.

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On March 12, 2026, it was reported in The Express Tribune that :

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A video showing the statue, which resembled a devil-like figure, circulated widely on social media, prompting police to take immediate action. Officers seized the statue and shifted it to a police station for investigation.

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According to police officials, the statue – made of thermocol – had been commissioned by a religious scholar and prepared for a Youm al-Quds procession scheduled for Friday.