2. HOLDING SACRED THAT WHICH IS NOT SACRED

2. Holding Sacred that which is not Sacred ~ 102 ~ What is polytheism? It is the worship of the phenomena of nature. Before the time of the Prophet of Islam, in every period recorded in history, man had worshipped natural phenomena, holding them to be imbued with divinity. All ancient civilizations—Greek, Egyptian, Roman and Persian—all were polytheistic in their persuasions. All the outstanding things of this world—earth, rivers, mountains, sun, moon or stars—all were objects of worship for man. Only Islam was able to displace them from the pedestal of worship. Only then could that new intellectual departure be made which is now known as the scientific revolution.