TWO BARRIERS
The system of monarchy and the prevalence of superstitious beliefs acted as two constant barriers to the mission of the Prophets achieving positive results.
Why couldn’t a movement based on monotheism achieve a practical revolution in ancient times? There were two main reasons for this: the system of monarchy and the prevalence of superstitious beliefs. These two fundamental factors acted as constant barriers against the mission of the Prophets.
Before the advent of Prophet Muhammad, the polytheistic system of monarchy was dominant. In the present age, democratic politics is the norm, where political leaders gain the right to rule through public votes. However, in ancient times, kings ruled by convincing people that they were representatives of god or offspring of god. This led to the emergence of beliefs such as suraj vanshi and chandra vanshi. In today’s world, the foundation of governance is secular democracy, while in ancient times, it was based on polytheistic beliefs. The Quran refers to this event in the following verse: “Pharaoh said to Moses, ‘I am your supreme Lord’” (79:24).
For the kings, it was politically advantageous to keep the belief in polytheism alive. Consequently, under their patronage, the entire system of life revolved around polytheism, from places of worship to birth and death rituals. This polytheistic system existed worldwide for thousands of years in ancient times. Under the kings’ patronage, it became so powerful that it consistently posed a significant barrier against the message of the prophets. As a result, in ancient times, the prophets’ movement remained limited to conveying their message and couldn’t reach the stage of a widespread practical revolution.
The second obstacle in this chain was what can be described as the age of superstition. In ancient times, modern scientific discoveries had not yet been made, and people could not comprehend the true nature of natural phenomena. They observed various astonishing things in the world, such as the sun, moon, stars, mountains, seas, the earth, the sky, trees, and animals. Witnessing the diversity of these manifestations, human beings developed the misconception that there were multiple creators or that these diverse manifestations represented different gods.
This theory of the multiplicity of gods emerged, leading people to consider the sun and moon, among others, as extraordinary and worthy of worship. They found it hard to believe that with such diversity and multiplicity among creatures, there could be only one God for all of them. God’s Prophet Abraham pointed out this fact: “My Lord, they have led so many men astray! Anyone who follows me is with me, but if anyone turns against [You], You are indeed forgiving and merciful” (14:36).
Thus, the prominent manifestations of nature, such as the sun and moon, deceived mankind. People began considering these manifestations as great and deserving of worship, instead of recognizing them as creations of the Almighty God. In the present era, both of these suppositions have ended. The powerful global political revolution through democratic ideas has abolished the ancient system of polytheistic monarchy. Today, there is no existence of the ancient system of kings anywhere. They have been replaced by modern democracy, eliminating the effective patronage that had been a significant obstacle to the rejection of polytheism and the affirmation of monotheism.
Now, in today’s world, it is entirely possible to continue and advance the prophetic call without facing resistance at any stage, from beginning to end.
