Who deserves to be Worshiped ?

{Or [lest] you say: It was only that our fathers associated [others in worship] with
Allah before, and we were but descendants after them. Then would You destroy us
for what the falsifiers have done?} (Quran 7: 173)
Therefore, people who associate partners with Allah in worship cannot claim on
that day that they had no idea that Allah is the only one who deserves to be
worshipped. (If an individual never received any information about the right
religion, though, he or she will be given a chance to accept it on the Day of
Judgment.)
Prophet Muhammad (bpuh) reported that Allah has said:
«I created my slaves following the right religion, but the devils made them go
astray.» (Recorded by Imam Muslim)
Also, Prophet Muhammad (bpuh) said:
«Each child is born in a state of Islam. Then his parents make him a Jew, a Christian
or a Zoroastrian.» (Recorded by Imams Bukhari and Muslim)
Thus, Islam is the birthright of every human being, since every child is born
with a natural belief in the existence of Allah and an inborn inclination towards
worshipping Him alone. Just as children submit to the physical laws which Allah has
imposed on this physical world, their souls submit naturally to the fact that Allah is
the only Lord and Creator. However, if their parents are following a different path,
the children are usually neither strong enough nor aware enough to recognize the
truth; even if they do, they cannot resist the will of their parents. In such cases, the
religion that the children ultimately follow is in line with their customs and
upbringing. However, Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate, will not hold
them to account or punish them for following a false religion before they reach the
age of reason and unless they are exposed to the pure message of Islam.
To sum up, one can naturally, without the aid of other human influences, come to
the conclusion that only Allah deserves to be worshipped. This conclusion is neither
confusing nor elaborate; it can be arrived at by even the most uneducated. What
25