Polytheism here is not merely a general doctrinal description, but an attitude that fixes what is mutable and whose holder persists in it with insistence. It is treated as the most serious sin because it touches the truth of monotheism and is mentioned as unforgivable if a person persists in it.
- Human Islam is re-founded Quranically as a system of values, freedom, and citizenship that transcends closed identity
- The distinction between sin, wrongdoing, and error distributes responsibility between forgiveness, reform, and persistence
- Polytheism is the fixation of what is mutable
- Polytheism is unforgivable with persistence
- The Qur’anic method and the redefinition of concepts move Islam from identity to values
- The concepts of loyalty, disbelief, and polytheism are reread on a value-based, not identity-based, foundation
Cross-book concept: See Polytheism for the overarching theme across the books.