Does God permit the introduction
the rites of worship of paganism into His new religion?
The land of Canaan (present-day Palestine) was among the worst of the lands in the worship of idols, where children were offered as sacrifices to idols, and large numbers of females were set apart to practice fornication as part of worship, and also the practice of male-male intercourse, which compelled God to burn the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah with fire. This led God to establish a new nation as a model of a state in which God is the head, and in which the pattern of worship is on an orderly basis that He determines, and very precise indeed, showing the attributes of God (written in about two books). Therefore God raised up the nation of Israel and gave them the Law through the prophet Moses, and He gave them victory over the peoples of the land at that time, and He commanded and warned them against idolatry lest He do to them worse than what He did among the nations. But despite these commandments and warnings, they fell into the sin of pagan worship, and the Lord would subject them to the neighboring nations, who humiliated and enslaved them; and when they repented, the Lord restored them to their former state, and their history confirms this, until they ended up being scattered in all the countries of the world because they did not live according to the Law that God gave them, as it is written in:
Exodus 20: 2 "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.3 You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 You shall not make for yourself a carved image, nor any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.5 You shall not bow down to them nor serve them , for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me, 6 and showing kindness to thousands of those who love Me and keep My commandments.7 You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold guiltless anyone who takes His name in vain.
Deuteronomy 4: 15 "So be very careful for yourselves. For you saw no form on the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire. 16 lest you become corrupt and make for yourselves a carved image, the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, 17 the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the sky, 18 the likeness of anything that creeps on the earth, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. 19 And lest you lift up your eyes to heaven, and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, which the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples that are under all the heavens, and you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them.
Deuteronomy 12: 29 "When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations whom you are going in to possess, and you possess them and dwell in their land, 30 take care that you are not ensnared to follow them after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods saying: How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise. 31 You shall not do so to the Lord your God, for they have done for their gods every abomination that the Lord hates, for they even burned their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. 32 All the words that I command you, be careful to do them. Do not add to it nor take from it.
Deuteronomy 7: 25 And the graven images of their gods you shall burn with fire. Do not covet silver or gold that is on them to take it for yourself, lest you be ensnared by it, for it is an abomination to the Lord your God. 26 And you shall not bring an abomination into your house, lest you be devoted to destruction like it. You shall detest it and abhor it for it is devoted to destruction.
Deuteronomy 7: 5 But thus shall you deal with them: You shall tear down their altars, and break their pillars, and cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their graven images with fire.
Exodus 23: 12 And all that I have said to you, be careful to do it, and do not mention the names of other gods , nor let it be heard from your mouth.
And in Christianity, God also forbade going to pagan temples and eating meat sacrificed to idols if it is sold in the market and the buyer knows that the meat has been sacrificed to idols:
1 Corinthians 10: 14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I say to you as to wise people: judge for yourselves what I say…………. Are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I mean then? That an idol is anything, or that what is offered to an idol is anything? 20 Rather, what the nations sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons…………..Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising questions for the sake of conscience, 26 for "the earth is the Lord's, and its fullness." 27 And if one of the unbelievers invites you, and you want to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising questions for the sake of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, "This has been offered to an idol," do not eat, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience. For "the earth is the Lord's, and its fullness." 29 I am speaking of "conscience," not your own conscience, but that of the other. For why should my freedom be judged by another's conscience?
Revelation 21:8 But as for the cowardly, the unbelieving, the abominable, murderers, the sexually immoral, and sorcerers, and idolaters and all liars, their portion is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.
As for Islam, the Prophet (peace be upon him) permitted the practice of pagan rituals; he kept the central sanctuary, the Kaaba in Mecca after he removed 360 idols that were in it, and he kept all the pagan rituals specific to the obligation of Hajj, namely, walking up and down between Safa and Marwa, the circumambulation of the House (seven circuits, exactly as in the Jahiliyya), shaving and shortening, standing at Arafat, the hady, the rifada, and kissing the Black Stone if one can; otherwise one points to it, as explained in its proper place. The majority of scholars agreed on the legitimacy of kissing the Black Stone during tawaf, citing the report narrated from Umar ibn al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him, that he kissed the Black Stone and then said: (I know that you are a stone; you neither harm nor benefit, and were it not that I saw the Prophet—peace be upon him—kissing you, I would not have kissed you), as in the following verses:
Surah Al-Baqara 2:144 We have certainly seen the turning of your face toward the heaven, and We will surely turn you toward a qibla that you will be pleased with. So turn your face toward al-Masjid al-Haram, and wherever you are, turn your faces toward it. Indeed, those who were given the Scripture know that it is the truth from their Lord, and Allah is not unaware of what they do.
Surah Al-Baqara 2:158 Indeed, Safa and Marwa are among the rites of Allah. So whoever makes Hajj to the House or performs Umrah—there is no blame upon him for walking between them. And whoever volunteers good—then indeed, Allah is Appreciative, Knowing. ………196 And complete the Hajj and the Umrah for Allah. But if you are prevented, then [offer] whatever can be obtained with ease of sacrificial animals. And do not shave your heads until the offering reaches its place. And whoever among you is ill or has an ailment of the head must offer a ransom of fasting or charity or sacrifice. Then when you are secure, he who enjoys Umrah followed by Hajj [offers] whatever can be obtained with ease of sacrificial animals. And whoever cannot find one—then a fast of three days during Hajj and seven when you have returned; those are ten complete [days]. That is for those whose families are not present at al-Masjid al-Haram. And fear Allah and know that Allah is severe in penalty.
And likewise the fasting of the month of Ramadan was mandated, which the Sabians used to fast with its times and rites, and Eid al-Fitr; and we know that the Sabians are not among the heavenly religions and are considered polytheists. And God did not impose fasting on the Jews except for one day, the Day of Atonement; and the Christians were left without fixed times, but rather according to an individual’s need and capacity, and the call of the Church in times of disasters, persecution, and dangers.
Surah Al-Baqara 2:183 O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you so that you may become God-conscious. (183) [Fasting for] a limited number of days. So whoever among you is ill or on a journey—then an equal number of other days. And upon those who can [bear it] with hardship is a ransom of feeding a poor person. And whoever volunteers good—it is better for him. But to fast is better for you, if you only knew. (184) The month of Ramadan is that in which the Qur’an was sent down as guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever witnesses the month should fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey—then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship, and so that you complete the number, and that you magnify Allah for what He has guided you to, and that you may be grateful.
It is well known that the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) name is Muhammad ibn Abd Allah, which means that his father’s name is Abd Allah; and thus we know that ( Allah ) was a deity worshiped in the Jahiliyya and is the name of the moon god whose sign is the crescent that Muslims place on their mosques and flags. And when the Prophet Musa asked the God who appeared to him in the burning bush about His name, He answered: My name is (Yahweh). Would God accept that His majestic name be changed to the name of a pagan god?
It is known that the day of worship in Islam is Friday , and it was not known in the Jahiliyya; rather it was called al-‘Aruba, and Kaab ibn Lu’ay (the Prophet’s seventh ancestor) used to have Quraysh come to him so he would address them; in Islam it was named Friday (because people gather on it for prayer, a name derived from gathering). We conclude from the above that choosing the day of al-‘Aruba for prayer has a connection to pagan Jahiliyya.
From the foregoing, we find that many Islamic rites have a strong connection to pagan worship, and this is against the principles and laws of the Lord God and cannot be approved.
You have full freedom to choose what you believe, but please do not call me KAFER (unbeliever).