Yūsuf 12:106

The issue

In this verse, how could “most of them” believe in Allah and yet continue to worship other gods?

ĢanafÏ Muslim exegete Muģammad al-Rāzī attempts to resolve this situation by offering several explanations:

The phrase “most of them” means that they believe in Allah but worship idols.

The phrase “most of them” refers to al-munāfiqūn (“the hypocrites”); they claim to believe with their tongues but are al-mushrikūn (“the idolaters”) in their hearts.

The phrase “most of them” refers to those who still practiced the Arabic talbiyya (“answering the call by a religious chant”). Chanters would say, “Labayk la sharik laka illa sharikan howa laka. Tamlikuhu wa mā malak” (“We answer you. There is no partner with you except the one that you own. You own that one and all that one owns”). Thus they would believe in Allah at the beginning of their talbiyya by their denial of any partners or other gods. Yet at the end of their talbiyya they affirm the presence of idols or other gods.

These three possible resolutions only demonstrate the confusion resulting from this verse.