A Review and Criticism of Wahhabis Reliance on the Verse 3 of Surah Zumar to Accuse Muslims of Polytheism

One of the Quranic verses that Wahhabis rely on to accuse Muslims of polytheism is verse 3 of Surah Zumar which says “We only worship them that they may bring us nearer to God”. Wahhabis use several forms of argumentation. Their chief argumentation is about mediation. Wahhabis believe that the polytheists were infidels because they worshiped idols and the saints of God. The polytheists used to justify themselves by declaring that by worshiping the idols, they take them as a medium which brings them closer to God. The point which is ignored by Wahhabis is that, in this verse, seeking for intercession (Shafa'ah) and worshiping are two different things. The polytheist used to practically worship the idols not seek for intercession. In addition, the polytheist used to invoke the idols and the saints of God as independent entities; whereas Muslims don’t believe that the saints of God possess something independently by themselves; but anything they have is from God.