Dalilin da ya sa rashin fahimta da aka ambata a sama ya samu wurin zama tarihi ne. Lokacin da aka fara gabatar da Alƙur'ani ga Larabawa, dukkansu sun san ma'anar kalmomin ilaah da rabb, domin dukkan kalmomin biyu sun riga sun zama ruwan dare a harshensu. Ba sababbin kalmomi ba ne, kuma ba a ɗora musu wata sabuwar ma'ana ba. Sun san cikakken abin da suke nunawa, don haka lokacin da aka ce Allah shi kaɗai ne Ilaah kuma Rabb, kuma babu wani da yake da ko da ɗan rabo a cikin siffofi da halayen da waɗannan kalmomi ke nunawa, nan da nan suka gane cikakken abin da ake nufi, suka fahimci sosai ba tare da wata shakka ko rashin tabbas ba game da abin da ake bayyanawa a matsayin keɓantacce ga Allah, da kuma abin da hakan ke musantawa ga wasu. Waɗanda suka yi adawa da wannan koyarwa sun fahimci sarai abin da ya biyo bayan musanta cewa wasu ba Allah ba ne Ilaah ko Rabb ta kowace fuska, yayin da waɗanda suka karɓa suka san sarai abin da za su bari da kuma abin da za su rasa ta wajen karɓar.

The reason why the misapprehensions hinted at above have come into existence is a historical one. When the Qur'ān was first presented to the Arabs they all knew what was meant by ilaah or rabb as both the words were already current in their language. They were not new terms, nor were any new meanings put upon them. They knew fully well what the connotations were and so, when it was said that Allah alone is the Ilaah, and the Rabb and that no one has the least share in the qualities and attributes which the words denote, they at once comprehended the full import, understood completely without any doubt or uncertainty as to what specifically was being declared to Pertain to Allah exclusively and what was being hence denied to others. Those who opposed the precept were very clear in their minds as to the implications of denying others than Allāh جل جلاله to be ilaahs or rabbs, in any sense, while those who accepted it knew equally well what they would have to give up by their acceptance and what they would forgo.

Haka kuma kalmomin 'ibadah da deen sun kasance cikin amfani sosai, kuma mutane sun san abin da ake nufi da 'abd, da irin yanayin da ake nufi da 'uboodiyyah (yanayin kasancewa 'abd), da irin halayen da ake nufi lokacin da aka ambaci kalmar 'ibadah, da ma'anar kalmar deen. Saboda haka, a lokacin da aka umarce su da su bar 'ibadar kowa da kowa, su kebe ta ga Allah kaɗai, su bar duk sauran deen-u, su shiga Deen na Allah kaɗai, ba su sami wata wahala ba wajen fahimtar abin da da'war Alƙur'ani ke nufi da kuma juyin-juya halin da ta nemi kawowa a salon rayuwarsu.

Similarly, the words ’ibadah and deen were in common use, and the people knew what was meant by ’abd, what state was implied by ’uboodiyyah (the state of being an ’abd) what kind of conduct was referred to when the word ’ibadah was used, and what was the sense of the term deen. So, when they were told to give up the ’ibadah of all others and reserve it exclusively for Allah, and give up all other deens and enter into the Deen of Allah only, they felt no difficulty in concluding what the Qur'ānic da’wah (message) implied and the drastic revolution in their way of life it sought to bring about.

Amma yayin da ƙarni suka wuce, ainihin ma'anonin waɗannan kalmomi sannu a hankali sun sami sauye-sauye marasa yawa, har ta kai ga cewa, a ƙarshe, maimakon cikakkun ma'anoninsu, sun zama suna nufin ma'anoni kaɗan kawai ko kuma ra'ayoyi masu iyaka da ba su bayyana sosai ba. Dalili ɗaya shi ne raguwar sha'awar yaren Larabci a hankali, ɗayan kuwa shi ne cewa kalmomin sun daina nufin abu ɗaya ga al'ummar Musulmi ta baya kamar yadda suke nufi ga Larabawan farko da aka saukar wa Alƙur'ani. Saboda waɗannan dalilai guda biyu, a cikin ƙamusai da tafsirai na baya-bayan nan, yawancin kalmomin Alƙur'ani sun fara bayanin su ba bisa ma'anarsu ta asali ba, sai dai bisa abin da suka riga suka zama suna nufi, misali: • Kalmar ‘ilaah’, yayin da ake amfani da ita ga waɗanda ba Allah ba, ta zama daidai da gumaka ko allolin ƙarya.

But as centuries passed, the real meanings of these terms gradually underwent subtle changes so that, in course of time, instead of the full connotations, they came to stand for only very limited meanings or restricted and rather vague concepts. One reason was the gradual decline of interest in the Arabic language and the other that the words ceased to have the same meanings for the later generations of Muslims that they had for the original Arabs to whom the Qur'ān had been revealed. It is for these two reasons that in the more recent lexicons and commentaries many of the Qur'ānic words began to be explained not by their original sense but by what they had by then come to stand for, e.g., • The word ‘ilaah’, as used in respect of others than God, came to be synonymous with idols or gods.

Kalmar ‘rabb’ ta zo ta zama tana nufin wanda kawai yake renon wani ko ciyar da shi ko biyan bukatun duniyarsa.

• The word ‘rabb’ came to mean only someone who brings up or rears or feeds another or provides for his worldly needs.

An fahimtar 'ibadah a matsayin aikin gudanar da wasu jerin ibadu na addini.

• ‘Ibadah’ began to be understood as the performance of a set of rituals of worship.

"Deen" ya fara nufin addini, ko imani ga wasu ƙa'idoji.

• ‘Deen’ began to mean a religion, or belief in some precepts.

Kalmar 'Taghoot' ta fara fassara ma'anarta zuwa gunki ko Shaidan.

• And the word ‘Taghoot’ began to be translated to mean an idol or the Devil.

Sakamakon haka shi ne ya zama da wuya mutane su kai ga ainihin saƙon Alƙur'ani. Alƙur'ani yana roƙon mutane kada su ɗauki wani face Allah a matsayin ilaah. Mutane sun yi zaton tun da sun daina bautar gumaka ko kuma waɗanda aka ɗauka a matsayin allolin, to sun cika abin da ake buƙata, duk da cewa a aikace sun ci gaba da ɗaukar wasu a matsayin allolin, amma ba tare da ko kaɗan tunanin cewa suna yin hakan ba. Alƙur'ani ya buƙaci mutane kada su amince da wani face Allah a matsayin rabb. Mutane sun yi zaton tun da ba su yi iƙirarin cewa wani ne rabb ba, to sun cika dukkan buƙatun ma'anar Tauhidi.

The result obviously was that it became difficult for people to get at the real message of the Qur'ān. The Qur'ān asks people not to regard any other than Allah as an ilaah. People thought that since they had actually given up the worship of idols or of others regarded as gods, they had fulfilled the requirements, although in practice they have in fact gone on treating others as gods, but without the least suspicion crossing their minds that they were actually doing so. The Qur'ān had asked that men should not acknowledge any other than God as rabb. The people thought that since they did not profess anyone else to be a rabb, they had complied with the full requirements of the concept of Tawhid.

Haka ne, furucinsu na baki, ko ma fahimtarsu game da imaninsu da ayyukansu, sun nuna cewa a wurinsu Allah shi kaɗai ne Ubangiji, amma ba su fahimci cewa ta hanyar ayyukansu suna ba wasu da yawa matsayin ubangiji ba.

True enough, their oral professions or even their own understanding of their beliefs and actions, denoted that for them Allah was the one and only Rabb, but they little realised that by their actions they were instead according to many another too the status of rabb.

Sun yi iƙirarin cewa ba su ƙara bautar gumaka ba, cewa sun la'anci Shaiɗan, kuma sun yi sujada ga Allah kaɗai, don haka a nan ma suna yin duk abin da Alƙur'ani ya bukaci su yi. Duk da haka, ina suke daga wannan! Abin da suka yi shi ne barin gumakan da hannun mutane suka sassaka, amma ba sauran dukan ɗaguwwan ba. Dangane da ibada kuwa, a nan ma, sai dai ga al'amuran da aka saba danganta da bauta, sun ci gaba da bayar da ita ga wasu da yawa baya ga Allah. Haka abin yake ga addini (deen) ma. Keɓe shi ga Allah kaɗai an ɗauke shi da ma'anar bayyana addinin Musulunci kawai, ba kuma ɗaya daga cikin sauran addinan da aka sani da haka ba, kuma wannan ita ce kawai abin da ake buƙata, duk wanda ya yi haka ya cika sharaɗin keɓewa, duk da cewa idan aka duba ma'anar kalmar "deen" a faɗace, mafi yawan mutane suna nesa ƙwarai da cika wannan sharaɗi.

They protested that they no longer worshipped the idols, that they uttered curses on the Devil, and prostrated themselves before Allah only, and so here too they were doing all that the Qur'ān required of them. And yet, how far they were from that! All they did was to give up the idols shaped by the hands of men, but not any of the other taghoots. And as for ’ibadah, here too, except for the formalities generally associated with worship, they continued giving it to many others besides Allah. The same has been the case with deen. To reserve it exclusively for Allah came to mean to profess only the ‘religion of Islam,’ and not any of the other religions known as such, and this was all that was required and whosoever did this had satisfied the criterion of exclusiveness, although when looked at from the wider connotation of the word ‘deen’, the majority fall far, far short of the criterion.