之所以会出现上文所提及的种种误解，其原因是历史性的。《古兰经》最初向阿拉伯人呈现时，他们都明白 ilaah（伊拉赫）和 rabb（热卜）两词的含义，因为这两个词在他们的语言中早已通行。它们并非新词，也没有被赋予任何新的含义。他们完全清楚其内涵所指，因此，当经文宣告唯有安拉是 ilaah、是 rabb，且没有任何人分享这些词所表示的品性与属性时，他们立刻领会了其全部含义，毫无疑问或不确定地理解了究竟哪些是专属于安拉的，又由此否定了哪些归于他人。那些反对这一教义的人十分清楚，否认安拉之外的任何事物在任何意义上是 ilaah 或 rabb 意味着什么；而那些接受它的人同样清楚，接受之后他们将要放弃什么，将要失去什么。

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.

同样，"'ibadah"和"deen"这两个词在当时广为使用，人们清楚"'abd"所指的含义，也明白"'uboodiyyah"（成为'abd的状态）意味着怎样的状态，提到"'ibadah"时所指的是怎样的行为，以及"deen"一词的含义。因此，当他们被告知要舍弃对其他一切的"'ibadah"，将其专一地奉献给安拉，舍弃其他一切"deen"，唯独进入安拉的Deen时，他们毫不费力地理解了《古兰经》的宣教（da'wah）所包含的意义，以及它所寻求带来的他们生活方式的彻底变革。

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.

但随着几个世纪的流逝,这些术语的真实含义逐渐发生了细微的变化,以至于久而久之,它们不再涵盖完整的内涵,而只表示非常有限的意义,或者成为范围狭窄、相当模糊的概念。其中一个原因是人们对阿拉伯语的兴趣逐渐衰落;另一个原因是,对于后世的穆斯林而言,这些词语已不再具有《古兰经》降示时的原始阿拉伯人所理解的含义。正是由于这两个原因,在较新的词典和注释书中,许多《古兰经》词汇开始不再依其本义加以解释,而是按照它们当时所通行的用法来解释,例如: • "ʿIlāh"(伊拉赫)一词用于指称真主以外的对象时,后来竟与偶像或神灵的含义等同起来。

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.

“rabb”一词后来只用来指抚养、培育或供养他人、为其提供世俗所需的人。

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

"عبادة"开始被理解为履行一套礼拜仪式。

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

“Deen”（"دين"，意为宗教）开始被用来指一种宗教，或对某些教义的信仰。

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

并且"Taghoot"（طاغوت，塔古特）一词开始被译为偶像或恶魔。

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

其结果很明显,人们越来越难以领会《古兰经》的真正启示。《古兰经》要求人们不要把安拉之外的任何事物当作伊拉赫(ilaah,神明)。人们却以为,既然他们已经放弃了对偶像或其他被视为神明之物的崇拜,便已履行了这一要求,殊不知他们实际上仍在把他人当作神明来对待,而且丝毫没有察觉自己正在这样做。《古兰经》要求人们不要承认安拉之外的任何人为主宰(rabb)。人们又以为,既然他们不宣称任何其他人为主宰,便已完全符合了认主独一(Tawhid)这一概念的全部要求。

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.

诚然，他们口头上的承认，甚至他们对自身信仰与行为的理解，都表明他们认为真主是唯一的主宰（Rabb）；然而他们却未曾意识到，他们的行为实际上也将主宰的地位赋予了许多其他对象。

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.

他们辩解说，自己已不再崇拜偶像，已诅咒恶魔，并且只向真主叩拜，因此他们在这些方面也做到了《古兰经》所要求的一切。然而，他们距离那一目标何其遥远！他们所做的，只是放弃了人手所塑的偶像，却没有放弃其他的塔古特（taghoot）。至于崇拜（’ibadah），他们在这方面也是如此：除了一般与崇拜相关的仪式形式之外，他们仍然把它献给真主之外的许多对象。宗教（deen）的情形也一样。将其专属于真主，被理解为只信奉“伊斯兰教”这一宗教，而不信奉其他被称为宗教的信仰体系，而这就是所要求的一切；凡做到这一点的人，便被认为满足了专一性的标准。但若从“deen”一词更广泛的含义来看，大多数人远远达不到这一标准。

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.