Mushrikun

Summary

Mushrikun is the term used in the Quran to refer to the non-Muslim Arabs who opposed the prophet Muhammad and his followers in the early 7th century. The term, which is related to the noun shirk, may be translated as "associators", as in "those who associate [with Allah]" and "make [equal] with Allah another deity". It is often translated into English as "polytheists", although some scholars believe the mushrikun criticized in the Quran were in fact monotheists or henotheists.