Surah Al-A'raf (The Heights — الأعراف) (Ayah 196)

But how surprising it is that in this world, where there are so many arguments in favour of one God, man makes polytheism his religion. By this miraculous harmony between two human beings, a child is born. Now some hold the belief that this has happened due to the blessing of some living or dead saint, some attribute it to certain supposed deities; some say that it was the result of some action and reaction between certain blind forces of matter, while others thought that it was the result of their own striving that had come to them in the shape of a beautiful baby. Behind the idols of stone or metal set up by polytheists is the ‘philosophy’ that these are external manifestations and in them their alleged god has become incarnate. By this token, the worship of these manifestations amounts to the worship of the god whom they are supposed to represent. However, at the level of the common people, polytheism takes the shape of people considering these idols themselves as holy. These idols are not capable of walking or talking or seeing or hearing, but superstitious man presumes they will be of use to him and will fulfil his needs.