وَثَنِيّ

وَثَنِيّ

A wathan is an idol with a body of wood, stone or other material; the wathani is the worshipper of idols and one who follows that religion. ¹ The idolater differs from the associator (mushrik), the unbeliever (kafir), the apostate, the Zoroastrian and the atheist; idolatry is one kind of unbelief. ^{1 2 3} Scholars agree that the idolater is an unbeliever; Muslims must call him to Islam, and war is not declared before the call. ^{3 4} Idolaters acknowledge the Creator but deny God's oneness; one who dies in idolatry is held to abide in the Fire with the unbelievers. ^{4 5} In war, the fighting men may be killed after the call, while women, children, the insane and the hermaphrodite may not, by agreement; most jurists exempt the old. ⁵ The women and children of a conquered people may be enslaved. ⁶ Most jurists accept the jizya from a non-Arab idolater but not from an Arab. ⁵ On conversion, the profession of the two testimonies suffices in the four schools. ⁷ Marriages among idolaters are valid for most jurists, while a Muslim may not marry an idolatress. ⁸ The flesh of an idolater's slaughter is not lawful, nor his game, except fish and locusts. ^{9 10}