Examining the Role of "Intention and Purpose" in the Realization of Divine Polytheism from the Wahhabist Perspective

All Muslims worldwide believe that worship is exclusively for Almighty God, and if it is offered to anyone else, it constitutes divine polytheism. However, there is disagreement on how divine polytheism is realized. Wahhabis, by equating the linguistic and terminological definitions of worship, have defined it simply as: worship means "submission accompanied by love" or "the utmost submission and humility." Then, adhering to this belief, they have considered actions such as prostration, bowing, circumambulation, etc., as absolute worship. They consider any Muslim who performs any of these acts of worship for other than Allah, regardless of intention or belief, as a polytheist and outside the realm of Islam.
In contrast, scholars of the Islamic world have defined worship as a compound reality. In addition to outward and inward submission and humility, they have included another important condition: the belief in the lordship and divinity of the worshipped being, considering it as a fundamental pillar. They view the "intention and purpose" of the worshipper as the distinguishing factor between whether such actions are considered worship or not, and have accordingly divided matters like "prostration to other than Allah" into worshipful and non-worshipful prostration. Overall, from their perspective, the realization of divine polytheism revolves around the violation of belief, and the mere performance of an action that appears to be worship does not violate belief; rather, it is the action accompanied by intention and purpose.