Delineating the boundaries between monotheism (tawḥīd) and polytheism (shirk), which underlies the formation of Islamic identity and jurisprudential rulings, holds a position of utmost importance in religious discourse. In this regard, the Wahhabi sect, by advancing the theory of the "polytheists' monotheism in lordship (rubūbiyyah)"—formulated through a separatist approach that distinguishes between lordship (rubūbiyyah) and divinity (ulūhiyyah)—has brought about a fundamental transformation in the criteria of takfīr (excommunication). The present study, aiming to critique this notion, focuses on the views of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ḥasan al-Atharī in his book Ḥusn al-Ifādah fī Bayān Ḥaqīqat al-Shirk wa Mafhūm al-ʿIbādah, as it is a work that, through a novel formulation and selective citation of scriptural texts, seeks to reconstruct the claim that the polytheists were monotheists with respect to lordship. Adopting a descriptive-analytical method and examining the verses of the Qur'an along with the Sunni exegetical and theological heritage, this research seeks to answer the question of whether al-Atharī's arguments possess sufficient adequacy to prove that shirk is confined exclusively to the domain of divinity. The findings of the study demonstrate that al-Atharī's approach faces challenges such as: incomplete induction of the scriptural texts; disregard for the inseparable correlation between lordship and divinity; and the imposition of later terminology upon the discourse of the early scholars. Consequently, it becomes evident that, contrary to al-Atharī's claim, the shirk of the polytheists encompassed the domain of lordship as well, and therefore this view is rejected from the perspective of revelation and the understanding of the salaf.