Do those who deny the existence of Allah indicate a denial of oneness of lordship?

Q: The communists and atheists of our era deny the existence of Allah. Does this not constitute a denial of oneness of lordship, contrary to what some scholars have said, that none of the disbelievers denied oneness of lordship?

A: The scholars have mentioned that oneness of lordship is a matter acknowledged by the nations, and that only a few deviants among people, who are not to be taken seriously, denied it. Among them were the Zoroastrians, who said that there are two gods: light and darkness, and that light is greater than darkness and that it created good, while darkness created evil. As for the total denial of gods, that was said by Pharaoh in stubbornness, and likewise the ancient philosophers and the atheists are known for holding that the celestial bodies are gods and that they have their known movement. However, the majority of the polytheists and the common people among them acknowledge the Lord, and that there is a Lord who created and provided sustenance and is in the heights. They only drew near to Him through the acts of shirk (associating partners with Allah) that they committed.
The disbelievers of Quraysh denied the resurrection, while they acknowledged that Allah is their Lord and Creator, but they associated partners with Him in worship and denied the resurrection. They said, "We have nothing but our worldly life; we die and we live," and they denied Paradise and Hellfire. So Allah sent Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to them and to others among the jinn and mankind to guide them to the truth and to deny the falsehood upon which they were. So those whom Allah willed for happiness followed him, and the majority disbelieved in him, just as they disbelieved in the other messengers (peace be upon them). As Allah the Exalted said: [Yusuf: 103] And He the Exalted said: [Saba: 20] And there are many verses in this meaning.