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Linguistically the word shirk in the Arabic language refers to the meaning of «sharing».
From this origin comes the term “sharakah” which means partnership. But the term shirk, in the context of the Qur’aan and the Sunnah is attributing a partner to Allah and directing any form of worship to other than Him.
Shirk is one of the most dangerous sins that an individual can commit because Allah has mentioned that He will not forgive the person who dies without having repented from shirk. Allah says:
“إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ وَمَنْ يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ افْتَرَى إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا”
“Indeed, Allah does not forgive the one who commits shirk with Him, but He forgives whatever is less than that for whomever He wills. And whoever associates others with Allah has certainly fabricated a tremendous sin.” (Soorat an-Nisa: 48).
The first people known to commit shirk were the people of Nooh . During the period between Adam and Nooh , there existed some righteous men well-known for their piety. After their deaths, iblees inspired the people to erect monuments and statues commemorating the lives of these righteous men. After the passage of time and the coming of a new generation, the people forgot why the statues were erected and iblees inspired the people to worship them. So Allah sent Nooh with the message of Tawheed.
From the time of Nooh until the coming of the Prophet Muhammad , Allah has sent every Prophet and Messenger with the responsibility of calling people to Tawheed and warning them against the consequences of shirk. Allah says in His Book:
“وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولًا أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوتَ”
“And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], “Worship Allah and avoid Taghoot.” (Soorat an-Nahl: 36)
And He says:
“وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلَّا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدُونِ”
“And We sent not before you any messenger except that We revealed to him that, There is no deity except Me, so worship Me.” (Soorat al-Anbiya: 25)
From the story of Nooh and his people we understand the danger of raising people beyond their status. This is why Allah criticizes the People of the Book concerning their exaggeration of ‘Eesa as Allah mentions:
“يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لَا تَغْلُوا فِي دِينِكُمْ وَلَا تَقُولُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ إِلَّا الْحَقَّ ۚ إِنَّمَا الْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ وَكَلِمَتُهُ أَلْقَاهَا إِلَىٰ مَرْيَمَ وَرُوحٌ مِّنْهُ ۖ فَآمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ ۖ وَلَا تَقُولُوا ثَلَاثَةٌ ۚ انتَهُوا خَيْرًا لَّكُمْ ۚ إِنَّمَا اللَّهُ إِلَٰهٌ وَاحِدٌ ۖ سُبْحَانَهُ أَن يَكُونَ لَهُ وَلَدٌ ۘ لَّهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ ۗ وَكَفَىٰ بِاللَّهِ وَكِيلًا”
“O People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your religion or say about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allah and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul [created at a command] from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers. And do not say, “Three”; desist – it is better for you. Indeed, Allah is but one God. Exalted is He above having a son. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs.”
Raising the status of people beyond what is acceptable is not a problem that only affects the People of the Book. Some Muslims also exaggerate the status of people. This type of exaggeration may lead to shirk since it can lead a person to seek the assistance of people in affairs that are specific to only Allah.
Types of Shirk
Shirk can be divided into two categories: Ash-Shirk Al-Akbar and Ash-Shirk Al-Asghar. Ash-Shirk Al-Akbar and Ash-Shirk Al-Asghar could be translated as major and minor polytheism. Ash-Shirk Al-Akbar or major polytheism involves making one of the creation equal to Allah . This can occur when a person directs worship to other than Allah , since worship should only be directed to Allah . So the person who prays or sacrifices to a Prophet or an angel has fallen into shirk since prayer and sacrifice should only be done for Allah .
Ash-Shirk Al-Akbar is very dangerous because it is a sin that Allah will not forgive except through repentance. Allah says:
“إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاءُ ۚ وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ افْتَرَىٰ إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا”
“Indeed, Allah does not forgive those who commit shirk with Him, but He forgives whatever is less than that for whomever He wills. And he who commits shirk with Allah has certainly fabricated a tremendous sin.” (Soorat an-Nisa: 48)
Ash-Shirk Al-Akbar also prevents the one who commits it from entering Paradise, as Allah says:
“إِنَّهُ مَن يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدْ حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَأْوَاهُ النَّارُ ۖ وَمَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ مِنْ أَنصَارٍ”
“Indeed, whoever commits shirk with Allah – then Allah has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers.” (Soorat al-Maidah: 72)
Ash-Shirk Al-Asghar involves whatever has been called shirk in texts of the Qur’aan and the Sunnah but does not reach the same level of polytheism as Ash-Shirk Al-Akbar. One example of this is showing off or riyaa. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said concerning this: “Certainly, the thing which I fear the most for you is Ash-Shirk Al-Asghar.” They (the Companions) inquired: “What is Ash-Shirk Al-Asghar?” The Prophet (Peace be upon him) then said: “riyaa.” Another example of Ash- Shirk Al-Asghar is the statement Maa shaa Allah wa shi’ta. This statement is considered minor shirk since it creates a sense of equality between the Creator and His creation, because the meaning of this phrase is “As Allah and you will”. A person could convey a similar meaning without committing minor shirk by saying: As Allah wills, then as you will. Although committing any type of shirk is dangerous, committing Ash-Shirk Al-Akbar is much more dangerous than committing Ash-Shirk Al-Asghar. This is because Ash-Shirk Al-Akbar causes all of a person’s deeds to be lost as Allah says:
“مَا كَانَ لِلْمُشْرِكِينَ أَنْ يَعْمُرُوا مَسَاجِدَ اللَّهِ شَاهِدِينَ عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ بِالْكُفْرِ أُولَئِكَ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمَالُهُمْ وَفِي النَّارِ هُمْ خَالِدُونَ”
“It is not for the people of shirk to maintain the mosques of Allah [while] witnessing against themselves with disbelief. [For] those, their deeds have become worthless, and in the Fire they will abide eternally.” (Soorat at-Tawbah: 17)
Ash-Shirk Al-Asghar only causes the action where the minor shirk occurred to be lost. Ash-Shirk Al-Akbar also causes a person to exit the religion of Islam whereas minor shirk does not cause someone to leave Islam. Jabir ibn ’Abdullaah narrated that the Prophet said: “Between a man and shirk and kufr is the abandonment of the prayer.” So we understand from this narration that major shirk can be used to refer to disbelief.
Ash-Shirk Al-Akbar also condemns an individual to the Hellfire while minor shirk does not condemn a person to the Hellfire. So whoever dies after committing Ash-Shirk Al-Akbar without repenting to Allah will reside in the Hellfire forever as Allah says:
“إِنَّهُ مَن يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدْ حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَأْوَاهُ النَّارُ ۖ وَمَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ مِنْ أَنصَارٍ”
“Indeed, whoever commits shirk with Allah – then Allah has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers.” (Soorat al-Maidah: 72)
So it becomes clear that every Muslim should strive hard to avoid shirk and all of its variations.
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ICO’s Publications – Islamic Studies curriculum – Grade 8/ Part1 https://goo.gl/VsR42p