KEY WORDS:
Trinity: belief in three gods,
Idols: a representation or symbol of an object of worship,
Ancestor: forefather,
Hero: a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities,
Atheism: disbelief that there is no god,
Humanism: a doctrine centered on human reasoning and completely rejects divine revelation.
Meaning of Shirk
Shirk is the act of worshiping anyone other than Allah or attributing to anyone or object, descriptions or qualities that solely belong to Allah. It is a great sin in Islam because Allah may forgive any sin if He wishes, except the sin of Shirk, as emphasised in Quran. Shirk is associating partner with Allah (SWT).It is rejection of the existence of Allah i.e. Kufr of which is the direct opposite of the Islamic concept of Monotheism (Tawheed).It is a grievous sin in Islam. It is considered as the only unpardonable sin if one dies as Mushrik. That means that a Mushrik will be punished on the last Day.
Al-Qur’an 4 verse 48
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَغۡفِرُ أَن يُشۡرَكَ بِهِۦ وَيَغۡفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَن يَشَآءُۚ وَمَن يُشۡرِكۡ بِٱللَّهِ فَقَدِ ٱفۡتَرَىٰٓ إِثۡمًا عَظِيمًا
“Allah does not forgive that any partner be associated with Him; but He forgives anything else to whom He pleases. To set up partners with Allāh is to devise a most grievous sin”
Similarly, Qur’an 22 verse 31 reads:
حُنَفَآءَ لِلَّهِ غَيۡرَ مُشۡرِكِينَ بِهِۦۚ وَمَن يُشۡرِكۡ بِٱللَّهِ فَكَأَنَّمَا خَرَّ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ فَتَخۡطَفُهُ ٱلطَّيۡرُ أَوۡ تَهۡوِي بِهِ ٱلرِّيحُ فِي مَكَانٖ سَحِيقٖ
“Who assigns any partner to Allah is like one who had fallen from heaven and being snatched up by bird or being blown away by winds”
Qur’an 22 verse 31 shall be quoted and well explained with examples
Both the verses explain that Allah vows not to forgive or overlook any one who sets up a partner with Him.
Therefore, anybody who is guilty of it is no longer regarded as a Muslim.
Types of Shirk
There are three types of shirk. They are:
1- Shirk al-Akbar: Major Shirk
2- Shirk al-Asghar: Minor Shirk
3- Shirk al-Khafiyy: Hidden Shirk
Forms of Shirk
There are certain cultural and social beliefs and practices that are not compatible with the Islamic principles of Iman and Tawhid and they eventually lead one to committing Shirk. Such beliefs and practices can take any forms or manifestations which include:
- Trinity
- Worship of idols and natural phenomena
- Ancestor and Hero worship
- Atheism
- Humanism
- Superstition
- Magic and Witchcraft
- Fortune telling and Consultation of Oracle
- Participation in pagan festivities
- Cult-worship
- Trinity: Belief in plurality of God (polytheism) is a form of Shirk. Christians proclaim that God is three: The father, the son and the Holy Spirit (Trinity). Islam considers trinity or any form of polytheism as an abomination. Al-Qur’an states that ‘Allah begets not, nor is He begotten’ (Qur’an 112:1-4).
The Qur’an chapter 21 verse 22 shows the illogicality and impracticability of having more than one God. As well as Al-Qur’an 5 verse 73 and chapter 19 verses 92-93 condemns belief in the trinity.
- Worship of idols and natural phenomena: Worship of man-made or natural objects such as idols, statues, natural objects such as trees, rocks, rivers or hills, sun and moon is forbidden in Islam.
Qur’an chapter 6 verses 74-79, Qur’an 4 verse 48, Qur’an 22 verse 31 and Qur’an 31 verse 13 dwell on the worship to none but Allah (SWT)alone.
- Ancestor and Hero worship: Ancestors worship is the practice whereby some people believe that the spirit of their dead father/mother (ancestors) supervises and monitors their wellbeing. Such people then offer sacrifice to worship and appease these dead ancestors. On the other hand, hero-worship is the worship of certain great men or women who are regarded as holy, great and super-natural. Such heroes, Prophets or king are then worshiped as saints or deities. (Al-Qur’an 9 verse 31 and Al-Qur’an 44 verse 8 also emphasize the oneness and uniqueness of Allah.
- Atheism and Humanism: Atheism is non-belief in the existence of Allah and Humanism is the belief in human-supremacy and rejection of any divine interest in, or control over human beings. Qur’an 25 verses 43-44, Quran 27 verses 67-68 and Quran 82 verses 6-9 explain this better.
Shirk can take the following forms:
Shirk of worship: The worship of other human beings, living or dead, or any other created beings like Jinn or animals by regarding them as sacred.
This means that the worship of ancestors in any way is a sin. Similarly, the worship of natural phenomena or inanimate objects, such as trees, rivers, stone, as well as carved objects is idol worship. Offering sacrifices to these phenomena and objects is a way of regarding them as objects of worship. Idol worship is clearly forbidden in Qur’an 41 : 37.
Translation:
Among His Signs are the Night and the Day, and the Sun and the Moon. Adore not the sun and the moon, but adore Allah, who created them, if it is Him ye wish to serve.
Shirk of belief: It is sinful to believe that a human being, such as a learned person, dead or alive or any other created being, can serve as intermediary between a person and Allah. Therefore, offering prayers to such or paying a visit to such would ensure the attainment of a desired objective.
Similarly, the belief that sacrifice prepared and placed beside a tree, stone, river or a carved object is tantamount to an objective which connotes Shirk. Believing that a human beings irrespective of his level of piety, can be exempted or is exempted from established acts of ‘Ibadah of Allah such as Salat, Zakat, and Sawm amounts to over-estimating the worth of such a person and therefore an act of polytheism. Believing that God can be two, three or more is contrary to His attribute contained in Suratul-ikhlas (Qur’an 112 : 1 – 4):
Translation:
Say: He is Allah, the One and Only;
Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;
He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;
And there is none like unto Him.
Shirk of action, word or deed: There are statements which may be made, or actions which may be taken voluntarily or involuntarily which might lead to Shirk. Statements, such as describing a human being irrespective of his level of piety and closeness to Allah when alive, with attributes that belong to Allah alone, such as saviour, sustainer, creator, giver of life, omniscient and omnipotent. Therefore, if one bears these as one’s name, it is safer to precede them with ‘Abd as in ‘Abdul-Razaq, ‘Abdul-Muhyi, and ‘Abdul-Baaqi. Some other actions that may constitute Shirk include carrying out instructions of a human being, which obviously contradict the injunctions of Allah; disbelieving, disregarding or doubting the relevance of the pillars of Islam and the articles of faith in Islam or any established injunctions of Allah.
Similar to this is giving priority to any engagement or activity at the appointed time of ‘Ibadah such as Salah and Sawm.