Shirk refers to the association of partners with Allah in worship or beliefs. The document discusses the different types and categories of shirk, including shirk in rububiyyah (lordship), asma wa sifat (names and attributes), and uluhiyyah (divinity). It outlines the dangers of shirk, noting it is the only unforgivable sin and prohibits entry to Paradise. Minor shirk, like riya (showing off deeds), does not expel one from Islam but can nullify deeds, whereas major shirk like idol worship nullifies all good deeds and makes one a non-Muslim. The document emphasizes knowing the subtle forms of shirk is key to avoiding

1. Shirk

2. “
“And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad SAW) concerning Me, then (answer
them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations
of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor). So
let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright” [al-Baqarah 2:186]
And your Lord says, "Call upon Me; I will respond to you." Indeed, those who
disdain My worship will enter Hell [rendered] contemptible. [Ghaafir 40:60].
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3. “
[He] who made for you the earth a bed [spread out] and the sky a ceiling and sent
down from the sky, rain and brought forth thereby fruits as provision for you. So
do not attribute to Allah equals while you know [that there is nothing similar to
Him] [Sūrah al-Baqarah 2:22]
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4. Importance of Knowing Shirk
• Acts of worship will not be accepted by Allāh unless tawḥīd is
perfected.
• Likewise, the only way that any person will save himself from the
Fire of Hell is by avoiding shirk and dying upon tawḥīd; if he is not
even aware of the essence of shirk, then how can he avoid it?
• The primary incentive to avoid shirk is to appreciate its dangers.
• Shirk is of many different types and categories. It is only through a
critical study of these categories that a person can ensure that he is
free of all types of shirk.
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5. Dangers of Shirk
Shirk is the only unforgivable sin in the sight of Allāh.
Allāh says that He will never forgive the sin of shirk but will forgive the sin
lesser than that. This is a reference to those who have died without
repenting from shirk.[Sūrah Al-Nisā’ v. 48]
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6. Dangers of Shirk
Shirk prohibits a person from entering Paradise, and obligates a
permanent abode in Hell.
“… Whoever commits shirk with Allāh, Allāh has made Jannah ḥarām for
him and his abode will be the Fire of Hell.”[Sūrah Al-Mā’idah v. 72]
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7. Dangers of Shirk
Shirk is so evil that it destroys all of a person’s good
“I have revealed to you and to those before you, if you commit shirk, all of
your good deeds will be nullified.” [Sūrah Al-Zumar v. 65]
The ‘you’ refers to the Prophet (saw), and Allāh is speaking in the first person directly to
Rasūlullāh, which shows the importance of this verse because it is rare in the Qurʾān.
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8. Dangers of Shirk
If a person dies in a state of shirk, it is prohibited for his Muslim friends
and relatives to seek forgiveness for him
When the uncle of the Prophet (saw) died, he said, “I am going to continue to ask forgiveness
for you until Allāh forbids me to do so.” Allāh says , “It is not appropriate for the
Prophet and for those who believe that It is not for the Prophet and those
who have believed to ask forgiveness for the polytheists, even if they were
relatives, after it has become clear to them that they are companions of
Hellfire.” Sūrah Al-Tawbah v. 113.
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9. Dangers of Shirk
Allāh has described those who commit shirk as being najas, or filthy.
O you who believe! Verily, the Mushrikin are impure. So let them not come near Al-
Masjid Al-Haram after this year; and if you fear poverty, Allah will enrich you if He
wills, out of His bounty. Surely, Allah is All-Knowing, All-WiseSūrah Al-Tawbah v. 28.
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10. Origin of Shirk
"And they have said: `You shall not leave your
gods, nor shall you leave Wadd, nor Suwa, nor
Yaghuth, and Yauq and Nasr'‘ Sūrah Nuh v.23.
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11. During Prophet Ibrahim(as)
When he said to his father and his people, "What
are these statues to which you are devoted? “They
said, "We found our fathers worshippers of them.
“He said, "You were certainly, you and your
fathers, in manifest error."'‘ Sūrah Anviyah v.51-54.
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12. Origin of Shirk In Mecca(Pre-Islam)
Abu Huraira said, "The Prophet ( ‫ﷺ‬
( said, 'I saw `Amr bin
'Amir bin Luhai Al-Khuza`i dragging his intestines in the
(Hell) Fire, for he was the first man who started the
custom of releasing animals (for the sake of false gods).
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13. Categories of Shirk
Shirk in Rubūbiyyah
• Shirk by Denial: Denying that creation has a Creator.
• Total Denial : This is atheism.
• Partial denial: Some Philosopher..
• Shirk by Affirmation:
• Total Affirmation: Jupiter, Zeus, Brahma,
Krishna.
• This is an Ultimate Rabb that we affirm besides Allāh.
This is an all-powerful complete Lord.
• Partial Affirmation: Quraysh, Jesus Christ
• This is giving some of the characteristics of the Rabb to
other than Allāh.
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14. Categories of Shirk
• Shirk in Asmā’ wa’l-Ṣifāt
• Deification: Comparing creation to Allāh
• Anthropomorphism: Comparing Allāh to creation
• Shirk in Ulūhiyyah : This is to direct an act of worship to other an Allāh.
• Major:
• Theoretical: It is to consider the worship of other than Allāh to be acceptable and permissible even if you yourself do not worship other than Allāh.
• Practical: Action Based : If you do a practical deed in order to please another god
• Minor:
• Minor Shirk in Worship :: Riya :: Show off in prayer
• Minor Shirk in Tongue :: Only can swear by Allah but not extreme
• Minor Shirk of Limbs :: Amulets, charms.
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15. Minor Shirk: Definition and Examples
■ Shirk in ulūhiyyah can be divided into 2 categories: major shirk (shirk akbar)
and minor shirk (shirk asghar). Only ulūhiyyah is divided into major and
minor, and every other type of shirk is major. Who divided shirk into two
categories? This derivation is referenced in the Sunnah.
■ The Prophet (saw) said, “The thing that I fear the most for you is minor
shirk.” [sahih Bukhārī]
○ When he (saw) said this, it clearly indicates that there is something
called major shirk. He (saw) was asked what minor shirk is, and he said,
“It is to show off one’s deeds.”
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16. Minor vs Major Shirk
• The differences between major and minor shirk
• Major shirk expels a person from Islām
• Major shirk makes a person a non-Muslim. Minor shirk does not expel you from Islām, and minor
shirk is committed by Muslims. Therefore, with this difference in mind, the rest of the differences
follow.
• Major shirk necessitates a person’s eternal punishment in the Fire of Hell
• Major shirk nullifies all of a person’s good deeds.
• Minor shirk only nullifies the one deed that you did it with. If someone prayed and wanted to
show of his prayer, then that prayer is null and void. If a person worshipped an idol, all fasting,
prayer, charity and other good deeds are nullified.
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17. Minor Shirk: Examples
• Minor shirk can occur in the heart, tongue, and the limbs
• Minor shirk in acts of worship pertaining to the heart
• Riyā’: worshipping Allāh, based upon the sunnah, but to impress people.
• The Prophet (saw) said, “What I fear the most for my ummah is riyā’.”
• Performing a good deed purely for a worldly benefit
• Relying on the cause instead of the Creator of the cause
• Making something which Allāh has not made a cause into a cause (while believing
that Allāh is the Rabb)
• Minor shirk in statements of the tongue
• Swearing by other than Allāh while believing that Allāh is the Rabb.
• Equating Allāh with the creation using the conjunctive ‘and’.
• Naming created objects with names that go against pure tawhīd
• Minor shirk in actions of the limbs
• Amulets and charms
• Certain types of riyā’
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18. Conclusion
• Abu Bakr(ra) has narrated that Prophet(saw) said : “Shirk in my Ummah is much more hidden
than the pace of an ant crawling upon a black stone.” Shirk is very hidden. It enters the heart
very silently and very few are saved from it. Upon hearing this, Abu Bakr (ra) asked : “How can
one be saved from it?” Rasulullah(saw) said : “ Should I not show you such a supplication (dua)
that if you recite it, you will be free from minor and major shirk.” Abu Bakr(ra) requested him to
do so. Rasulullah (saw) instructed him to say : “Allahumma innee a’oozu bika min an ushrika
bika shay-a`w wa-ana a’alam wa-astaghfiruka limaa laa a’alam.”
“O Allah, I seek protection in You from that I ascribe partners to You knowingly and I seek
forgiveness from You for those things which I do not know.”
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