Shirk - Definition and Types

Definition: Shirk is ascribing a partner to Allah in terms of His Rububiyyah and Uloohiyyah (worship). The common type of Shirk is the Shirk in Uloohiyyah, which entails supplicating others along with Allah , or dedicating to them worships such as, offerings, vows, reverence, fear, hope, and devotional love.

Shirk is the gravest of all sins due to the following:
1. It is resembling the creatures with the Creator in terms of the attributes of Divinity, for he who ascribes a partner to Allah ; he in effect resembles him with Him (Allah). This is the gravest injustice. Allah says:

“Verily, Shirk is gross injustice.” (Soorah Luqman  Chapter 31 Verse 13)

 Injustice signifies putting a thing in a wrong place. Thus, he who worships other than Allah , he places the worship in a place other than its own, and dedicates it to one who does not deserve it; hence, it is gross injustice.

2. Allah has stated that He does not forgive the one who does Shirk.
He says:

“Surely, Allah will not forgive (the sins of) ascribing partners to Him, but He will forgive whatever is short of that to whoever He wishes.” (Soorah An-Nisa  Chapter 4 Verse 48)

 3. Allah  has stated that a Mushrik (one who commits Shirk) shall be banned from Jannah (Paradise) and that he shall live in Hell-fire forever.

Allah, the Exalted, says:

“Surely, whoever ascribes a partner to Allah, Allah shall bar him from Jannah and Hell-fire shall be his abode, and the wrongdoers shall have no helpers.” (Soorah Al-Maidah  Chapter 5 Verse 72)

 4. Shirk nullifies all good deeds. Allah, the Exalted, says:

“Were they to commit Shirk, then the good deeds, which they accomplish, would have been nullified.” (Soorah Al-Anam  Chapter 6 verse 88)

 And Allah says:

“It has been revealed to you and to those before you, if you commit Shirk your good deeds shall be nullified and you shall certainly be of the losers.” (Soorah Az-Zumar Chapter 39 Verse 65)

 Allah, Glory be to Him, neither accepts a good deed performed by a Mushrik, not an intercession made in his favor. He does not respond to his supplication, or accepts his hope for having it fulfilled. The Mushrik is the most ignorant of Allah for setting a rival from creatures to the One Who created them, which is the worst type of ignorance and the worst type of injustice on the part of the Mushrik.
Even though the Mushrik does not wrong his Rabb (Lord) by his Shirk, but in reality he wrongs his own self.

The Types of Shirk
Shirk is of two types:

The First Type:
Greater Shirk, which constitutes apostasy, and condemns the person who practices it to Hell-Fire, and to live therein eternally if he does not relinquish it before death Shirk is devoting an act of worship to other than Allah , such as; supplication, vows, offerings that are made to jinn, graves or Shaytaan.

Fear of dead, jinn and Shaytaan that they may harm or sicken him and hope for things from others that only Allah can provide such as fulfilling needs and granting relief as practiced nowadays around tombs that are built on graves of pious people.

Allah says:

“And they worship, instead of Allah that which neither harm nor profit them, and they say, ‘These are our intercessors with Allah.’” (Soorah Yunus Chapter 10 Verse 18).

 The Second Type:
Lesser Shirk, which does not constitute apostasy, but defects the Tawheed, and is conducive to greater Shirk. It is of two kinds:
1. The first kind: Obvious Shirk which constitutes of UTTERANCES and ACTIONS.
As for the UTTERANCES, such as swearing by other than Allah ;
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:

“He who swears by other than Allah, commits Kufr, or Shirk.”(At-Tirmidhee)

 Or making a statement such as:“Whatever Allah wills and you will.”This statement was made by a man to the Prophet (pbuh) who objected his statement saying:

“Have you made me a rival to Allah? Say: ‘Whatever Allah Alone wills.’”(Sunan an – Nasaa’ee)

 As for ACTIONS, such as wearing a ring or a thread for the purpose of warding-off evil, or wearing talismanic outfit or other items for fear of bad eye, or otherwise, if the person who wears them believes that such things are the means of warding-off evil or bringing relief. In that case, wearing them is considered as lesser Shirk, because Allah does not make things as means of protection. But if he believes that these things themselves ward-off evil, then such belief constitutes a major Shirk because he depends on other than Allah .

2. The second kind: The hidden Shirk pertains to intentions and wills-such as acting hypocritically and fame – that is, to do a thing which usually is done as a means for seeking nearness to Allah , but does it only so that people commend him for it; such as performing Salat in a perfect manner, or giving charitable gift to be praised, or raising his voice with the Dhikr [remembrance of Allah ] or reciting Qur’aan for people to hear him and praise him. When an act of worship is done in Riya (doing an act of worship in order to make people see it or hear it), it would be nullified.

The Differences between Greater Shirk and Lesser Shirk
The following differences between the Greater Shirk and the Lesser Shirk are deduced from the above mentioned:
1. The greater Shirk constitutes apostasy, while the lesser Shirk does not constitute apostasy.
2. The greater Shirk condemns the one who practices it to eternal like in the Fire. Whereas the lesser Shirk does not condemn the one who practices it to eternal life in the Fire if he enters it.
3. The greater Shirk will cause the cancellation of all the actions while the lesser Shirk does not.
4. The greater Shirk causes one’s blood and wealth unsafe while lesser Shirk does not.