Polytheism

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The Arabic word shirk refers to association or polytheism in general. A person who commits shirk is referred to as a mushrik. However, the meaning of the term in the Arabic-Islamic context is broader than the common understanding of polytheism in ordinary English usage.

A person can offer worship to various things, people, or other beings through ritual acts or by invoking them in different ways. These forms of polytheism will be discussed in greater detail in this book.

Likewise, a person can also worship another human being by accepting laws from him that contradict the law of Allah.

Associating a son or a mother with the Creator or attributing Allah's qualities to a created being is also considered shirk in Islamic theology.

Most followers of Christianity today, for example, are regarded as committing polytheism from the Islamic perspective, even though they consider themselves monotheists.

In the Qur'an, polytheism is primarily indicated by the terms nidd, 'adl, nadhir, mithl, kuf', and sharik. These words each describe the “associate” – that which is worshiped by the idolaters alongside the one true Creator.

Thus, in a hadith narrated in both Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim – quoted here in the wording of al-Bukhari – the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم gives the following description of the meaning of shirk:

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: أَيُّ الذَّنْبِ أَعْظَمُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ؟ قَالَ: «أَنْ تَجْعَلَ لِلَّهِ نِدًّا وَهُوَ خَلَقَكَ». قُلْتُ: إِنَّ ذَلِكَ لَعَظِيمٌ

Narrated from 'Abdullah that he said: “I asked the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم: 'Which sin is the gravest in the sight of Allah?' He replied: 'That you set up an equal to Allah, while He created you.' I then said: “Indeed, that is truly a tremendous sin.'”

In this hadith, the word nidd was used. The Arabic word nidd (plural: andad) means equal or equivalent. The act of associating others with Allah is therefore also referred to as tandid.

In the Qur'an, the term andad frequently appears to express the meaning of shirk. One example can be found in the following passage at the beginning of the Qur'an, which is considered the first explicit command and prohibition in the Qur'an:

Association is also expressed through the verb ya'dilun, as can be seen from the following Qur'anic verse:

The verb ya'dilu means “to equate something” and 'adl in this context has the same meaning as the word nidd, that is, the associate or the one being ascribed as equal.

Chapters in this Section

• The Meaning of the Terms “Lesser Shirk” and “Greater Shirk”
• The Forms of Shirk According to the Classification of Tawhid
• The Meaning of 'Ibadah/Worship
• Major Shirk is the Equating of Allah and His Creations in Matters that are Unique to the Creator
• The Shirk of the Arabs in Intercession (Shafa'ah)