Chapter of the book: The Doctrine of Monotheism · Read as PDF

Major shirk Is the Equating of Allah and His Creatures in Matters That Are Unique to the Creator

Shirk thus refers to the equating of the Creator with His creatures. This equating can occur with regard to His actions, attributes, and names, or – and above all – in worship and obedience.

This equating or making something equal means attributing to a created being something that belongs exclusively to the Creator. Therefore, shirk is also defined as ascribing to a created being any of the characteristics (khasa'is in Arabic) unique to Allah.

The equating described here, also known as taswiyah in Arabic, is explicitly mentioned in the Qur'an, for example, in the following verse:

Through taswiyah / equating of this magnitude, major shirk differs from all other sins. However, the element of equating is, to some extent, present in every sin. In every sin, Allah's right is violated to some degree, which is why the servant must seek forgiveness afterwards.

Just as not every sin is considered polytheism, it is also clear that not all love or submission towards a created being constitutes polytheism in worship. For example, love for the prophets as well as natural affection for other people and the like is not what is meant by polytheistic association, as long as this love remains within acceptable limits.

In the Qur'an, the following verse, for instance, speaks of the basic conduct towards one’s parents:

If a person's love for another human being goes so far that he rejects Islam, commits polytheism, or does something similar for the sake of that person, then the boundary has undoubtedly been crossed. In such a case, this person has made the other human being equal to the Creator in love and obedience.

In this sense, the Islamic creed holds as a principle that a Muslim loves anything only for the sake of Allah. This love is therefore always subordinate to the love for the Creator.

Regarding major shirk in love, the Qur'an states, for example:

From what was previously stated about the division of shirk, it also becomes clear why the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم used the terms shirk and 'adl also for minor shirk. This usage of the terms was already evident from the Prophet's statement, “Have you made me equal to Allah?” since the Arabic text of this hadith uses the word 'adl.

In the following hadith, where showing off (riya') is discussed and referred to as shirk, this division also becomes clear. The word shirk is used, even though riya' for a Muslim generally does not reach the level of major shirk.

In contrast to actual hypocrites / munafiqin, a Muslim would not perform an action solely for another human being. Therefore, it becomes quite obvious that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was referring to minor shirk when he said the following:

عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ، قَالَ: خَرَجَ عَلَيْنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَنَحْنُ نَتَذَاكَرُ الْمَسِيحَ الدَّجَّالَ، فَقَالَ: «أَلَا أُخْبِرُكُمْ بِمَا هُوَ أَخْوَفُ عَلَيْكُمْ عِنْدِي مِنَ الْمَسِيحِ الدَّجَّالِ؟» قَالَ: قُلْنَا: بَلَى، فَقَالَ: «الشِّرْكُ الْخَفِيُّ، أَنْ يَقُومَ الرَّجُلُ يُصَلِّي، فَيُزَيِّنُ صَلَاتَهُ، لِمَا يَرَى مِنْ نَظَرِ رَجُلٍ»

From Abu Sa'id, who said: The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم came out to us while we were remembering (together) al-Masih ad-Dajjal⁸⁸, and he said: “Shall I not tell you what I fear for you even more?” We said: “Yes.”

Then he said: “The hidden shirk: that a man stands to pray and beautifies his prayer because of the gaze of another person.”⁸⁹