Whoever Ignores One Form of Shirk Must Also Ignore All Others
The adherents of this misguided belief would also have to claim that one could be a Muslim regardless of the type of polytheism practiced. Thus, if a person was to ascribe to the Creator a second creator, a child, or a mother, or if he was to attribute the divine quality of all-encompassing knowledge to someone else, he would, according to this view, still be considered a Muslim without any issue. Just as the proponents of this erroneous opinion argue regarding polytheism in worship, they would claim that only two conditions must be met:
- That this mushrik considers himself a member of Islam – in this case, the general Islam, the religion of Ibrahim.
- That he was unaware that the polytheism he practiced contradicts the core message of this general Islam.
The same would also have to apply to people who worship a prophet like 'Isa/Jesus عليه السلام or the angels. According to this reasoning, they too would undoubtedly have to be considered Muslims, based on their declaration of faith and their simultaneous ignorance.
If a proponent of this false view now rejects these conclusions as completely absurd, he has only confirmed the contradiction, since it would not be permissible to differentiate between one polytheist and another without any proof.
Ultimately, such a person would have to claim that a polytheist who professes Islam could be a Muslim, whereas polytheists who adhere to other religions could not. This would be an arbitrary distinction that lacks any logical argumentation.
Rather, such unequal treatment would imply that Islam is a birthright or a privilege of a chosen people – an idea that is completely foreign to Islam. A Muslim is, by definition, a person who lives in pure monotheism, not a polytheist who can do as he pleases yet always remains a Muslim simply because he was born with this label.