Shirk (Islam)

Shirk (Template:Langx) in Islam is a sin often roughly translated as 'idolatry' or 'polytheism', but more accurately meaning 'association [with God]'.<ref>Nonbelief: An Islamic Perspective</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Efn It refers to accepting other divinities or powers alongside God as associates.<ref name=EI2-shirk>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> In contrast, Islam teaches that God does not share divine attributes with anyone, as it is disallowed according to the Islamic doctrine of tawhid.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref name="Kamoonpuri">Kamoonpuri, S: "Basic Beliefs of Islam" pages 42–58. Tanzania Printers Limited, 2001.</ref> It is considered to be the gravest sin in Islam. <ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=9i3lDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT8&dq=is+shirk+the+worst+sin&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj334-Dq7qNAxVK_8kDHVEeGrsQ6AF6BAgFEAM</ref>The Quran, the central religious text of Islam, states in 4:48 that God will not forgive shirk if one dies without repenting of it.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Kamoonpuri"/><ref>Cenap Çakmak. Islam: A Worldwide Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO 2017. Template:ISBN p. 1450.</ref>

The one who commits shirk is called a mushrik.Template:Efn The opposite of shirk is tawhidTemplate:Efn and the opposite of mushrik is muwahhid.Template:Efn.

Etymology

The word shirk comes from the Arabic root sh-r-k ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), with the general meaning of 'to share'.<ref>A. A. Nadwi, "Vocabulary of the Quran"</ref>Template:Efn In the context of the Quran, the particular sense of 'sharing as an equal partner' is usually understood, so that polytheism means 'attributing a partner to God'. In the Quran, shirk and the related word mushrikūn ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}})—those who commit shirk and plot against Islam—often refer to the enemies of Islam (as in al-Tawbah verses 9:1–15).<ref name = "Quran 4 U 9">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Rp

Quran

According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, the Quran states twice in An-Nisa verses 48 and 116 that God can forgive all sins save one: shirk.<ref>Encyclopaedia of Islam, volume 9, 2nd edition, s.v. shirk</ref>

Indeed, Allah does not forgive associating others with Him ˹in worship˺, but forgives anything else of whoever He wills. And whoever associates others with Allah has indeed committed a grave sin.{{#if:Q4:48<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Islamic commentators on the Quran have emphasized that a number of pre-Islamic Arabian deities and jinn, most notably the three goddesses Manat, al-Lat and al-Uzza mentioned in al-Najm, were considered associates of God.<ref>Pantić, Nikola. Sufism in Ottoman Damascus: Religion, Magic, and the Eighteenth-century Networks of the Holy. Taylor & Francis, 2023. chapter 3</ref>

Entities worshipped besides God are called shurakāʾ (Template:Langx).<ref name="MagicAndDivination-2021">Magic and Divination in Early Islam. (2021). Vereinigtes Königreich: Taylor & Francis.</ref>Template:Rp<ref> Eichler, Paul Arno, 1889-Publication date 1928 Topics Koran Publisher Leipzig : Klein Collection microfilm; additional_collections Digitizing sponsor Internet Archive Contributor Internet Archive Language German</ref>Template:Rp After Judgement Day, they will be cast into Hell along with devils (fallen angels) and evil jinn,<ref name="MagicAndDivination-2021"/>Template:Rp to whom the polytheists are said to sacrifice in order to gain protection.

Charles Adams writes that the Quran reproaches the People of the Book with kufr for rejecting Muhammad's message when they should have been the first to accept it as possessors of earlier revelations, and singles out Christians for disregarding the evidence of God's unity.<ref name=adams>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> The Quranic verse Al-Ma'idah 5:73<ref name = "Quran 4 U 5">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Rp ("Certainly they disbelieve [kafara] who say: God is the third of three"), among other verses, has been traditionally understood in Islam as rejection of the Christian Trinity doctrine,<ref name=EoQ-Trinity>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> but modern scholarship has suggested alternative interpretations.Template:Refn Other Quranic verses strongly deny the divinity of Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, and reproach the people who treat Jesus as equal with God as disbelievers, who will be doomed to eternal punishment in Hell.<ref>Joseph, Jojo, Qur’an-Gospel Convergence: The Qur’an’s Message To Christians Template:Webarchive, Journal of Dharma, 1 (January–March 2010), pp. 55-76</ref><ref>Mazuz, Haggai (2012) Christians in the Qurʾān: Some Insights Derived from the Classical Exegetic Approach, Journal of Dharma 35, 1 (January–March 2010), 55-76</ref> The Quran also does not recognise the attribute of Jesus as the Son of God or God himself but respects Jesus as a prophet and messenger of God, who was sent to children of Israel.<ref>Schirrmacher, Christine, The Islamic view of Christians: Qur’an and Hadith, http://www.worldevangelicals.org</ref> Some Muslim thinkers such as Mohamed Talbi have viewed the most extreme Qur'anic presentations of the dogmas of the Trinity and divinity of Jesus (Al-Ma'idah 5:19, 5:75-76, 5:119)<ref name = "Quran 4 U 5"/> as non-Christian formulas, which were rejected by the Church as well.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Cyril Glasse criticises the use of kafirun (pl. of kafir) to describe Christians as a "loose usage".Template:Clarification needed<ref name=Glasse-2001-247>Template:Cite book</ref> According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, traditional Islamic jurisprudence has ahl al-kitab being "usually regarded more leniently than other kuffar [pl. of kafir]," and "in theory," a Muslim commits a punishable offense if he says to a Jew or a Christian, "Thou unbeliever."<ref name=EI2>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>

Historically, People of the Book permanently residing under Islamic rule were entitled to a special status known as dhimmi, and those who were visiting Muslim lands received a different status known as musta'min.<ref name=EI2/> In the Quran Jews and Christians, although accused of believing shared divinity by asserting lineage between God and Ezra or Jesus respectively, are not described as mushrik.<ref>Gimaret, D., “Tawḥīd”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 25 February 2024 {{#invoke:doi|main}} First published online: 2012 First print edition: Template:ISBN, 1960-2007</ref> The term is reserved for pre-Islamic beliefs who associated partners with God. Nonetheless, medieval Muslim philosophers identified belief in the Trinity with shirk ("associationism"), by limiting the infinity of God by associating his divinity with physical existence.<ref name="Janet">Learning from other faiths Hermann Häring, Janet Martin Soskice, Felix Wilfred - 2003 - 141 "Medieval Jewish (as well as Muslim) philosophers identified belief in the Trinity with the heresy of shituf (Hebrew) or shirk (Arabic): 'associationism', or limiting the infinity of Allah by associating his divinity with creaturely being"</ref>

Theological interpretation

In a theological context, one commits shirk by associating some lesser being with God (Allah). The sin is committed if one imagines that there is another power associated with Allah as a partner.<ref>Mark, Durie. "Semantic decomposition of four Quranic words." Russian Journal of Linguistics 26.4 (2022): 937-969.</ref> It is stated in the Quran: "Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him, but He forgives anything else, to whom He pleases, to set up partners with Allah is to devise a sin most heinous indeed" (Quran An-Nisa 4:48).<ref name = "Quran 4 U 4">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Rp<ref>Faruki, Kemal. "TAWḤĪD AND THE DOCTRINE OF'IṢMAH." Islamic Studies 4.1 (1965): 31-43.</ref>

The term is often translated as polytheism, however more complex than the English translation.<ref>Mark, Durie. "Semantic decomposition of four Quranic words." Russian Journal of Linguistics 26.4 (2022): 937-969.</ref><ref>Mulia, Siti Musdah. "Muslim Family Law Reform in Indonesia A Progressive Interpretation of The Qur’an." Al-Mawarid: Jurnal Hukum Islam (2015): 1-18.</ref> The term also implies that humans need to renounce claiming divine status for themselves by regarding themselves as better than others.<ref>Mulia, Siti Musdah. "Muslim Family Law Reform in Indonesia A Progressive Interpretation of The Qur’an." Al-Mawarid: Jurnal Hukum Islam (2015): 1-18.</ref> Besides worshipping only one God, it also postulates that God must be considered as entirely unique and condemns anthropomorphization.<ref>Mulia, Siti Musdah. "Muslim Family Law Reform in Indonesia A Progressive Interpretation of The Qur’an." Al-Mawarid: Jurnal Hukum Islam (2015): 1-18.</ref> Shirk further implies that God's attributes cannot be associated with any other entity or that any other entity can exist independent from God.<ref>Faruki, Kemal. "TAWḤĪD AND THE DOCTRINE OF'IṢMAH." Islamic Studies 4.1 (1965): 31-43.</ref> At the same time, shirk contains additional assumptions not entailed by the concept of polytheism and does not require a physical object of worship.<ref>Sinai, N. (2018). Polytheism. In K. Fleet, G. Krämer, D. Matringe, J. Nawas and D. J. Stewart (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Islam Three Online. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_46230</ref>

Forms of shirk

Shirk is classified into two categories:<ref>Winter, Timothy, ed. The Cambridge companion to classical Islamic theology. Cambridge University Press, 2008. p. 233</ref>

• Shirk al-akbar (Template:Langx; Template:Lit): open and apparent
• Shirk al-asghar or al-shirk al-khafi (Template:Langx; Template:Lit): concealed or hidden. It is when people perform the necessary rituals but not for God but for the sake of others, including social recognition.<ref>Winter, Timothy, ed. The Cambridge companion to classical Islamic theology. Cambridge University Press, 2008. p. 233</ref> Hidden shirk might be unwitting, yet punishable, although to a lesser extent than greater forms of shirk.<ref>Faruki, Kemal. "TAWḤĪD AND THE DOCTRINE OF'IṢMAH." Islamic Studies 4.1 (1965): 31-43.</ref>

Shirk al-akbar

Shirk al-akbar is defined as open association and has been described in two forms:<ref>Winter, Timothy, ed. The Cambridge companion to classical Islamic theology. Cambridge University Press, 2008. p. 233</ref>

• To associate anything with God
• To associate anything with God's attributes

Shirk al-asghar

Shirk al-asghar may be committed by one who professes tawhid, but for the sake of others.

Mahmud ibn Lubayd reported, Template:Quote

Mahmud ibn Lubayd also said, Template:Quote

Umar ibn al-Khattab narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: "Whoever swears by other than Allah has committed an act of kufr or shirk." (graded hasan by Al-Tirmidhi and saheeh by Al-Hakim)

According to Ibn Mas’ood, one of Muhammad's companions said: "That I should swear by Allah upon a lie is more preferable to me than that I should swear by another upon the truth."<ref>Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, Kitab At-Tawheed, chapter 40</ref>

Sufism

According to Sufi teachings, to avoid "hidden shirk" (al-shirk al-khafi), it is necessary to focus solely on God and give up one's own will.<ref>Sands, Kristin. Sufi commentaries on the Qur'an in classical Islam. routledge, 2006. p. 29</ref>

Some Sufi scholars even go so far as to describe a belief in free will as a form of shirk. According to such an uncompromising view, beliefs usually accommodated within monotheism, such as that in a personal devil (rather than the unregenerate self deficient in God) as the source of evil, or a belief in the concept of free will, are regarded as beliefs in creative powers other than (i.e. standing beside/external to) God, and are thus equated with shirk.<ref>Awn, Peter J. (1983). Satan's Tragedy and Redemption: Iblīs in Sufi Psychology. Leiden: Brill Publishers. p. 104. Template:ISBN</ref>

Abdullah Ansari describes the highest stage of tawhid a human can possess, when the mind becomes fully immersed in the presence of God and understand how all things are put into their proper places.<ref>Abdullah, Wan Suhaimi Wan. "Herawi's Concept of Tawhid: An Observation Based on His Manazil Al-Sa'irin." Jurnal Usuluddin 12 (2000): 95-104.</ref>

In Sufism, every action done with an expectation of reward, either in this world or in the hereafter, is considered an act of shirk. Despite that this level of shirk does not entail disbelief, or require repeating the action to follow Islam's legal prescriptions, Sufis work on purification until their thoughts are not dominated by any desire except the pure love of God, which results in pure actions of worship.Template:Citation needed

Salafism and Wahhabism

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, founder of the Wahhabi movement, classified shirk into three main categories.<ref>Peskes, Esther and Ende, W., “Wahhābiyya”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 25 February 2024 {{#invoke:doi|main}} First published online: 2012 First print edition: Template:ISBN, 1960-2007</ref> However, ibn Taymiyya is considered to have been the spiritual founder of this distinction.<ref name="Janet" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Rp

• tawhid al-rububiyyah (Lordship): the verbal profession that God (Allah) is the sole creator and ruler over the world.<ref>Peskes, Esther and Ende, W., “Wahhābiyya”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 25 February 2024 {{#invoke:doi|main}}

First published online: 2012 First print edition: Template:ISBN, 1960-2007</ref>

• tawhid al-Asma wa's-Sifat (names and attributes): accepting the attributes of God as written in the Quran without interpretation.<ref>Peskes, Esther and Ende, W., “Wahhābiyya”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 25 February 2024 {{#invoke:doi|main}}

First published online: 2012 First print edition: Template:ISBN, 1960-2007</ref>

• tawhid al-ibada (servitude): the commitment of religious or spiritual duties to God without intermediaries and that religious or spiritual practises must be limited to Islamic sources.<ref>Pall, Z. (2014). Lebanese Salafis between the Gulf and Europe: Development, fractionalization and transnational networks of Salafism in Lebanon. Amsterdam University Press. p. 20</ref><ref>Peskes, Esther and Ende, W., “Wahhābiyya”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 25 February 2024 {{#invoke:doi|main}}

First published online: 2012 First print edition: Template:ISBN, 1960-2007</ref>

For abd al-Wahhab, tawhid al-ibada was the decisive factor to determine the identity of a Muslim and also the execution of tawhid al-rububiyyah. Muslims who violated his interpretation of tawhid al-ibada were considered to be "associators" (mushrikūn) and "unbelievers" (kāfirūn).<ref>Peskes, Esther and Ende, W., “Wahhābiyya”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 25 February 2024 {{#invoke:doi|main}} First published online: 2012 First print edition: Template:ISBN, 1960-2007</ref>

Building on the legacy of abdl-Wahhab, in the writings of Islamist writers Sayyid Qutb, al-Mawdudu, and Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi interprete adherences to human-made laws as shirk.<ref>Sinai, N. (2018). Polytheism. In K. Fleet, G. Krämer, D. Matringe, J. Nawas and D. J. Stewart (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Islam Three Online. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_46230</ref>

See also

• Black Stone
• Haram
• Henotheism
• Islam and blasphemy
• Islamic schools and branches
• Islamic view of the Trinity
• Islamic views on Jesus' death
• Paganism
• Pre-Islamic Arabia
• Shahada (confession)
• Taghut (idol)

External links

• Template:Cite journal
• Shirk in legislation Template:Webarchive