Shirk (polytheism)

''Shirk'' () in Islam is a sin often roughly translated as 'idolatry' or 'polytheism', but more accurately meaning 'association God]'. It refers to accepting other Divinity, divinities or powers alongside God as associates. In contrast, Islam teaches that God does not share divine attributes with anyone, as it is disallowed according to the Islamic doctrine of ''tawhid.''Kamoonpuri, S: "Basic Beliefs of Islam" pages 42–58. Tanzania Printers Limited, 2001. It is considered to be the gravest sin in Islam. 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.

The one who commits ''shirk'' is called a ''mushrik''. The opposite of ''shirk'' is ''tawhid'' and the opposite of ''mushrik'' is ''muwahhid''..

Etymology

The word ''shirk'' comes from the Arabic root sh- r- k (), with the general meaning of 'to share'.
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'' ()—those who commit shirk and plot against Islam—often refer to the enemies of Islam (as in al-Tawbah verses 9:1–15).

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''.

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.

Entities worshipped besides God are called ''shurakāʾ'' ().Magic and Divination in Early Islam. (2021). Vereinigtes Königreich: Taylor & Francis. After Judgement Day, they will be cast into Hell along with devils (fallen angels) and evil jinn, 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. The Quranic verse Al-Ma'idah 5:73 ("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, but modern scholarship has suggested alternative interpretations. 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. 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. 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) as non-Christian formulas, which were rejected by the Church as well.

Cyril Glasse criticises the use of ''kafirun'' (pl. of ''kafir'') to describe Christians as a "loose usage". According to the ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'', traditional Islamic jurisprudence has ''ahl al-kitab'' being "usually regarded more leniently than other ''kuffar'' l. of ''kafir''" and "in theory," a Muslim commits a punishable offense if he says to a Jew or a Christian, "Thou unbeliever."

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''. 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''. 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.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"

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. 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).

The term is often translated as ''polytheism'', however more complex than the English translation. The term also implies that humans need to renounce claiming divine status for themselves by regarding themselves as better than others. Besides worshipping only one God, it also postulates that God must be considered as entirely unique and condemns anthropomorphization. ''Shirk'' further implies that God's attributes cannot be associated with any other entity or that any other entity can exist independent from God. At the same time, ''shirk'' contains additional assumptions not entailed by the concept of polytheism and does not require a physical object of worship.

Forms of ''shirk''

''Shirk'' is classified into two categories:
*''Shirk al-akbar'' (; ): open and apparent
*''Shirk al-asghar'' or ''al-shirk al-khafi'' (; ): concealed or hidden. It is when people perform the necessary rituals but not for God but for the sake of others, including social recognition. ''Hidden shirk'' might be unwitting, yet punishable, although to a lesser extent than greater forms of ''shirk''.

''Shirk al-akbar''

''Shirk al-akbar'' is defined as open association and has been described in two forms:
*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,

Mahmud ibn Lubayd also said,

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."

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.

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''.

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.

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.

Salafism and Wahhabism

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, founder of the Wahhabi movement, classified ''shirk'' into three main categories. However, ibn Taymiyya is considered to have been the spiritual founder of this distinction.

* ''tawhid al-rububiyyah'' (Lordship): the verbal profession that God (Allah) is the sole creator and ruler over the world.
* ''tawhid al-Asma wa's-Sifat'' (names and attributes): accepting the attributes of God as written in the Quran without interpretation.
* ''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.

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'').

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.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

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)

Notes

References

External links

*
Shirk in legislation

{{Italic title

Islamic terminology
Islamic theology
Polytheism
Sin in Islam
Idolatry