Shirk: Difference between revisions

Muslim scholars have divided shirk into shirk in God's essence, attributes, and actions, and shirk in worship. From another perspective, shirk is divided into two categories: manifest (jali) and hidden (khafi). Manifest shirk is usually discussed in theology and hidden shirk in [[ethics]].

Shirk is defined as ascribing partners to God in what is exclusive to Him, such as necessity of existence, divinity, worship, and lordship. Shirk stands against tawhid, but some scholars maintain that shirk is the opposite of faith and that it may accompany faith, since shirk is applied in the Qur'an not only to idolaters but also to the [[People of the Book]] and sometimes to Muslims as well.  

A great number of Qur'anic verses address the issue of shirk and its prohibition. Some verses state that polytheists do not have any proofs for their belief but rely only on conjecture and desires. The Qur'an states that "Allah does not forgive that any partner should be ascribed to Him, but He forgives anything besides that to whomever He wishes" ([[Qur'an 4|4]]:48). Commentators have explained that the exclusion from God's forgiveness in this verse pertains to the case where a polytheist dies without repenting from his shirk; otherwise, all sins including shirk can be forgiven with repentance.  

In a hadith attributed to [[Imam Ali (a)]], shirk is said to be of four types in the Qur'an: shirk of the tongue, shirk in actions, shirk of adultery, and shirk of hypocrisy. For the shirk of the tongue, reference is made to the verse "They are certainly faithless who say, 'Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary.' But the Messiah had said, 'O Children of Israel! Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. Indeed whoever ascribes partners to Allah, Allah shall forbid him [entry into] paradise" ([[Qur'an 5|5]]:72); for the shirk in actions, the verse "And most of them do not believe in Allah without ascribing partners to Him" ([[Qur'an 12|12]]:106) is adduced; for the shirk of adultery, the verse "and share with them in wealth and children" ([[Qur'an 17|17]]:64) is quoted; and for the shirk of hypocrisy, the verse "So whoever expects to encounter his Lord let him act righteously, and not associate anyone with the worship of his Lord" ([[Qur'an 18|18]]:110) is cited.

Shirk is either majifest (jali) or hidden (khafi). Manifest shirk is to perform acts of worship such as bowing down, prostration, and offering sacrifices for someone or something other than God while believing the divinity of that person or thing. Hidden shirk includes such vices as materialism, following desires, and so forth. Expounding [[Qur'an 12]]:106, [[Imam al-Sadiq (a)]] is reported to have said that sayings such as "If it wasn't for so and so, I would be destroyed or afflicted" as an instance of hidden shirk. Also, a well-known hadith from the Prophet (s), according to which shirk is less noticeable than the motion of an ant on a black stone at a dark night, seems to refer to this type shirk. Hidden shirk is discussed mostly in ethics. Manifest shirk and hidden shirk are sometimes called greater shirk (al-shirk al-akbar) and lesser shirk (al-shirk al-asghar).  

* '''Following conjectures'''; The Qur'an states, "And what do they pursue who invoke partners besides Allah? They merely follow conjectures and they just make surmises" ([[Qur'an 10|10]]:66).  

* '''Ignorance'''; The Qur'an speaks of those who "without any knowledge" ascribe partners to God and maintain that He has sons and daughters ([[Qur'an 6|6]]:100).  

In his ''al-Nihaya'', [[al-Shaykh al-Tusi]] regards permanent marriage between Muslim men and polytheist women as invalid, but he considers temporary marriage with Jewish or Christian women valid.

Wahhabis consider [[tawassul]] to the dead, beseeching the Prophets or Friends of God, and seeking the blessings of the graves of religious figures among the instances of shirk in worship. [[Ibn Taymiyya]] believes that although asking the Prophet (s) or righteous people for prayer during their lifetimes is not shirk, it becomes shirk after their death. According to Ibn Taymiyya, whoever visits the grave of the Prophet (s) or a pious person and asks them for something is a polytheist; he must be required to repent, and if he refuses to repent, he has to face death penalty. Abd Allah b. Baz, a prominent contemporary Wahhabi mufti, also considers in his works asking the dead for healing, victory, and so forth an instance of the greater shirk. Wahhabis regard such practices as similar to the practices of the polytheists of the [[Age of Ignorance]].  

In response, other Muslim scholars state that the practices of the polytheists are not comparable to what Muslims do because polytheists believed in the divinity and lordship of their gods, but Muslims do not have such beliefs about the Prophet or the righteous figures to whom they do tawassul, and they never worship them. Rather, visiting the graves of the righteous people, honoring them, and asking for their prayers is an instance of venerating God and His sacraments and a means to get closer to Him.  

According to the Qur'an, asking for someone's prayer or intercession is a form of shirk in lordship if the one who is entreated is regarded as acting independently and without God's permission.

*The material for this article is mainly taken from [http://fa.wikishia.net/view/%D8%B4%D8%B1%DA%A9 {{ia|شرک}}] in Farsi WikiShia.