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Shirk (Polytheism): The Ultimate Crime
By mohammedhbi
Shirk (Arabic: شرك) is
the Islamic concept of the sin of polytheism specifically, but in a more
general way refers to worshipping other than Allah,
associating partners with him, giving his characteristics to
others beside him, or not believing in his characteristics.
Within Islam, Major Shirk is an unforgivable sin. According
to Islamic texts, anyone who commits shirk cannot be forgiven,
Allah forgives any sin except for major shirk. It is the vice
that is opposed to the virtue of tawhid, literally "declaring [that which is]
one", often translated into the English term monotheism.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirk_(Islam))
Murder, rape, child molesting
and genocide. These are all some of the appalling crimes which
occur in our world today. Many would think that these are the
worst possible offences which could be committed. But there is
something which outweighs all of these crimes put together: It is
the crime of shirk (associating partners with the sole Lord and
Creator).
Some people may question this notion. But when viewed in a proper
context, the fact that there is no crime worse then shirk, will
become evident to every sincere person.
There is no doubt that the above crimes are indeed terrible, but
their comparison with shirk shows that they do not hold much
significance in relation to this travesty. When a man murders,
rapes or steals, the injustice which is done is directed
primarily at other humans. But when a man commits shirk, the
injustice is directed towards the Creator of the heavens and the
earth; Allah. When a person is murdered, all sorts of reasons and
explanations are given. But one thing that the murderer cannot
claim, is that the murdered was someone who provided him with
food, shelter, clothing and all the other things which keep
humans aloft in this life.
But when a person commits shirk, they attempt to, willingly or
unwillingly, direct an injustice towards the One who has provided
them with all these necessary things - and often a whole lot
more. This Being who provides us with all our needs and wants is
of course Allah, the Lord of this universe. So is it right for us
to commit this offence against the one who has provided us with
all that we could possibly need? This is the ultimate form of
ingratitude which humans display, and will eventually cause many
people eternal pain. The severity of this crime has been
established, but until now you may have been wondering 'what
exactly is shirk?'
The Reality of Shirk
In the previous issue we talked about Tawheed (the Oneness of
Allah). Shirk is its exact opposite. Linguistically, shirk means
a partnership or to share or associate. However, Islamically it
is to give to other than Allah, that which belongs solely to
Allah. This means that parts of Allah's creation are given powers
and attributes which belong to Allah, thus, ultimately sending
worship to other then Allah alone. These parts of the creation
therefore become partners with Allah.
The purpose of our creation is outlined in the Qu'ran when Allah
says:
"I did not create the Jinn[1] and mankind except to
worship Me" (Adh-Dhariyaat, The Winds that Scatter
51:56)
Our very existence on this earth is to worship Allah alone. By
committing shirk, a person ends up denying this very purpose of
our creation. To Allah, this is the gravest of sins and thus
unforgivable.
Allah says:
"Surely Allaah will not forgive the association of
partners (shirk) with Him, but He forgives (sins) less then that
to whomever He wishes" (An-Nisaa', The Women
4:48)
This means that everything can be forgiven except shirk. However
we should not misunderstand this into thinking that those who
commit shirk are totally doomed. Allah calls himself by
al-Gaffoor (The Most Forgiving), and truly he is the Most
Forgiving. If a person commits shirk and then wishes to make
repentance, Allah accepts his repentance and wipes the slate
clean. But if the person does not make repentance during his
lifetime, then Allah will not forgive this person on the day of
judgement. Hellfire will be made eternal and he/she will never
come out. It must also be remembered that Allah through his
justice, has not discriminated in the punishment of this crime.
If a Muslim commits shirk during his lifetime, and does not make
repentance, he too will face the eternal fury of the Hellfire. It
is this thought which helps Muslims from becoming too complacent
and arrogant like some of the previous nations.[2]
Some people say that eternal Hellfire is unjust. But indeed Allah
is the Most Just. While some will go to Hell forever for
committing shirk, there will be others who will go to Paradise
forever for upholding Tawheed. Those who say that Allah is unjust
for sending some to Hell forever, should therefore also say that
Allah is unjust for sending others to Paradise forever! But we
know that those who claim this, would never themselves refuse an
everlasting reward such as Paradise, thus showing the weak human
understanding of this argument.
By committing shirk we should not fool ourselves into thinking
that we harm Allah in anyway. Rather we harm ourselves with the
threat of Allah's punishment. It is as if humans stick two
fingers up at Allah after He has favoured them with so much. Thus
a crime is committed against Allah, yet it does not harm Him -
Such is the magnitude and greatness of our Creator. In order to
understand how shirk manifests itself in our world, we need to
look at how it relates to the categories of Tawheed (mentioned in
the last issue).
Shirk in Allaah's Lordship
(Ruboobiyyah)
This category of shirk has two
aspects:
(i) Shirk by Association - As Muslims we
believe that it is Allah alone who Controls and Sustains the
universe. Those who commit shirk by association believe that
Allah is the Creator, but other parts of the creation also play a
role in the running of the world. A classic example of this is
the Christian concept of Trinity. Christians believe that God
(Allah) alone does not regulate the affairs of mankind. They
believe that the other two parts of the Trinity, Jesus (peace be
upon him) and the holy spirit, also play a part in worldly
affairs e.g Jesus pronounces judgement on the world and the holy
spirit helps Christians through their daily lives. Qualities such
as these should only belong to Allah. Hindus also commit this
kind of shirk, with them having hundreds of different Gods for
different aspects of their lives.
Unfortunately some Muslims have also fallen prey to this shirk.
There are many from the Indian subcontinent who often call out
for help upon saints and holy men who have passed away. One of
the main saints whom they invoke is 'Abdul-Qadir al-Jeelanee'[3]
whom they call 'AI-Ghawth-e-Azam' (the greatest source of
help).
(ii) Shirk by Negation - Over the centuries
many philosophies and ways of life have denied the existence of
God. Buddhism and Jainism are amongst the major world religions
which assert this belief. During the 18th and 19th centuries the
advancement of scientific knowledge led many philosophers and
scientists to claim that God was a figment of mans imagination.
By cancelling the role of a supreme legislator, those who claim
that God does not exist, ultimately attempt to make themselves
masters of their own destinies. Some atheists also give Allah's
attributes to his creation. By denying Allah, they say the world
is eternal with no beginning and no end. And we know that this is
only for Allah.
Shirk in Allaah's Names and Attributes (Asma wa
Sifaat)
This category of shirk has two aspects:
(i) -Shirk by Humanisation - The Tawheed of
Allah's names and attributes demands that we believe Allaah to be
free from any human likeness. Those who commit shirk by
humanisation give attributes to God which are more appropriate
for human beings than an all-powerful Creator. Modern-day
Christianity is again guilty of this shirk. In the Bible we find
countless examples of God being given human attributes. In the
book of Genesis, God is said to have created the world in six
days and then rested on the seventh!! In other places God is said
to have repented for his bad thoughts and felt sorry because of
his actions!
This form of shirk has even taken some people beyond the limits
of sanity. In India there are many Hindus who worship the Shiva
Lingam Deity. This is an idol which is shaped and sized to
represent the male genitals. For the Hindus it represents the
reproductive powers of God, and they display their affection by
massaging the deity with milk, water and butter!
These examples of humanisation are indeed an injustice to the
almighty, who responds clearly by saying in the Qur`an:
"There is nothing like Him and He sees and hears all
things" (Ash-Shoora, The Consultation
42:11)
(ii) - Shirk by Deification - This form of
shirk occurs when created beings are given the names or
attributes of Allah and thus become deities. This form of shirk
is especially popular with humans, with many people being given a
God-like status by ignorant followers. Jesus, Buddha, Rama,
Zoroaster and many other famous religious figures of the past
have been held to be incarnations of the all mighty. The
twentieth Century has also seen many cults emerge, from which
many leaders have claimed divinity. Sai Baba [4], David Koresh
[5], Guru Rajnishi [6] and many more have all claimed this
attribute which only belongs to Allaah.
Shirk in the Worship of Allaah (Ibaadah)
This category of shirk has two aspects:
(i) Major Shirk (Shirk al-Akbar)- As Muslims we
believe that alI forms of worship should be for Allah alone.
Those people who physically direct their worship at other then
Allah, commit this major shirk. By doing this action, mankind
commits the greatest act of rebellion and places himself at the
doors of eternal hellfire.
Worship in Christianity is usually devoid of God's name, and
Christians often bow down in front of statues of Christ, Mary and
many other saints of Christendom. Many of them even ask the dead
saints to grant them children and to forgive them of their sins!
All this contradicts the statement of Allaah when he commands us
to:
"Say; Truly my prayer, my sacrifice, my life and my death
are all for Allaah, Lord of the worlds" (Al-An'aam,
The Cattle 6:162)
Major shirk is rampant amongst the worlds population and is
ultimately the obstacle to our salvation.
(ii) Minor Shirk (Shirk al-Asghar)
- "Mahmood bin Lubayd reported that Allah's
Messenger (peace be upon him) said: 'The thing that I fear for
you the most is minor shirk'. The companions asked: 'O' Messenger
of Allah, what is minor shirk?' He replied: 'Showing off
(ar-riyaa), for verily Allah will say on the day of resurrection
when people are receiving their rewards, 'Go to those whom you
were showing off too in the world and see if you can find any
reward from them'" [7].
When doing righteous deeds our intentions should be to please the
one who sustains and keeps us alive. It should not be to please
those who have done nothing in comparison to what the Creator has
done. Showing off has become a disease amongst humans, and tears
away at any sincerity which may be present inside a person. Thus
Islam is probably the only way of life which regulates this minor
action, and places its danger in a proper context.
To know of the dangers of shirk should be of primary importance.
Whether we are Muslim or not, we should realise that it is the
crime of shirk which has led to the destruction of our world. By
taking man away from the worship of Allah, it has led him to the
worship of other men, leading to oppression and tyranny. By
confining man to the narrowness of this world, it will deny him
the vastness of the hereafter, which leads to justice and
success. Therefore surely . . . . shirk is the ultimate
crime.
Footnotes:
1 Jinn's are another part of Allah's creation. They were created
from smokeless fire and are (like man) required to worship Allah,
the live on this earth along with us, yet we are not able to see
them.
2 The Jewish people were granted many favours by Allah. But this
favouritism resulted in them becoming arrogant, and the favours
of Allaah were taken away from them.
3 Abdul-Qadir AI-Jeelanee was born in Jeelan (Iran) in the year
1077 CE. He was a jurist of the Hanbalite school of Islamic law.
Many miracles have been falsely attributed to him, elevating him
up to a God-like status. He himself was very harsh against those
who opposed Tawheed. The Qaadiree sufi order is named after him.
He died in the year 1166 CE.
4 Sai Baba is an Indian Holy man who claims the loyalty of
millions worldwide through his multi-faith cult. He is deified to
such an extent that his followers wake up at dawn every day to
pray to him.
5 David Koresh was the leader of a branch davidian sect based in
Waco, Texas, U.S.A. Koresh reinterpreted the teachings of the
Bible to proclaim himself as the son of God. The cult was ended
in 1993, when a fire killed most of Koresh's followers after a
shootout with FBI officers.
6 Guru Rajnishi was the leader of a major American commune during
the eighties. The cult lost momentum after it was accused of the
attempted murder of an American politician.
7 Authentic narration - Narrated by Ahmed, Baihaqee and
Tabaranee.
Reference:
http://www.islaam.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=211:shirk-polytheism-the-ultimate-crime&catid=46:polytheism-association-with-allah&Itemid=194
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