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Shirk: the Ultimate Crime |
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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.
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; Allaah. 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 Allaah, 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 inshAllaah,
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 Allaah). Shirk is its exact opposite. Linguistically, shirk
means a partnership or to share or associate. However, Islamically it is to give to other than Allaah, that which belongs solely to Allaah.
This means that parts of Allaah's creation are given
powers and attributes which belong to Allaah, thus,
ultimately sending worship to other then Allaah
alone. These parts of the creation therefore become partners with Allaah.
The purpose of
our creation is outlined in the Qu'raan when Allaah says:
"I did
not create the Jinn[1]
and mankind except to worship Me"
(Surah Ad-Dhariyat 51:56)
Our very
existence on this earth is to worship Allaah alone.
By committing shirk, a person ends up denying this
very purpose of our creation. To Allaah, this is the
gravest of sins and thus unforgivable.
Allaah says:
"Surely
Allaah will not forgive the association of partners
(shirk) with Him, but He forgives (sins) less then that to whomever
He wishes"
(Surah An-Nisa 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. Allaah 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, Allaah accepts his repentance and wipes the slate clean.
But if the person does not make repentance during his lifetime, then Allaah 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 Allaah
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 Allaah is
the Most Just. While some will go to Hell forever for committing shirk, there will be others who will go to
By committing
shirk we should not fool ourselves into thinking that we harm Allaah in anyway. Rather we harm ourselves with the threat
of Allaah's punishment. It is as if humans stick two
fingers up at Allaah after He has favoured
them with so much. Thus a crime is committed against Allaah,
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 (Ruboobeeya)
This category
of shirk has two aspects:
(i)- Shirk by Association - As Muslims we believe
that it is Allaah alone who Controls and Sustains the
universe. Those who commit shirk by association believe that Allaah 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 (Allaah)
alone does not regulate the affairs of mankind. They believe that the other two
parts of the Trinity, Jesus (as) 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 Allaah. The 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 Allaah's attributes to his creation. By denying Allaah, they say the world is eternal with no beginning and
no end. And we know that this is only for Allaah.
Shirk in Allaah's Names and Attributes (Asma
wa Sifaat)
This category
of shirk has two aspects:
(i) -Shirk by Humanisation - The Tawheed of Allaah'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. 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
These examples
of humanisation are indeed an injustice to the
almighty, who responds clearly by saying in the Qur`aan:
"There
is nothing like Him and He sees and hears all things"
(Surah Ash-Shoora 42:11)
(ii) - Shirk
by Deification - This form of shirk occurs when created beings are given the
names or attributes of Allaah 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 (Eebaadah)
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 Allaah alone. Those people who
physically direct their worship at other then Allaah,
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. The Muslims
have also fallen foul to this evil. Thousands, if not millions, of ignorant
Muslims make pilgrimages to the graves of saints and holy men. At the graves
they perform acts which clearly violate the principles of Tawheed.
They perform prayers (literally!) at the graveside, they sacrifice in the name
of the dead saint and they make tawwaf (circumbulation) of the grave. 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"
(Surah Al-An'aam 6:162)
Major shirk is
rampant amongst the worlds population and is ultimately the obstacle to our
salvation.
(ii)- Minor
Shirk (Shirkul-Asghar) - "Mahmood bin Lubayd reported that Allaah's Messenger (saws) said: 'The thing that I fear for
you the most is minor shirk'. The companions asked: 'O' Messenger of Allaah, what is minor shirk?' He
replied: 'Showing off (ar-riya), for verily Allaah 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
Allaah, 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.
From the
'Invitation to Islam' Newsletter, Issue 2, July 1997
Footnotes
1 Jinn's are another part
of Allaah's creation. They were created from
smokeless fire and are (like man) required to worship Allaah.
2 The Jewish people were granted many favours
by Allaah. 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 (
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
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-Narrated by Ahmed, Baihaqee
and Tabaranee.