{{Short description|Islamic concept of associating other objects with God}} {{Islam}}
In Islam, '''''Shirk''''' ({{langx|ar|شِرْك|lit=association}}) is a sin often roughly translated as "idolatry" or "polytheism", but more accurately meaning "partnerism<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mahmoud |first1=Mohamed A. |title=Quest for Divinity: A Critical Examination of the Thought of Mahmud Muhammad Taha |date=1 February 2015 |publisher=Syracuse University Press |isbn=978-0-8156-3115-6 |page=208 |url=https://books.google.com.bd/books?id=l_4eDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA208&dq=Partnerism+shirk&hl=bn&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjF-7mxzYOUAxXaS2wGHSdhDPoQ6AF6BAgHEAM#v=onepage&q=Partnerism%20shirk&f=false |access-date=23 April 2026 |language=en}}</ref> or association [with God]".<ref>[https://www.secularismandnonreligion.org/articles/10.5334/snr.111/ Nonbelief: An Islamic Perspective]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Surah Luqman Verse 13 {{!}} 31:13 لقمان - Quran O|url=https://qurano.com/en/31-luqman/verse-13/|access-date=2021-05-03|website=qurano.com|language=en}}</ref>{{efn|These translations have been criticized by Nicolai Sinai as inaccurate. According to him, the terms idolatry and polytheism have a narrow definition of worshipping images, betraying the Quranic meaning. In the Quran, those who commit ''shirk'' may place an idol, but the sin itself consists of associating something with God.<ref>Sinai, Nicolai. "Key terms of the Qur'an: a critical dictionary." (2023): 1-840.</ref>}} It refers to accepting other divinities or powers alongside God as associates.<ref name=EI2-shirk>{{Cite encyclopedia|last=Gimaret |first=D. | year= 2012 | title=S̲h̲irk |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam| edition=2nd|publisher=Brill |editor1-first=P. |editor1-last=Bearman |editor2-first=Th. |editor2-last=Bianquis |editor3-first=C. E. |editor3-last=Bosworth |editor4-first=E. |editor4-last=van Donzel |editor5-first=W. P. |editor5-last=Heinrichs |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_6965 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=focLrox-frUC&q=shirk%2520Islam&pg=PA429|title=shirk |encyclopedia=The New Encyclopedia of Islam|last1=Glassé|first1=Cyril|last2=Smith|first2=Huston|date=2003-01-01|publisher=Rowman Altamira|isbn=9780759101906|page=429|language=en}}</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>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/shirk|title=Shirk |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref><ref name="Kamoonpuri">Kamoonpuri, S: "Basic Beliefs of Islam" pages 42–58. Tanzania Printers Limited, 2001.</ref> The Quran—the central religious text of Islam—states in Surah an-Nisa, that God will not forgive ''shirk'' if one dies without repenting of it.<ref>{{cite web|title=Forgiveness for Shirk|url=https://www.islamweb.net/en/fatwa/84765/forgiveness-for-shirk|quote=The meaning of the verse is that whoever dies while a Mushrik (polytheist) Allah will not forgive him and he will surely be punished for this sin, i.e. he will remain in Hell-fire forever. As for the person who repents, Allah forgives his previous Shirk.}}</ref><ref name="Kamoonpuri"/><ref>Cenap Çakmak. ''Islam: A Worldwide Encyclopedia''. ABC-CLIO 2017. {{ISBN|978-1-610-69217-5}} p. 1450.</ref>
The one who commits ''shirk'' is called a '''''mushrik'''''.{{efn|{{langx|ar|مُشْرِك|translit=mushrik|lit=associator}}; {{plural form}} {{langx|ar|مُشْرِكُون|translit=mushrikūn|label=none}}}} The opposite of ''shirk'' is ''tawhid''{{efn|{{langx|ar|تَوْحِيد|translit=tawḥīd|lit=monotheism}}}} and the opposite of ''mushrik'' is ''muwahhid''.{{efn|{{langx|ar|مُوَحِّد|translit=muwaḥḥid|lit=monotheist}}; {{plural form}} {{langx|ar|مُوَحِّدُون|translit=muwaḥḥidūn|label=none}}}}
== Etymology == The word ''shirk'' comes from the Arabic root sh-r-k ({{lang|ar|ش ر ك}}), with the general meaning of "to share".<ref>A. A. Nadwi, "Vocabulary of the Quran"</ref>{{efn|The term must not be confused with the English verb "to shirk", meaning to avoid, which is of quite separate origin, possibly derived from the German word for knave or rogue ({{lang|de|Scharke}}).<ref>{{cite web|last=Harper|first=Douglas|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/shirk|title="Shirk (verb)"|work=Online Etymology Dictionary|access-date=5 March 2025}}</ref>}} 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'' ({{lang|ar|مشركون}})—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">{{cite web|url=http://www.quran4u.com/Tafsir%20Ibn%20Kathir/009%20Taubah.htm |title=Tafsir Ibn Kathir (English): Surah Al Tawbah |work=Quran 4 U |author=Ibn Kathir |author-link=Ibn Kathir |publisher=Tafsir|access-date=11 March 2020}}</ref>{{rp|9:1–15}} though there is no equal in the English language.<ref name="Azam Malik">{{cite book |last1=Azam Malik |first1=Muhammad Farooq |title=English Translation of the Meaning of Al-Quran |date=November 2012 |publisher=The Institute of Islamic Knowledge |location=Houston, Texas, USA |isbn=0-911119-80-9 |edition=Tenth}}</ref>{{rp|911}}
==Quran== According to the ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' (2nd edition), 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>
{{Blockquote|Indeed, Allah does not forgive associating others with Him, but forgives anything else of whoever He wills. And whoever associates others with Allah has indeed committed a grave sin.|Q4:48<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://quran.com/an-nisa|title=Surah An-Nisa - 1-176|website=Quran.com}}</ref>}}
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 the surah an-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'' ({{langx|ar|شُرَكَاء}}).<ref name="MagicAndDivination-2021">Magic and Divination in Early Islam. (2021). Vereinigtes Königreich: Taylor & Francis.</ref>{{rp|p=41}}<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>{{rp|p=77}} After Judgement Day, they will be cast into Jahannam (Hell) along with devils (fallen angels) and evil jinn,<ref name="MagicAndDivination-2021"/>{{rp|p=41}} 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>{{cite encyclopedia|author=Charles Adams |author2=Kevin Reinhart|title=Kufr|encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World|editor=John L. Esposito|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|year=2009|url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195305135.001.0001/acref-9780195305135-e-0467 |url-access=subscription |isbn=9780195305135}}</ref> The Quranic verse al-Ma'idah 5:73<ref name = "Quran 4 U 5">{{cite web |url=http://www.quran4u.com/Tafsir%20Ibn%20Kathir/005%20Ma%27idah.htm |title=Surah Al Ma'ida |work=Quran 4 U |author=Ibn Kathir |author-link=Ibn Kathir |access-date=11 March 2020}}</ref>{{rp|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,<ref name=EoQ-Trinity>{{Cite encyclopedia|author=Thomas, David | year= 2006 | title=Trinity|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān|editor=Jane Dammen McAuliffe|url=http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-the-quran/trinity-EQSIM_00428|publisher=Brill|url-access=subscription}}</ref> but modern scholarship has suggested alternative interpretations.{{refn|group=note|That this verse criticizes a deviant form of Trinitarian belief which overstressed distinctiveness of the three persons at the expense of their unity. Modern scholars have also interpreted it as a reference to Jesus, who was often called "the third of three" in Syriac literature and as an intentional over-simplification of Christian doctrine intended to highlight its weakness from a strictly monotheistic perspective.<ref name=EoQ-Trinity/>}} Other Quranic verses strongly deny the divinity of Jesus, 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, ''[http://theolibrary.shc.edu/resources/Quran-Gospel.pdf Qur’an-Gospel Convergence: The Qur’an’s Message To Christians] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217110118/http://theolibrary.shc.edu/resources/Quran-Gospel.pdf |date=2022-02-17 }}'', ''Journal of Dharma'', 1 (January–March 2010), pp. 55-76</ref><ref>Mazuz, Haggai (2012) [https://journal.fi/store/article/download/9525/6759 ''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 Quranic 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 Christian Church, as well.<ref>{{cite book|author=Carré, Olivier|year=2003|title=Mysticism and Politics: A Critical Reading of Fī Ẓilāl Al-Qurʼān by Sayyid Quṭb|location=Boston|publisher=Brill|pages=63–64|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N85UaTV-0VoC&pg=PA63|isbn=978-9004125902}}</ref>
Cyril Glasse criticises the use of ''kafirun'' ({{singular}} ''kafir'') to describe Christians as a "loose usage".{{clarification needed|date=January 2024}}<ref name=Glasse-2001-247>{{cite book|last1=Glasse|first1=Cyril|title=The New Encyclopedia of Islam|date=1989|publisher=Altamira Press|location=NY|isbn=978-0759101890|page=[https://archive.org/details/newencyclopediao0000glas/page/247 247]|edition=Revised 2001|url=https://archive.org/details/newencyclopediao0000glas/page/247}}</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>{{Cite encyclopedia|author=Björkman, W. | year= 2012 | title=Kāfir |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam| edition=2nd|publisher=Brill |editor=P. Bearman |editor2=Th. Bianquis |editor3=C.E. Bosworth |editor4=E. van Donzel |editor5=W.P. Heinrichs| doi= 10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_3775 }}</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—though accused of believing in 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 {{doi|10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_7454}} First published online: 2012 First print edition: {{ISBN|978-90-04-16121-4}}, 1960-2007</ref> The term is reserved for pre-Islamic beliefs that 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 name="Mark, Durie 2022">Mark, Durie. "Semantic decomposition of four Quranic words." Russian Journal of Linguistics 26.4 (2022): 937-969.</ref> It is stated in the Quran:<blockquote>"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"</blockquote>—Quran, an-Nisa, 4:48<ref name="Quran 4 U 4">{{cite web|url=http://www.quran4u.com/Tafsir%20Ibn%20Kathir/004%20Nisa.htm |title=Tafsir Ibn Kathir (English): Surah Al Nisa |work=Quran 4 U |author=Ibn Kathir |author-link=Ibn Kathir |publisher=Tafsir|access-date=11 March 2020}}</ref>{{rp|4:48}}<ref name="Faruki, Kemal 1965">Faruki, Kemal. "TAWḤĪD AND THE DOCTRINE OF'IṢMAH." Islamic Studies 4.1 (1965): 31-43.</ref>
The term is often translated as ''polytheism'', but it is more complex than that.<ref name="Mark, Durie 2022"/><ref name="Mulia, Siti Musdah 2015">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 name="Mulia, Siti Musdah 2015"/> Besides worshipping only one God, it also postulates that God must be considered as entirely unique and condemns anthropomorphization.<ref name="Mulia, Siti Musdah 2015"/> ''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 name="Faruki, Kemal 1965"/> At the same time, ''shirk'' contains additional assumptions not entailed by the concept of idolatry and does not require a physical object of worship.<ref name="doi.org">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 name="Winter, Timothy 2008. p. 233">Winter, Timothy, ed. The Cambridge companion to classical Islamic theology. Cambridge University Press, 2008. p. 233</ref> *''Shirk al-akbar'' ({{langx|ar|شِرْك ٱلْأَكْبَر|shirk al-akbar}}; {{lit|greater ''shirk''}}): open and apparent *''Shirk al-asghar'' or ''al-shirk al-khafi'' ({{langx|ar|شِرْك ٱلْأَصْغَر|shirk al-aṣghar}}; {{lit|lesser ''shirk''}}): concealed or hidden. It is when people perform the necessary rituals, not for God but for the sake of others, including social recognition.<ref name="Winter, Timothy 2008. p. 233"/> ''Hidden shirk'' might be unwitting, yet punishable, although to a lesser extent than greater forms of ''shirk''.<ref name="Faruki, Kemal 1965"/>
=== ''Ash-Shirk al-Akbar'' === ''Ash-Shirk al-Akbar'' (Arabic:الشرك الأكبر) is defined as the most major type of open association. It has been described in four forms:
==== ''Shirk-ad-Du'a''==== ''Shirk-ad-Du'a'' (Arabic: شِرْكُ الدُّعَاءِ) is when on invokates, supplicates, or prays to anyone other and God alone.<ref name="Azam Malik">{{cite book |last1=Azam Malik |first1=Muhammad Farooq |title=English Translation of the Meaning of Al-Quran |date=November 2012 |publisher=The Institute of Islamic Knowledge |location=Houston, Texas, USA |isbn=0-911119-80-9 |edition=Tenth}}</ref>{{rp|912-3}} The Quran says in Al-Ankabut V. 65: {{Blockquote |text=If they happen to be aboard a ship ˹caught in a storm˺, they cry out to Allah ˹alone˺ in sincere devotion. But as soon as He delivers them ˹safely˺ to shore, they associate ˹others with Him once again˺. |author=Dr. Mustafa Khattab, ''The Clear Quran'', }}
==== ''Shirk-al-Niyyah wal-Irada wal Qasd'' ==== ''Shirk-al-Niyyah wal-Irada wal Qasd'' (Arabic: الشرك في النية والإرادة والقصد) is when one has the intention, purpose and determination to perform an act of worship or good deed for the sake of other deities than God.<ref name="Azam Malik" />{{rp|913}}
==== ''Shirk-at-Ta'a'' ==== ''Shirk-at-Ta'a'' (Arabic: شرك الطاعة) is when one obeys any other religious authority against the orders of God.<ref name="Azam Malik" />{{rp|913}} Regarding this, the Quran says in At-Tawbah V. 31: {{Blockquote |text=They have taken their rabbis and monks as well as the Messiah, son of Mary, as lords besides Allah, even though they were commanded to worship none but One God. There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him. Glorified is He above what they associate ˹with Him˺! |author=Dr. Mustafa Khattab, ''The Clear Quran'' }}
==== ''Shirk-al-Muhabbah'' ==== ''Shirk-al-Muhabbah'' (Arabic: شرك المحبة) is when shows love to others which is due to God.<ref name="Azam Malik" />{{rp|913}} This is seen in Al-Baqarah V. 165: {{Blockquote |text=Still there are some who take others as Allah’s equal—they love them as they should love Allah—but the ˹true˺ believers love Allah even more. If only the wrongdoers could see the ˹horrible˺ punishment ˹awaiting them˺, they would certainly realize that all power belongs to Allah and that Allah is indeed severe in punishment. |author=Dr. Mustafa Khattab, ''The Clear Quran'' }}
=== ''Shirk al-asghar'' === ''Shirk al-asghar'' (Arabic: شرك الأصغر) may be committed by one who professes ''tawhid'', but for the sake of others.
{{blockquote|One who offers the ritual prayers in an ostentatious way is a polytheist. One who keeps the fast, or gives alms, or performs the ''hajj'' to show the public his righteousness or to earn good name is a polytheist.|Sayyed Qasim Mujtaba Moosavi Kamoonpuri <ref name="Kamoonpuri"/>}}
Mahmud ibn Lubayd reported: {{blockquote |Allah's messenger said: "The thing I fear for you the most is ''ash-Shirk al-Asghar''."
The companions asked, "O Messenger of Allah, what is that?"
He replied, "Ar-Riya (showing off), for verily Allah will say on the Day of Resurrection when people are receiving their rewards, 'Go to those for whom you were showing off in the material world and see if you can find any reward from them."}}
Mahmud ibn Lubayd also said: {{blockquote|The Prophet came out and announced, "O people, beware of secret Shirk!"
The people asked, "O Messenger of Allah, what is secret Shirk?"
He replied, "When a man gets up to pray and strives to beautify his prayer because people are looking at him; that is secret Shirk."}}
Umar ibn al-Khattab narrated that Muhammad 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'ud, 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''" ({{tlit|ar|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. {{ISBN|978-9004069060}}</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.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}}
== Salafism and Wahhabism == Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, founder of the Wahhabi movement, classified ''shirk'' into three main categories.<ref name="ReferenceA">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 {{doi|10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_1329}} First published online: 2012 First print edition: {{ISBN|978-90-04-16121-4}}, 1960-2007</ref> However, ibn Taymiyya is considered to have been the spiritual founder of this distinction.<ref name="Janet" /><ref>{{cite journal|last=Ibrahim |first=Hassan Ahmed |title=Shaykh Muḥammad Ibn ʿAbd Al-Wahhāb and Shāh Walī Allāh: A Preliminary Comparison of Some Aspects of Their Lifes and Careers |journal=Asian Journal of Social Science |volume=34 |issue=1 |year=2006 |pages=103–119 |doi=10.1163/156853106776150126 |jstor=23654402}}</ref>{{rp|page=106}}
* ''tawhid al-rububiyyah'' (Lordship): the verbal profession that God (Allah) is the sole creator and ruler over the world.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> * ''tawhid al-Asma wa's-Sifat'' (names and attributes): accepting the attributes of God as written in the Quran without interpretation.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> * ''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 name="ReferenceA"/>
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 name="ReferenceA"/>
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 name="doi.org"/>
== Religious pluralism == {{Expand section|date=December 2024}} The worship of another God besides the Islamic God poses a form of ''shirk'', but whether a foreign deity, even beyond the Abrahamic religions, can be identified with the Islamic God is answered variously.
The supreme deity of the Turks and Mongols was also frequently identified with the Islamic God.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Elverskog |first=Johan |date=2010-12-31 |title=Buddhism and Islam on the Silk Road |url=https://doi.org/10.9783/9780812205312 |journal=University of Pennsylvania Press, Incorporated |pages=232 |doi=10.9783/9780812205312|isbn=978-0-8122-4237-9 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Conterno |first=Maria |title=The Conversion of the Turks |date=2020-12-15 |work=Conversion to Islam in the Premodern Age |pages=193–195 |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1b742qw.39 |access-date=2025-10-20 |publisher=University of California Press |doi=10.2307/j.ctv1b742qw.39 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Likewise, some Muslim authors identified Brahman with Allah. However, such identifications were less likely to be universally accepted and also frequently challenged.<ref name=":0" />
Amir Khusrau (1253–1325), an iconic scholar of the Delhi Sultanate, shows approval of the Brahmins and even favor over Jews and Christians, since they would not attribute a form or a child to God, but, even if they use stones and celestial bodies as direction of prayers, affirm that God does not bear likeness to any of this.<ref name="Friedmann, Yohanan 1975">Friedmann, Yohanan. "Medieval Muslim views of Indian religions." ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'' (1975): 214–221.</ref> According to the Hanbali scholar al-Jawzi (1116–1201), the ''tawhid'' of the Brahmins is immaculate; their unbelief consists in the rejection of prophets and performance of rituals without divine sanction.<ref>''The Devil's Deception (Talbis Iblis)'' by Imam Ibn Al-Jawzi Dar as-Sunnah Publishers</ref> Al-Biruni, scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age and credited as an early anthropologist, argues that although the common people of India worship idols, the educated people would be "entirely free from worshipping anything but God alone".<ref name="Friedmann, Yohanan 1975" /> Besides the number of inclusive reception, most jurists (''fuqaha''), such as Muslim heresiographer al-Shahrastani, consider them to be polytheists, but nevertheless most scholars granted them the status of a ''dhimmi''.<ref name="Friedmann, Yohanan 1975" />
==See also== {{Portal|Islam }}
=== General links === *Glossary of Islam *Outline of Islam *Index of Islam-related articles * Islam and blasphemy * Islamic schools and branches * Islamic view of the Trinity * Pre-Islamic Arabia ** Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia ** List of pre-Islamic Arabian deities *** Manat *** Al-Lat *** Al-Uzza
=== Terms === * ''Haram'' * ''Zandaqa'' * ''Kafir'' * ''Munafiq'' * ''Shahada'' * ''Taghut''
== Notes == {{Reflist|group=note}} {{notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{wikiquote}} *{{cite journal |title=Relations Between Muslims and Non-Muslims in the Thought of Western-Educated Muslim Intellectuals – Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations |journal=Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=255–277 |doi=10.1080/09596419508721055 |year=1995 |last1=Zebiri |first1=Kate }} *[http://ashab-al-hadith.cf/Democracy-and-its-link-to-Shirk-in-the-legislation-of-men.html Shirk in legislation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529195916/http://ashab-al-hadith.cf/Democracy-and-its-link-to-Shirk-in-the-legislation-of-men.html |date=2015-05-29 }} {{Soteriology}} {{Characters and names in the Quran}} {{Italic title}}
Category:Islamic terminology Category:Islamic theology Category:Polytheism Category:Sin in Islam Category:Idolatry