Shirk (Islam)

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), though there is no equal in the English language. ==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. 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. Entities worshipped besides God are called shurakāʾ (). After Judgement Day, they will be cast into Jahannam (Hell) along with devils (fallen angels) and evil jinn, 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, 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 Quranic presentations of the dogmas of the Trinity and divinity of Jesus (al-Ma'idah 5:19, 5:75-76, 5:119) Cyril Glasse criticises the use of kafirun ( 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 (pl. 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. 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. ==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, but it is more complex than that. The term also implies that humans need to renounce claiming divine status for themselves by regarding themselves as better than others. 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, not for God but for the sake of others, including social recognition. The Quran says in Al-Ankabut V. 65: 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. == Sufism ==

According to Sufi teachings, to avoid "hidden shirk" (), 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. 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. == Religious pluralism ==

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. Likewise, some Muslim authors identified Brahman with Allah. However, such identifications were less likely to be universally accepted and also frequently challenged. 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. 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". 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. ==See also==