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CRITICAL STUDY OF SHIRK

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abosait View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote abosait Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 June 2009 at 8:14am
Originally posted by seekshidayath seekshidayath wrote:

...............Shirk is a major sin {Gunah-e-Kabirah} be it in minor or major form . ...........is not forgiven by Allah swt, if that believer, does n't seek forgiveness from Allah swt.

Major and Minor forms of shirk are classified by our scholars for easy understanding of this concept. .........................

Wa Alaikum Assalam wa Rahmatullah.
 
Jazakallahu khair sister. That was a detailed explanation.
 
Let us continue with our discussion on other forms of shirk.

Shirk in al-Asmaa was-Sifaat

Shirk in this category includes:

  • the common pagan practice of giving Allaah the attributes of His creation
as well as:
  • the act of giving created beings Allaah's names and attributes.

(A) Shirk by Humanization

In this aspect of Shirk in al-Asmaa was-Sifaat, Allaah is given the form and qualities of human beings and animals.

Due to man's superiority over animals, the human form is more commonly used by idolaters to represent God in creation.
 
Consequently, the image of the Creator is often painted, moulded or carved in the shape of human beings possessing the physical features of those who worship them.

(B) Shirk by Deification

This form of Shirk in al-Asmaa was-Sifaat relates to cases where created beings or things are given or claim Allaah's names or His attributes.

For example, it was the practice of the ancient Arabs to worship idols whose names were derived from the names of Allaah.
Their main three idols were: al-Laat taken from Allaah's name al-Elaah, al-'Uzza taken from al-'Azeez and al-Manaat taken from al-Mannaan.
 
During the Prophet Muhammad's era there was also a false prophet in a region of Arabia called Yamaamah, who took the name Rahmaan which only belongs to Allaah.

Among the Shi'ite sects is the Nusayreeyah of Syria, who believe that the Prophet Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, 'Alee ibn Abee Taalib, was a manifestation of Allaah and give him many of Allaah's qualities.

Among them is also the Ismai'ils also know as Agha Khanis who consider their leader, the Agha Khan, to be God incarnate.
 
Also included in this category are the Druze of Lebanon who believe that the Faatimid Caliph al-Haakim bi Amrillaah, was the last manifestation of Allaah among mankind.

Claims of Sufis (muslim mystics) like al-Hallaaj that they have become one with God and as such exist as manifestations of the Creator within His creation may also be included in this aspect of Shirk in al-Asmaa was-sifaat.



Edited by abosait - 06 June 2009 at 8:18am
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seekshidayath View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote seekshidayath Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 June 2009 at 11:15am
As Salamu Alaikum,
 
Let me correct myselves. As said, above shirk in any form, be it minor or major shirk is unforgivable. Here at this point am to correct that, the sins of shirk wherein Allah swt mentioned in the Qur'an as  unforgivable deal with only major forms of shirk, not the minor ones. .
 
Allaahumma inni a�oodhu bika an ushrika bika wa ana a�lam wa astaghfiruka lima la a�lam
 
 
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: �All the descendants of Adam are sinners, and the best of sinners are those who repent."
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote believer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 June 2009 at 6:17am
I am not Catholic but this reminds me of the Catholic system of veneal [minor sins] and mortal sins [major sins].
 
I believe any sin is bad whether tiny or large it saddens GOD.
 
'A BELIEVER IS ONLY ALLOWED TO CALL A NON BELIEVER A KAFIR, ONLY WHEN CERTAIN QUESTIONS ARE ASKED ABOUT THEIR WORSHIP'
 
Non-believers can ask us anything- there is nothing that is secret and as far as I am aware no place where a non-believer would not be welcomed.
 
Questions are good - Funny how Muslims always say Christians have blind faith.  The Holy Bible actually speaks for a different proven faith.
 

Proverbs 14

 15 A simple man believes anything,

       but a prudent man gives thought to his steps

 

John 14

11Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.

 

1 Thessalonians 5

21Test everything. Hold on to the good.

 

Acts 17

11Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

 

Never stop learning, questioning-

 

2 Timothy 2

15Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

John 3
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote abosait Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 June 2009 at 8:50am
Originally posted by seekshidayath seekshidayath wrote:

As Salamu Alaikum,
 
.............. the sins of shirk wherein Allah swt mentioned in the Qur'an as  unforgivable deal with only major forms of shirk, not the minor ones. . 
Wa Alaikunm Assalam Wa Rahmatullah.
 
Jazakallahu Khair. Thanks for the claarification.
 
And there is no mention of any minor shirk in the first two categories fo Shirk discussed in my posts above but it is mentioned concerniong the third category namely,

Shirk In al-'Ebaadah

In this category of Shirk, acts of worship are directed to other than God and the reward for worship is sought from the creation instead of the Creator.

Shirk in al-'Ebaadah has two main aspects.

(A) Ash-Shirk al-Akbar (Major Shirk):

This form of Shirk occurs when any act of worship is directed to other than Allaah. It represents the most obvious form of idolatry which the prophets were specifically sent by Allaah to call the masses of mankind away from. This concept is supported by Allaah's statement in the Qur'aan:

"Surely we have sent to every nation a messenger saying, worship Allaah and avoid Taaghoot (false gods)"(Soorah an-Nahl, 16:36)

Taaghoot actually means anything which is worshipped along with Allaah or instead of Allaah. For example, love is a form of worship which, in its perfection, should only be directed to Allaah.
 
In Islaam, the love of God is expressed by total obedience to Him.
 
It is not the type of love which man naturally feels toward creation; towards parents, children, food, etc.
 
To direct that type of love towards God is to lower Him to the level of His creation which is Shirk in al-Asmaa was-Sifaat.
 
Love which is worship is the total surrender of one's will to God. Consequently, Allaah told the Prophet (saws) to tell the believers:

"Say: If you love Allaah, follow me and Allaah will love you."(Soorah Aal'Imraan, 3:31.)

The Prophet (saws) also told his companions,

"None of you is a true believer until I become more beloved to him than his child, his father and the whole of mankind".(Reported by Anas and collected by al-Bukhaaree (Sahih Bukhari (English- Arabic), vol.1, p.20, no.13) and Muslim (Sahih Muslim (English Trans.), vol.1, p.31, no.71).
Love of the Prophet (saws) is not based on his humanity but on the divine origin of his message.

Thus, like the love of Allaah, it is also expressed by total obedience to his commands.

Allaah said in the final revelation:

"Whoever obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allaah," (Soorah an-Nisaa, 4:80)

and

"Say: Obey Allaah and obey the Prophet..."(Soorah Aal'Imraan, 3:32.)

If man allows the love of anything or anyone to come between himself and Allaah, then he has worshipped that thing.

In this way, money can become one's god or even one's desires could become a god. The Prophet (saws) said, 
"The worshipper of the Dirham will always be miserable" (Reported by al-Bukhaaree (Sahih Bukhari, (English-Arabic), vol.8, p.296, no.443).
and Allaah said in the Qur'aan

"Have you not seen the one who takes his desires as his god?" (Soorah al-Furqaan, 25:43.)

Much emphasis has been placed on the evils of Shirk in 'Ebaadah (worship) because it contradicts the very purpose of creation as expressed in Allaah's statement:

"I have not created Jinn or mankind except for my worship." (Soorah adh-Dhaariyaat, 51:56.)

Major Shirk represents the greatest act of rebellion against the Lord of the Universe, and is thus the ultimate sin.
 
It is a sin so great that it virtually cancels out all good a person may do and guarantees its perpetrator eternal damnation in Hell.
 
Consequently, false religion is based primarily on this form of Shirk.
All man-made systems in one way or another invite their followers to the worship of creation.
 
Christians are called upon to pray to a man, a Prophet of God named Jesus, whom they claim to have been God incarnate. Catholics among Christians pray to Mary as the "mother of God", to the angels like Michael who is honored on May 8 and September 29, Michaelmas Day, as St. Michael,(William Halsey (ed.), Colliers Encyclopedia, (U.S.A: Crowell-Collier Educational Foundation; 1970, vol.16, p.110.) as well as to human saints, whether real or fictitious.

Muslims whose acts of worship fall into this category of Shirk are those who pray to Prophet Muhammad (saws) or to mystics in the Sufi hierarchy of saints believing that they can answer their prayers, though Allaah has clearly said in the Qur'aan:

"Say: Think to yourselves, if Allaah's punishment came upon you or the Final Hour, would you then call on other than Allaah? (Reply) if you are truthful."(Soorah al-An'aam, 6:40.)

(B) Ash-Shirk al-Asghar (Minor Shirk):

Mabmood ibn Lubayd reported, "Allaah's messenger (saws) said:

Mahmood ibn Lubayd also said,
"The Prophet (saws) came out and announced, 'O people, beware of secret Shirk!' The people asked, 'O messenger of Allaah, 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.'" (Collected by Ibn Khuzaymah.)
Ar-Riyaa

Riyaa is the practise of performing any of the various forms of worship in order to be seen and praised by people.

This sin destroys all the benefits that lie in righteous deeds and brings on the one who commits it a serious punishment.
 
It is particularly dangerous, because it is natural for man to desire and enjoy the praise of his fellow men.
 
Doing religious acts to impress people or in order to be praised by them is, therefore, an evil which deserves man's utmost caution.
 
This danger is really significant to the believers whose goal is to make all of the acts of their lives religious acts dedicated to God.
 
In fact, the likelihood that knowledgable true believers would commit ash-Shirk al-Akbar is small, since its pitfalls are so obvious.
 
But, for the true believer like everyone else, the chance of committing Riyaa is great because it is so hidden. It only involves the simple act of changing one's intention.
 
The motivating forces behind it are also very strong, since it comes from man's inner nature. Ibn 'Abbaas alluded to this reality when he said,
 
"Shirk is more hidden than a black ant creeping on a black stone in the middle of a moonless night." (Reported by Ibn Abee Haatim and quoted in Tayseer al-'Azeez al-Hameed, p. 587)

Thus, great care has to be taken to ensure that one's intentions begin pure and remain pure whenever righteous deeds are being done. In order to ensure this, the saying of Allaah's name is enjoined in Islaam before all acts of importance.

A series of Du'aas (informal prayers) have also been prescribed by the Prophet (saws) before and after all natural habits like eating, drinking, sleeping, sex, and even going to the toilet, in order to turn these everyday habits into acts of worship and develop in Muslims a keen awareness of Allaah. It is this awareness, called Taqwaa, which ultimately insures that intentions remain pure.

The Prophet (saws) also provided protection against the inevitable acts of Shirk by teaching certain specific prayers which may be said anytime. Abu Moosaa said, "One day Allaah's messenger delivered a sermon saying

'O people, fear Shirk for it is more hidden than the creeping of an ant.'
Those whom Allaah wished asked,
'And how do we avoid it when it is more hidden than the creeping of an ant, O Messenger of Allaah?'
He replied,
'Say: Allaahumma Innaa na'oodhu bika an nushrika bika shay'an na'lamuh, wa nastaghfiruka limaa laa na'lamuh (O Allaah, we seek refuge in you from knowingly committing shirk with you and we ask your forgiveness for what we do not know about).' "(Collected by Ahmad and at-Tabaraanee.)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote abosait Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 June 2009 at 10:19am
Originally posted by believer believer wrote:

...................Never stop learning, questioning-..........
 
Christian belief states that the one God reveals himself in the three persons of Father, Son (Jesus Christ) and Holy Spirit.
 
These three persons are nevertheless regarded as a unity, sharing one 'substance'.(Dictionary of Religions, p.337.)
 
Prophet Jesus is elevated to divinity, sits on the right hand of God and judges the world.
 
The Holy Spirit, who in the Hebrew Bible is the means by which God exercises his creative power, in Christian thought becomes a part of the God-head. Paul made the Holy Spirit the alter ego of Christ, the guide and help of Christians, first manifesting itself on the day of Penecost.(Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion, p.231)
Consequently, Shirk in Ruboobeeyah occurs in the Christian belief that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are God's partners in all of His dominion, in their belief that Jesus alone pronounces judgement on the world and in their belief that Christians are helped and guided by the Holy Spirit.
Christians are called upon to pray to a man, a Prophet of God named Jesus, whom they claim to have been God incarnate.
 
Catholics among Christians pray to Mary as the "mother of God", to the angels like Michael who is honored on May 8 and September 29, Michaelmas Day, as St. Michael, as well as to human saints, whether real or fictitious.
 
(William Halsey (ed.), Colliers Encyclopedia, (U.S.A: Crowell-Collier Educational Foundation; 1970, vol.16, p.110.)
Modern day Christian belief that Prophet Jesus was God incarnate; that the Creator became His creation, is another good example of Shirk.
There have been many so-called great Christian painters like Michaelangelo (d. 1565), who painted pictures of God as a naked old European man with long flowing white hair and beard on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.
 
These pictures have in turn, been held by the Christian world in the highest of esteem.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote believer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 June 2009 at 2:43pm

These three persons are nevertheless regarded as a unity, sharing one 'substance'.

 

That is the most important part- Father, Son and Holy Spirit are of one substance.

 

The Holy Spirit, who in the Hebrew Bible is the means by which God exercises his creative power, in Christian thought becomes a part of the God-head.

Acts 2

 1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

 

Paul made the Holy Spirit the alter ego of Christ, the guide and help of Christians, first manifesting itself on the day of Penecost.

 

Paul was not at  Pentecost, but was still presecuting Christians.

 

Consequently, Shirk in Ruboobeeyah occurs in the Christian belief that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are God's partners in all of His dominion, in their belief that Jesus alone pronounces judgement on the world and in their belief that Christians are helped and guided by the Holy Spirit.

 

The are not partners but one together make up the One True GOD.

 

Catholics among Christians pray to Mary as the "mother of God", to the angels like Michael who is honored on May 8 and September 29, Michaelmas Day, as St. Michael, as well as to human saints, whether real or fictitious.

 

I am not Catholic and do not pray to Mary.

  

Modern day Christian belief that Prophet Jesus was God incarnate; that the Creator became His creation, is another good example of Shirk.

 

Actually Jesus is GOD�s WORD incarnate.

John 3
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote abosait Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 May 2010 at 7:12am
Originally posted by seekshidayath seekshidayath wrote:

As Salamu Alaikum,
 
..............., the sins of shirk wherein Allah swt mentioned in the Qur'an as  unforgivable deal with only major forms of shirk, not the minor ones. . 
Wa alaykum assalam wa Rahmatullah.
 
On what basis do you say so sister? Kindly provide proof as to where Allah Subhanahu wa ta'alaa or the Prophet Sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam has said so.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote haris30432 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 May 2010 at 10:43am
Peace,
 
As far as i understand ,there is no major or minor shirk.Shirk is simply shirk.Those who associate any thing or any human,objects, etc etc with GOD in any degree are clearly idolizers and will be condemned by GOD if they dont repent and reform before death.The Quran reminds us in very powerful words that the only one worthy of worship and devotion is GOD alone and none beside him.No where in the Quran can u see any messenger of GOD asking his followers to love him after or before GOD.Instead the messengers of GOD warned their followers against loving anyone beside GOD.Those who believe love GOD the most. And since Idol worship is the only unforgivable sin,a believer will certainly go to the maximum extend to make sure that his religion and it practices are absolutely devoted to GOD alone.And this would also mean that the Contact prayers will have no name mentioned in it except GOD's.
 

The Idols Disown Their Idolizers*

[2:165] Yet, some people set up idols to rival GOD, and love them as if they are GOD. Those who believe love GOD the most. If only the transgressors could see themselves when they see the retribution! They will realize then that all power belongs to GOD alone, and that GOD's retribution is awesome.

 
 

Major Commandments

[4:36] You shall worship GOD alonedo not associate anything with Him. You shall regard the parents, the relatives, the orphans, the poor, the related neighbor, the unrelated neighbor, the close associate, the traveling alien, and your servants. GOD does not like the arrogant showoffs.

 

[4:146] Only those who repent, reform, hold fast to GOD, and devote their religion absolutely to GOD alone, will be counted with the believers. GOD will bless the believers with a great recompense.

Instead of God's Teachings

[9:31] They have set up their religious leaders and scholars as lords,* instead of GOD. Others deified the Messiah, son of Mary. They were all commanded to worship only one god. There is no god except He. Be He glorified, high above having any partners.

[39:3] Absolutely, the religion shall be devoted to GOD alone. Those who set up idols beside Him say, "We idolize them only to bring us closer to GOD; for they are in a better position!" GOD will judge them regarding their disputes. GOD does not guide such liars, disbelievers.

[72:18] The places of worship belong to GOD; do not call on anyone else beside GOD.

[3:79] Never would a human being whom GOD blessed with the scripture and prophethood say to the people, "Idolize me beside GOD." Instead, (he would say), "Devote yourselves absolutely to your Lord alone," according to the scripture you preach and the teachings you learn.

Peace!
ONE GOD ONE SOURCE OF LAW!
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