6.1.2 Major Shirk

Meaning of Major Shirk

Major shirk is the gravest sin in Islam. It is to give to someone or something, in belief or practice, what belongs only to Allah. It is the direct opposite of tawḥīd and destroys a person’s tawḥīd at its root.

Allah describes shirk as the greatest injustice, because it places a created being in the position of the Creator.

“Indeed, shirk is a great injustice.”
(Qur’an 31:13)

In major shirk, a person either worships someone alongside Allah, or instead of Allah, or believes that another shares any part of Allah’s exclusive rights of lordship, worship, names, or attributes. If a person dies without repenting from major shirk, all his deeds are lost and he will remain in the Fire forever.

“Indeed, Allah does not forgive associating partners with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And whoever associates partners with Allah has certainly fabricated a tremendous sin.”
(Qur’an 4:48)

“Indeed, whoever associates partners with Allah, Allah has forbidden for him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire, and the wrongdoers will have no helpers.”
(Qur’an 5:72)

The danger of major shirk is not only in the act itself, but in the final state of the heart. If a person meets Allah while still upon major shirk, without repentance, no other good deed can save him.

Why Major Shirk Is So Serious

Major shirk contradicts the very purpose of creation, which is to worship Allah alone. When a person commits this form of shirk, he directs his heart, his hope, his fear, his love, his submission, or his obedience to something that has no right to receive it.

Allah clearly stated that the jinn and mankind were created for His worship.

“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.”
(Qur’an 51:56)

The one who commits major shirk refuses this purpose in his belief and practice. This is why every prophet, without exception, called his people first to tawḥīd and warned most strongly against shirk.

“And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], ‘Worship Allah and avoid ṭāghūt (false gods).’”
(Qur’an 16:36)

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ described the most serious sin in clear words so no one is confused.

عبد الله بن مسعود رضي الله عنه said: “I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, which sin is the greatest?’ He said, ‘That you set up a rival to Allah while He alone created you.’”
(al‑Bukhari, Muslim)

So the seriousness of major shirk lies in three main points. It is direct rebellion against the reason we were created. It is a crime against the exclusive right of Allah to be worshipped. It is the only sin that removes a person completely from the fold of Islam if it is believed and practiced with knowledge and choice.

How Major Shirk Destroys Deeds

Major shirk does not only affect one act of worship. It spreads over the whole life of a person if he continues upon it without repentance. Allah tells the Prophet ﷺ that if he were, hypothetically, to commit shirk, even his deeds would be nullified.

“And it was already revealed to you and to those before you that if you associate partners with Allah, your deeds will surely become worthless and you will surely be among the losers.”
(Qur’an 39:65)

This verse is not because the Prophet ﷺ would ever commit shirk, but it is a lesson for the entire Ummah. It shows that no status, no number of good deeds, and no closeness to Allah can protect a person if he falls into major shirk and dies upon it.

Allah also describes those who worship others as people whose deeds are like ashes blown away by a storm.

“The example of those who disbelieve in their Lord is that their deeds are like ashes which the wind blows forcefully on a stormy day. They are unable to keep from what they earned a single thing.”
(Qur’an 14:18)

For the one who repents sincerely before death, major shirk and all other sins are wiped away by Allah’s mercy. Tawbah from shirk is accepted as long as the person is alive and sincerely returns to pure tawḥīd.

“Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.’”
(Qur’an 39:53)

Categories of Major Shirk in Worship

In practice, major shirk appears in different ways. All of them, however, share the same core. A created being is treated like the Creator in devotion, submission, or belief. The scholars often speak of major shirk in worship in forms such as supplication, seeking help, fear, hope, sacrifice, vows, and obedience. These ideas must remain general here, because their detailed explanation belongs in other chapters.

Major Shirk in Supplication and Seeking Help

Supplication is the heart of worship, and it belongs to Allah alone. When a person makes duʿāʾ to someone other than Allah in a way that only Allah can answer, this is major shirk.

“And your Lord said, ‘Call upon Me, I will respond to you.’ Indeed, those who are too proud to worship Me will enter Hell humiliated.”
(Qur’an 40:60)

Notice that Allah calls supplication worship. So if someone calls upon a prophet, an angel, a saint, or a dead person, asking for forgiveness of sins, entrance to Paradise, rescue from Hell, or control of unseen matters, he has given the right of Allah to another.

“And who is more astray than one who calls upon, besides Allah, those who will not answer him until the Day of Resurrection, and they are unaware of their supplication.”
(Qur’an 46:5)

Seeking help can be of two types. One is natural help, such as asking a living person who is present to give you a drink or to help you move something. This is allowed. The other is the help that no one can give except Allah, such as protection from calamities in the unseen, forgiveness, guidance to faith, or deliverance from Hell. Directing this type of help to anyone besides Allah is major shirk.

“It is You we worship and it is You we ask for help.”
(Qur’an 1:5)

Major Shirk in Love, Fear, and Hope

Love, fear, and hope are among the greatest acts of the heart. A believer must love Allah more than anything and anyone else.

“And among mankind are those who take others besides Allah as equals. They love them as they should love Allah. But those who believe are stronger in their love for Allah.”
(Qur’an 2:165)

If a person loves a created being with the kind of absolute devotion that should only be for Allah, so that he is willing to disobey Allah for that being, and worships that being in the heart, this is a form of major shirk.

Similarly, fearing someone or something with the fear that belongs only to Allah, such as believing that this being can punish in the Hereafter or control destiny independently, falls into major shirk.

“So do not fear them, but fear Me, if you are believers.”
(Qur’an 3:175)

Hope is also an act of worship. Hoping for reward, forgiveness, and Paradise is only from Allah. If someone puts that hope in a created being, believing that this being can secure forgiveness or Paradise by itself, he has committed major shirk.

Major Shirk in Sacrifice and Vows

Sacrificing animals for the sake of Allah is an act of worship. Vows to do something for the sake of Allah are also worship. If a person sacrifices an animal to anything other than Allah, such as to a jinn, a grave, or a saint, intending worship and drawing near, this is major shirk.

“Say, ‘Indeed, my prayer, my sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds. He has no partner. And this I have been commanded, and I am the first of the Muslims.’”
(Qur’an 6:162–163)

The Prophet ﷺ gave a clear rule regarding sacrifice.

He ﷺ said: “Allah has cursed the one who slaughters for other than Allah.”
(Muslim)

Vowing is similar, because it is a promise of worship or good deed made for the sake of the one to whom the vow is directed. So if vows are given to saints, jinn, or others as a way of seeking blessings and closeness, it becomes a form of major shirk.

Major Shirk in Lordship (Rubūbiyyah)

Tawḥīd ar‑Rubūbiyyah means to believe that Allah alone is the Creator, the Owner, and the Controller of everything. Major shirk in this area happens when a person believes that another being shares these powers with Allah, or independently controls any part of creation or destiny.

Some of the people in the past claimed that certain idols or false gods could bring rain, cause crops to grow, or control life and death. Others believed that stars or planets have their own power to control the future. All of this is major shirk in lordship.

“Is there any creator other than Allah who provides for you from the sky and the earth? There is no deity except Him, so how are you deluded?”
(Qur’an 35:3)

“Say, ‘Who provides for you from the sky and the earth? Or who owns hearing and sight? And who brings the living out of the dead and brings the dead out of the living? And who arranges every matter?’ They will say, ‘Allah.’ So say, ‘Then will you not fear Him?’”
(Qur’an 10:31)

When a person believes that a prophet, a saint, or a hidden force controls his destiny apart from Allah, or that they can change what Allah has already decreed, he has fallen into major shirk, because he has placed a partner next to Allah in the very core of divine power.

Major Shirk in Names and Attributes

Tawḥīd al‑Asmāʾ waṣ‑Ṣifāt is to affirm that Allah has the most beautiful names and the most perfect attributes and that He is unique in them. Major shirk in this category appears when someone gives Allah’s special qualities to a created being, or makes Allah similar to His creation, or claims that a created being is part of Allah.

Allah says that He alone owns the most beautiful names.

“And to Allah belong the most beautiful names, so call upon Him by them, and leave those who deviate concerning His names.”
(Qur’an 7:180)

Those who claimed that some humans are “gods in human form,” or that Allah is “one of three” in a trinity, or that the Creator is mixed into the creation, fell into this form of major shirk.

“They have certainly disbelieved who say, ‘Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary.’ Say, ‘Then who could prevent Allah at all if He had intended to destroy the Messiah, son of Mary, or his mother, or everyone on the earth?’”
(Qur’an 5:17)

“They have certainly disbelieved who say, ‘Allah is the third of three.’ And there is no god except one God. And if they do not desist from what they are saying, there will surely afflict those who disbelieve among them a painful punishment.”
(Qur’an 5:73)

Describing a human being as all‑knowing in an absolute sense, or all‑hearing in a way that has no limit, are examples of giving divine qualities to created beings. Ascribing a wife or a child to Allah is also major shirk.

“The Originator of the heavens and the earth. How could He have a son when He has no companion and He created all things, and He is, of all things, Knowing?”
(Qur’an 6:101)

Some Clear Examples of Major Shirk

Because this course is for beginners, it is important to give simple and direct examples, while knowing that the detailed rulings belong to more advanced study. Some actions are clear examples of major shirk when they are done as acts of worship or belief in divine power.

Among them are worshipping idols or statues, bowing or prostrating to them, or to any human or jinn, as an act of worship.

“And among His signs are the night and day and the sun and moon. Do not prostrate to the sun or to the moon, but prostrate to Allah who created them, if it is Him that you worship.”
(Qur’an 41:37)

Also included is making duʿāʾ to the dead, such as calling upon a righteous person in his grave for forgiveness or salvation, or believing that the dead can hear all supplications and answer them whenever they are called.

Another clear example is wearing special charms, strings, or objects, believing that they protect from harm by their own hidden power, instead of believing that Allah alone protects. In that case, the heart is tied to the object instead of to Allah.

The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever hangs an amulet has committed shirk.”
(Ahmad)

Believing in fortune tellers and trusting that they know the unseen on their own is also major shirk if a person believes that they have independent knowledge of the future.

The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever goes to a fortune‑teller and believes what he says has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad.”
(Ahmad)

The core rule is simple. When a created being is treated in the heart or in practice as if it has any share of Allah’s exclusive rights to worship, lordship, or divine qualities, then this is major shirk.

The Fate of Those Who Die upon Major Shirk

Islam teaches that Allah is the Most Merciful, and at the same time He is perfectly Just. His justice requires that those who knowingly reject His right to be worshipped and persist in major shirk without repentance face the consequence of this choice in the Hereafter.

“Indeed, whoever associates partners with Allah, Allah has forbidden for him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire, and the wrongdoers will have no helpers.”
(Qur’an 5:72)

The Prophet ﷺ also explained the final separation between people of pure tawḥīd and those who insisted on shirk.

He ﷺ said: “Whoever meets Allah not associating anything with Him will enter Paradise, and whoever meets Him associating something with Him will enter the Fire.”
(Muslim)

This does not mean that a person of tawḥīd is perfect or free from sin. The believer may commit many sins, even major ones, but as long as he does not commit major shirk and dies upon faith, he remains under Allah’s will. Allah may punish him or forgive him, but his final destination is Paradise. Major shirk, however, is different. It removes the person from the mercy that covers the people of tawḥīd in the Hereafter, if he dies upon it without repentance.

Major Shirk and the Ruling of Takfīr

Knowing the definition of major shirk is different from applying the judgment to specific individuals. Declaring a particular person to be outside Islam, which is called takfīr, has strict conditions and belongs to qualified scholars. A beginner must be very careful not to rush into judging others.

The texts about shirk are clear, but people can be ignorant, confused, or forced, and there can be misunderstandings about what exactly they believe. Because of these realities, the scholars warned strongly that individual takfīr is not for ordinary Muslims. The Prophet ﷺ said that wrongly calling a Muslim a disbeliever is itself a serious sin.

He ﷺ said: “If a man says to his brother, ‘O disbeliever,’ then it returns upon one of them.”
(al‑Bukhari, Muslim)

So the right path is to learn what major shirk is, avoid it completely, teach others its danger, and leave detailed judgments upon individuals to those who have knowledge, wisdom, and authority.

The Mercy of Repentance from Major Shirk

Even though major shirk is the gravest of all sins, the door of repentance remains open as long as a person is alive and has not reached the point of death. When someone leaves shirk and embraces tawḥīd sincerely, all previous sins are wiped away.

“Say to those who have disbelieved that if they cease, what has previously occurred will be forgiven for them.”
(Qur’an 8:38)

Many of the early Muslims, including the noble Companions, had committed shirk before Islam. They used to worship idols, sacrifice to them, and call upon them. When they embraced Islam, sincerely declared the shahādah, and truly believed in Allah alone, Allah forgave all that was in their past.

The Prophet ﷺ said: “Islam wipes out what came before it.”
(Muslim)

So the believer should fear major shirk more than any other sin, and at the same time should not despair if he repents from it. The correct balance is to guard the heart and actions from every path that leads to shirk and to constantly ask Allah for a safe and sound ending upon tawḥīd.

“Our Lord, do not let our hearts deviate after You have guided us and grant us mercy from Yourself. Indeed, You are the Bestower.”
(Qur’an 3:8)