IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE MOST GRACIOUS, THE MOST MERCIFUL
THE THIRD SERMON FOR THE MONTH OF RABI’ AL-THANI, DATED 15/4/1446 AH (18/10/2024 CE)
TOPIC: ASSOCIATING PARTNERS WITH ALLAH AND ITS DANGER
THE FIRST SERMON
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all worlds, who has linked safety with faith, as He, the Exalted, said: (فليعبدوا رب هذا البيت الذي أطعمهم من جوع وآمنهم من خوف) “Let them worship the Lord of this House, Who has fed them against hunger and made them safe from fear” [Quraysh, 106:3-4]. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, alone without partner, exalted above what they associate with Him. I also bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, the truthful and trustworthy, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, his family, and his companions, who ruled with justice and practiced fairness.
(يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ) O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims. [Al Imran: 102]
Servants of Allah! It is among the obligatory duties and most important matters that a servant understands the meaning of shirk (associating partners with Allah), its dangers, and its types so that his monotheism is complete, his Islam is sound, and his faith is correct. Therefore, the focus of today’s sermon revolves around the topic of associating partners with Allah and its dangers.
DEFINITION OF SHIRK
Know—may Allah guide you to His guidance—that shirk in linguistically means to take a partner, which is to make one a partner with another. It is said, “He associated them together” if he made them two, or “He associated another in his matter” if he made that matter for two.
In Islamic terminology, it means: to take a partner or rival with Allah, the Almighty, in lordship, worship, or in His names and attributes.
A “rival” means a peer or equivalent. Therefore, Allah, the Exalted, has forbidden taking rivals and has criticized those who take them besides Him in numerous verses of the Quran. He says: (فَلا تَجْعَلُوا لِلَّهِ أَنْدَاداً وَأَنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ) “So do not attribute to Allah equals while you know [that there is nothing similar to Him].” [Al-Baqarah: 22]
And He, the Exalted, says: (وَجَعَلُوا لِلَّهِ أَنْدَاداً لِيُضِلُّوا عَنْ سَبِيلِهِ قُلْ تَمَتَّعُوا فَإِنَّ مَصِيرَكُمْ إِلَى النَّارِ) “And they attribute to Allah equals to mislead [people] from His way. Say, ‘Enjoy yourselves, for indeed, your destination is the Fire.’” [Ibrahim: 30]
In a hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever dies while calling upon a rival besides Allah will enter Hellfire” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari, 4497; Muslim, 92).
The texts of the Quran and Sunnah indicate that shirk and associating partners with Allah can sometimes expel a person from the fold of Islam, and sometimes it does not. Therefore, scholars have classified it into two types: (Major Shirk and Minor Shirk).
Firstly: Major Shirk
This is when someone directs to others what is exclusively the right of Allah in terms of His lordship, divinity, names, and attributes. This form of shirk can sometimes be overt, like the shirk of idol worshippers, those who worship graves, the dead, and the absent.
This type of shirk (associating partners with Allah) can sometimes occur in beliefs, such as believing that there is someone who creates, gives life or death, owns, or controls the universe alongside Allah, the Exalted.
Or believing that there is someone who is obeyed with absolute obedience alongside Allah, so they follow this being in permitting or prohibiting whatever they wish, even if it contradicts the religion of the messengers.
Or associating partners with Allah in love and reverence, by loving a created being as one loves Allah. This is a form of shirk that Allah does not forgive, and it is the shirk about which Allah says: (ومن الناس من يتخذ من دون الله أندادا يحبونهم كحب الله)) “And of the people are some who take other than Allah as equals [to Him]. They love them as they should love Allah.” [Al-Baqarah, 165].
At times, shirk can occur in words, such as when a person calls upon, seeks help from, or seeks refuge in other than Allah in matters that only Allah has the power to handle—whether this other being is a prophet, a saint, an angel, a jinn, or any other creature. This is major shirk, which takes a person out of the fold of Islam.
Or when someone mocks the religion, likens Allah to His creation, or affirms another creator, provider, or manager alongside Allah. All of this is considered major shirk and a great sin that is not forgiven.
Sometimes, shirk can occur in actions:
Such as when a person sacrifices, prays, or prostrates to other than Allah, or enacts laws that compete with Allah’s commandments and legislates them for the people, obligating them to judge by these laws. Also, when a person allies with disbelievers and supports them against believers, and other such actions that contradict the essence of faith and expel the doer from the fold of Islam. We ask Allah for His pardon and well-being.
Secondly: Minor Shirk
This includes everything that leads to major shirk or is described as shirk in the texts but does not reach the level of major shirk.
This usually occurs in two ways:
1. Regarding dependence on certain means that Allah, the Exalted, has not authorized, like hanging amulets or charms and the like, believing that they are a means of protection or can ward off the evil eye, even though Allah has not made them a legitimate or effective means of such protection.
2. Regarding the undue reverence of certain things without elevating them to the level of divinity, such as swearing by other than Allah, or saying, “If not for Allah and so-and-so,” and similar expressions.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MAJOR AND MINOR SHIRK IN TERMS OF JUDGMENT
Major shirk expels a person from Islam, and the one who commits it is judged as having left Islam and apostatized, thus becoming a disbeliever and an apostate.
As for minor shirk, it does not take a person out of Islam. A Muslim may commit it and still remain within the fold of Islam, but the one who engages in it is in great danger because minor shirk is a major sin. Ibn Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “For me to swear by Allah while lying is more beloved than for me to swear by other than Him while being truthful.” He, may Allah be pleased with him, considered swearing by other than Allah (which is minor shirk) worse than swearing falsely by Allah, even though swearing falsely by Allah is a major sin.
THE SECOND SERMON
All praise is due to Allah, alone without partners, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, alone without partners, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, his family, and his companions in abundance.
Servants of Allah! Associating partners with Allah is the worst and greatest of all sins. Allah does not forgive it for those who die upon it; rather, they will remain in Hell forever due to the enormity of their crime against Allah, the Great and Exalted. Allah, the Most High, says: (إِنَّ الشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيمٌ) “Indeed, associating others with Allah is a great injustice” [Luqman: 13], and He also says: (إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ) “Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills” [An-Nisa: 48].
Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Avoid the seven destructive sins.”* They asked, “O Messenger of Allah, what are they?” He replied: *”Associating partners with Allah, magic, killing a soul that Allah has forbidden except by right, consuming usury, consuming the wealth of orphans, fleeing from the battlefield, and slandering chaste, believing, and unsuspecting women.” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim).
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) listed associating partners with Allah as the first among these destructive sins. Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever meets Allah without associating anything with Him will enter Paradise, and whoever meets Him while associating something with Him will enter the Fire.” (Narrated by Muslim).
The texts of the Quran and Sunnah highlight the seriousness of shirk and the magnitude of the calamity it represents. It is not a trivial matter; it is more serious than murder, adultery, and theft because it pertains to Allah, the Almighty, and His exclusive right to be worshipped and singled out in monotheism.
Shirk with Allah means equating others with Him in matters that are uniquely His. It is a deficiency in recognizing Allah and a denial of His great right, which is monotheism.
Know that one of the dangers of shirk is that it nullifies deeds. Allah says: (وَلَوْ أَشْرَكُوا لَحَبِطَ عَنْهُمْ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ) “But if they had associated others with Allah, then worthless for them would be whatever they were doing” [Al-An’am: 88]. He also says: (وَلَقَدْ أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ وَإِلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ لَئِنْ أَشْرَكْتَ لَيَحْبَطَنَّ عَمَلُكَ وَلَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ) “And it was already revealed to you and to those before you that if you associate others with Allah, your work will surely become worthless, and you would surely be among the losers” [Az-Zumar: 65]. This is why the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent to the noblest and best people of the earth—who used to perform pilgrimage, give charity, honor guests, and do many acts of goodness, virtue, and kindness—to teach them that their associating partners with Allah would render all these deeds null and void.
One of the dangers of shirk (associating partners with Allah) is that the inevitable outcome for those who engage in it is Hell, and what an evil destination that is. Allah says: (وَقَالَ الْمَسِيحُ يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ رَبِّي وَرَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُ مَنْ يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدْ حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَأْوَاهُ النَّارُ وَمَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ مِنْ أَنْصَارٍ) “The Messiah said, ‘O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. Indeed, he who associates others with Allah—Allah has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers.'” [Al-Ma’idah: 72]. We also mentioned earlier the hadith of Jabir, in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “…and whoever meets Him associating anything with Him will enter the Fire.” (Narrated by Muslim).
Because shirk contradicts the monotheism (Tawhid) brought by the prophets, there was no prophet whom Allah sent except that he warned against shirk. Allah says: (وَاذْكُرْ أَخَا عَادٍ إِذْ أَنْذَرَ قَوْمَهُ بِالْأَحْقَافِ وَقَدْ خَلَتِ النُّذُرُ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا اللَّهَ) “And mention the brother of ‘Aad, when he warned his people in the [region of] al-Ahqaf—and warners had already passed on before him and after him—[saying], ‘Do not worship except Allah.'” [Al-Ahqaf: 21].
In an authentic hadith, Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stood when the verse: (وَأَنْذِرْ عَشِيرَتَكَ الْأَقْرَبِينَ) “And warn your closest relatives” [Ash-Shu’ara: 214] was revealed to him, and he said: “O people of Quraysh—or something similar—secure your own souls, for I cannot avail you anything against Allah. O Abbas, son of Abdul-Muttalib, I cannot avail you anything against Allah. O Safiyyah, aunt of the Messenger of Allah, I cannot avail you anything against Allah. O Fatimah, daughter of Muhammad, ask me for whatever you want of my wealth, for I cannot avail you anything against Allah.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) emphasized the seriousness of this matter to them because he would later oppose them on it.
Had it not been for this emphasis, the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions would not have faced the harm and persecution they did at the hands of Quraysh, as detailed in the books of Seerah (biography of the Prophet).
Due to the gravity of shirk, the righteous and pious friends of Allah have always feared even coming close to it or falling into it, knowing the humiliation, disgrace, and lowliness that shirk brings, and knowing that the fate of those who commit shirk is Hell. This is why the leader of the monotheists and the chief of the upright, Ibrahim (peace be upon him), feared shirk for himself and his children, saying in his supplication: (وَاجْنُبْنِي وَبَنِيَّ أَنْ نَعْبُدَ الْأَصْنَامَ) “And keep me and my sons away from worshipping idols.” [Ibrahim: 35]. And Ya’qub (peace be upon him) feared for his children after him that they might deviate from monotheism and fall into associating others with Allah, so he gathered them, as Allah narrated: (أَمْ كُنْتُمْ شُهَدَاءَ إِذْ حَضَرَ يَعْقُوبَ الْمَوْتُ إِذْ قَالَ لِبَنِيهِ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ بَعْدِي قَالُوا نَعْبُدُ إِلَهَكَ وَإِلَهَ آبَائِكَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ إِلَهًا وَاحِدًا وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ) “Or were you witnesses when death approached Jacob, when he said to his sons, ‘What will you worship after me?’ They said, ‘We will worship your God and the God of your fathers, Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac—one God. And we are Muslims [in submission] to Him.'” [Al-Baqarah: 133]. How could Ya’qub not fear when his father, Ibrahim, had feared before him? Ibrahim At-Taymi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Who can feel secure from affliction after Ibrahim?”
Even our Prophet (peace be upon him) feared shirk and warned his ummah (community) against it. He feared it for them and closed its pathways to protect and preserve the purity of Tawhid (monotheism) and to guard his ummah against falling into shirk. Among the examples of this is:
1. In a narration from Al-Bukhari’s Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, authenticated by Al-Albani, it is reported from Ma’qil bin Yasar that he said: “I went with Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) to the Prophet (peace be upon him), and he said: ‘O Abu Bakr, indeed, shirk among you is more hidden than the creeping of an ant.’ Abu Bakr said, ‘Isn’t shirk only when someone sets up another god alongside Allah?’ The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied, ‘By the One in whose hand is my soul, shirk is more hidden than the creeping of an ant. Shall I not tell you something that, if you say it, it will remove both the minor and major forms of it from you?’ He said: ‘Say: O Allah, I seek refuge in You from associating anything with You knowingly, and I seek Your forgiveness for what I do not know.'”
2. Ahmad narrated in his Musnad, and it was graded as good by Al-Albani, from Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari, who said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) delivered a sermon to us one day and said: ‘O people, beware of this shirk (associating partners with Allah), for it is more hidden than the creeping of an ant.’ Someone whom Allah willed said, ‘How can we avoid it when it is more hidden than the creeping of an ant, O Messenger of Allah?’ He said, ‘Say: O Allah, we seek refuge in You from associating anything with You knowingly, and we seek Your forgiveness for what we do not know.'”
The Prophet (peace be upon him) feared shirk for his ummah and warned them about its danger, explaining that due to its gravity, it can be so hidden that it is even more concealed than the creeping of an ant.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) knew that shirk would occur in this ummah. In a long hadith reported by Abu Nu’aym in Al-Hilyah from Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him), it includes: “…And the Hour will not come until a group from my ummah joins the polytheists, and until tribes from my ummah worship idols.”
The Prophet (peace be upon him) was diligent in shielding his ummah from this great danger. He prohibited them from turning graves into places of worship, forbade praying near them, prohibited lighting lamps on them, forbade plastering them, building over them, adding anything to them beyond their original earth, and ordered them to level them. He also prohibited visiting such graves, including his own, using phrases that might imply shirk, and warned against exaggerating in praise of him.
All of this and more was done to protect and preserve the essence of monotheism, to close off and block the pathways to shirk and its denouncement, and to safeguard his ummah from its immense danger.
Al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih from Hudhayfah ibn Al-Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: “The people used to ask the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) about good, but I used to ask him about evil out of fear that it might overtake me.” May Allah protect us and you from trials, and save us and you from shirk and from its pathways and means. Indeed, He is the Protector and Capable of all things. And may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and all his companions.
O Allah, support those who strive in Your path, bring their hearts together, unite their ranks, and guide them to follow Your Book and the Sunnah of Your Prophet. O Allah, prepare for us the means to liberate Al-Aqsa Mosque, and guide the Muslims, both leaders and the led, to establish Your Sharia and to support Your religion.
O Allah, deal with the oppressive Jews and those who assist them among the Christians and hypocrites. O Allah, take revenge on them, divide their ranks, shake their footing, and send upon them Your punishment that cannot be turned back from the criminals. Indeed, You are the responder to supplications, and capable of answering them. And may the blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and all his companions.