What Is Shirk? Associating Partners with God

Shirk (Arabic: شرك) is pronounced SHIRK. It literally means “sharing” or “partnership”.

Meaning

In Islam, shirk means giving to anyone or anything a share of what belongs to God alone: worshipping idols, praying to a person, saint or object as a god, or believing that someone other than God shares His unique powers. It is the exact opposite of tawhid, the belief that God is one and alone deserves worship.

The Qur’an treats it as the gravest of sins, because it misdirects the very purpose for which people were created:

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِۦ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَن يَشَآءُ ۚ وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِٱللَّهِ فَقَدِ ٱفْتَرَىٰٓ إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا ﴿٤٨﴾

Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And he who associates others with Allah has certainly fabricated a tremendous sin.

Scholars explain that this verse is about a person who dies while still committing shirk, without ever turning back from it.

The door is open

This teaching sits beside another one, just as clear: God forgives every sin, shirk included, for anyone who sincerely repents while alive (Qur’an 39:53; 25:68-70). Many of the Prophet’s closest companions had once worshipped idols, and entering Islam wiped their past away completely.

Muslims also speak of a “hidden” form of shirk: doing good deeds to be praised by people rather than for God. This is a warning to believers themselves, encouraging sincerity.

Note

Muslims are taught to explain this belief with gentleness and respect, never to insult what others hold dear (Qur’an 6:108).

To understand the belief shirk contradicts, read God Is One, and for the hope of a fresh start, see What Happens to My Past Sins?