Taken from the Sharh Mas’aail Jaahiliyyah
What is the meaning of Shirk? Shirk is to make Allaah equal to something else in worship. So however makes Allaah equal to something else or entirely directs their worship to something other than Allaah has committed Shirk. The person who does Shirk and dies upon this will be forbidden from entering Paradise and will be punished in Hellfire for eternity.
Allaah tells us about the people of Shirk when they will see their punishment, “By Allah, we were truly in a manifest error, When We held you (false gods) as equals (in worship) with the Lord of the 'Alamin (mankind, jinn and all that exists)” [26:97-8]
So they will admit that they were wrong by making Allaah equal to other false gods. So worshipping other than Allaah is Shirk, including loving other than Allaah or any other act of worship that should only be directed to Allaah alone. About this Allaah says, “"Has he made the alihah (gods) (all) into One Ilah (God - Allah). Verily, this is a curious thing!” [38:5]. The Mushrikeen were confused on how all these various acts of worship can be directed to one god alone.
Unfortunately we see this attitude in the Ummah today. This is because many Muslims, for example in the books of Ashari’s like as-Sanwasee, think that the meaning of Tawheed is that ‘There is no Lord but Allaah’ but this is clearly wrong. They don’t realise that Tawheed includes making Allaah Alone in our acts of worship as well as in Lordship. In fact this false meaning of Tawheed is what the Mushrikeen used to believe as well. They believed that there is only one Lord but what made them Mushriks and non-believers is because they did Shirk in worshipping other than Allaah, “And if you ask them who created them, they will surely say: "Allah." How then are they turned away (from the worship of Allah, Who created them)?” [43:87].
We see some Muslims have followed the Mushrikeen step by step. They failed to understand the meaning of Tawheed. Some even believe that the souls of the deceased are able to ask Allaah on their behalf so they supplicate to souls and not Allaah, thinking that this act isn’t Shirk. This is undoubtedly a cause of great misfortune to befall the Ummah today. We have taken away things that belong only to Allaah and have redirected them to other than Him.
Shaykh al-Islaam Abd al-Wahaab discusses this in his treatise ‘Qawaaid al-Arba’ and highlights a very important point. He argues that the Mushrikeen in the time of the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] were better than the people who do Shirk today. The reason for this is because that they did Shirk at times of ease but in times of difficulty they would worship Allaah Alone. However today we see people doing Shirk in time of ease as well as hardship, “And when they embark on a ship, they invoke Allah, making their Faith pure for Him only: but when He brings them safely to land, behold, they give a share of their worship to others” [29:65].
So Allaah has ordered the Muslims to be sincere and worship Him alone and to complete avoid Shirk in all its forms. In fact, He has warned us from Shirk as it leads to one being punished in Hellfire for eternity.
“Verily, whosoever sets up partners (in worship) with Allah, then Allah has forbidden Paradise to him, and the Fire will be his abode. And for the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers) there are no helpers” [5:72]
Therefore this is a very important matter and it is from the inheritance of the call that the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] came to call to. The Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] came to call to Tawheed and this was the call of all the Prophets [Peace be upon them all] that he [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] inherited from them. So it is unsurprising that the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] prohibited us from Shirk and to complete our Tawheed and understanding of ‘There is no God but Allaah’, to make Allaah one and to affirm for Him what He affirmed for Himself and to deny anything that He denied for Himself, because this is the difference between Heaven and Hell.
The importance has been clarified and made clear, therefore it is essential for us to understand this and to make it the first point of call to non-Muslims. The Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] clarified this point to Mua’aadh [May Allaah be Pleased with him] by commanding him make it the first thing he calls to, “You are going to the People of the Book so make the first thing you call them to is to make Allaah one.” Therefore Tahweed is the central point of our belief and our religion as a whole and it is the first thing we call to, to Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
Therefore focusing on Tawheed in ourselves and making it the first thing we call to is extremely important, as it is a way we can save ourselves and others from the Hellfire.
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