The Forms of Shirk According to the Classification of Tawhid
As previously explained in a dedicated chapter, tawhid can be recognized in three forms or areas, namely affirming the oneness of Allah سبحانه وتعالى in:
- His essence and His attribute as Creator, Giver of life, and similar attributes (tawhidu r-rububiyyah)
- His names and attributes (tawhidu l-asma'i wa-s-sifat)
- Worship directed towards Him alone (tawhidu l-uluhiyyah bzw. tawhidu l-'ibadah)
It has already been explained that polytheism is the opposite of tawhid. Shirk is a violation of monotheism in its aforementioned forms. Accordingly, polytheism can occur in the three areas mentioned above. Each category of tawhid thus has corresponding categories of shirk that oppose it.
As previously mentioned, shirk had become particularly widespread among the Arabs in the realm of worship. For the Arabs of that time, it was common practice to invoke various idols to fulfil their needs. This created a deep attachment in their hearts to these idols, leading them to associate strong emotions with them – they loved and feared them.
The Qur'an clarifies in numerous places that this invocation, seeking help, acts of worship, and emotions of reverence are reserved exclusively for the Creator of mankind. For this reason, the message of all the Prophets عليهم السلام consistently focused on the field of worship.
However, this does not mean that the Arabs committed no shirk in the field of rububiyyah. On the contrary, the Qur'an repeatedly describes how shirk in rububiyyah was indeed present among the pre-Islamic Arabs, even though this was not true of all idolaters to the same extent or in the same manner.
What has just been stated also highlights the clear error in claiming that the Arabs fully understood “the entirety” of Allah's rububiyyah and did not violate it. This assertion does not align with historical facts nor with the numerous descriptions found in the Qur'an, and thus should be avoided – wa-llahu a'lam/and Allah knows best.
There were some Arabs who, for example, associated alleged daughters with Allah, but this was not the belief of all Arabs, only some of them. Likewise, the Arabs committed shirk in tashri' (legislation) by establishing their own rituals without any basis in revelation and defining these practices as part of the religion of mankind or attributing them to the din of Allah. This latter form of shirk among the Arabs is mentioned frequently in the sixth chapter of the Qur'an, sura al-An'am.
As for this form of shirk in rububiyyah, it is relatively easy to recognize when it is expressed through clear statements and actions. The association of a created being with the Creator in such matters is usually quite evident through explicitly stated beliefs.
If one examines all the beliefs of the pre-Islamic Arabs in detail, it becomes apparent that almost all forms of shirk in rububiyyah could be found among them. However, as mentioned earlier, not every form of it was present among all Arabs.
The majority of the Arabs worshipped idols, but they did not believe that these idols could create anything from nothing, nor did they attribute any divine characteristics of that nature to them.
Nevertheless, it becomes quite clear from the Islamic sources that the idolaters of that time often held certain beliefs and various convictions regarding their idols – even though these beliefs generally fell far short of the previously mentioned level of attributing creative power or similar divine attributes to them.
The only Arabs who did not engage in this idol worship – apart from some Arabs who had converted to Judaism or Christianity – were the already mentioned hunafa', the true followers of the monotheism taught by Ibrahim/Abraham عليه السلام. Thus, the hunafa' were not mushrikun but Muslims.