✦ Categories of Shirk and Actions That Expel a Person from Islam ✦
❖ Compiled by: Tawheed.com – Link to the Full Book
❀ Introduction: Acts That Invalidate Islam Despite the Shahādah
Among the gravest sins mentioned in Islam are those that directly contradict its fundamental beliefs. Even if someone professes the Shahādah, committing these acts can expel them from the fold of Islam. Scholars have categorized such acts under “Nawāqid al-Islām” – the nullifiers of Islam. Just as certain things invalidate ablution (wudu), these actions nullify one's entire faith.
Shaykh al-Islām Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb (رحمه الله) identified ten major nullifiers of Islam, most of which are widely prevalent today. May Allah protect us, Āmīn.
❀ Major Shirk (Shirk al-Akbar): The Greatest Sin
◈ Definition:
Associating partners with Allah in His essence, attributes, or actions is the gravest sin. Whoever dies upon this without repentance will reside eternally in Hell.
Qur’anic Evidences:
“Indeed, Allah does not forgive that partners be associated with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills.”
(An-Nisāʾ: 48)
“Indeed, whoever associates partners with Allah – Allah has forbidden Paradise for him, and his abode is the Fire.”
(Al-Mā’idah: 72)
❀ Clarification of Shirk
Shirk includes beliefs like:
– Pantheism (e.g., Wahdat al-Wujūd – "the universe is a reflection of Allah’s attributes")
– Any ideology that contradicts pure Tawḥīd
❀ The Four Primary Categories of Major Shirk
① Shirk in Duʿā (Supplication)
Calling upon:
– Prophets, saints, or deceased individuals in times of distress (e.g., “Yā Rasūl Allāh Madad,” “Yā ʿAlī Madad”)
– Performing rituals at graves: circumambulation (ṭawāf), lighting candles, kissing for blessings, etc.
Qur’anic Evidence:
“When they board the ship, they call upon Allah, sincere to Him in religion; but when He brings them to land, they associate others with Him.”
(Al-ʿAnkabūt: 65)
“Supplication is worship.”
(Tirmidhi 3372 – Hasan Sahih)
Shaykh Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb (رحمه الله) said:
“The polytheists of our time are more dangerous than those of the past. The earlier ones did shirk in times of ease, but today's do it in all circumstances.”
② Shirk in Intention and Purpose
Doing religious acts for worldly benefit or for the approval of someone other than Allah.
Qur’anic Evidence:
“Whoever desires the life of this world and its adornments – We will fully repay them for their deeds therein… but in the Hereafter, they will have nothing but Fire.”
(Hūd: 15–16)
Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله):
“Shirk in intentions is a deep sea without a shore.”
Three Types of Intentional Shirk:
- Actions done entirely for show (riyāʾ):
“They stand for prayer lazily, only to be seen by people.”
(An-Nisāʾ: 142) - Action done for Allah, but riyāʾ creeps in:
“Whoever associates anyone with Me, I abandon him and his deeds.”
(Ibn Mājah: 4203 – Hasan) - Action originally for Allah, but later corrupted by riyāʾ.
③ Shirk in Obedience
Granting legislative authority to others besides Allah – such as scholars, rulers, or judges.
Qur’anic Evidence:
“They took their rabbis and monks as lords besides Allah, and [also] the Messiah, son of Mary.”
(At-Tawbah: 31)
The Prophet ﷺ explained:
“They made what they (the scholars) permitted as lawful, and what they forbade as unlawful – and that was their worship of them.”
(Tirmidhi: 3095 – Hasan)
Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله):
“Obedience in legislation is shirk, even if prostration is absent.”
④ Shirk in Love
Loving someone as one should only love Allah – with complete submission and dependence.
Qur’anic Evidence:
“And of mankind are those who take others as rivals to Allah. They love them as they should love Allah. But those who believe are stronger in their love for Allah.”
(Al-Baqarah: 165)
“When Allah alone is mentioned, the hearts of those who disbelieve shrink; but when others besides Him are mentioned, they rejoice.”
(Az-Zumar: 45)
Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) categorized love into four types:
- Love only for Allah
- Love for something for Allah’s sake
- Love of someone for Allah’s sake
- Love with Allah – loving someone like Allah (this is shirk)
Loving Allah’s enemies, or loving anyone more than Allah, constitutes major shirk.
❀ Other Acts of Shirk
◈ Sacrificing for Other than Allah
“Allah curses the one who sacrifices for other than Him.”
(Sahih Muslim: 1978)
◈ Vows (Nadhr) to Other than Allah
– Vows, offerings, or charity in the name of saints, spirits, or idols are major shirk.
“They fulfill their vows.”
(Ad-Dahr: 7)
“Whatever you spend or vow, Allah knows it.”
(Al-Baqarah: 270)
❀ Conclusion
The four types of major shirk:
① Shirk in Supplication (Duʿā)
② Shirk in Intention and Purpose (Niyyah)
③ Shirk in Obedience
④ Shirk in Love
Along with related acts such as sacrificing or vowing to other than Allah – all these are nullifiers of Islam, even if committed by one who recites the Shahādah.
It is essential for every Muslim to understand and avoid these nullifiers, and to preserve the purity of Tawḥīd.
