In Islam, Shirk (Arabic: شِرْك, lit. 'association') is a sin often roughly translated as "idolatry" or "polytheism", but more accurately meaning "partnerism[1] or association [with God]".[2][3][a] It refers to accepting other divinities or powers alongside God as associates.[5][6] In contrast, Islam teaches that God does not share divine attributes with anyone, as it is disallowed according to the Islamic doctrine of tawhid.[7][8] The Quran—the central religious text of Islam—states in Surah an-Nisa, that God will not forgive shirk if one dies without repenting of it.[9][8][10]

The one who commits shirk is called a mushrik.[b] The opposite of shirk is tawhid[c] and the opposite of mushrik is muwahhid.[d]

Etymology

The word shirk comes from the Arabic root sh-r-k (ش ر ك), with the general meaning of "to share".[11][e] In the context of the Quran, the particular sense of "sharing as an equal partner" is usually understood, so that polytheism means "attributing a partner to God". In the Quran, shirk and the related word mushrikūn (مشركون)—those who commit shirk and plot against Islam—often refer to the enemies of Islam (as in al-Tawbah verses 9:1–15),[13]: 9:1–15  though there is no equal in the English language.[14]: 911 

Quran

According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd edition), the Quran states twice in an-Nisa verses 48 and 116 that God can forgive all sins save one: shirk.[15]

Islamic commentators on the Quran have emphasized that a number of pre-Islamic Arabian deities and jinn, most notably the three goddesses Manat, al-Lat, and al-Uzza mentioned in the surah an-Najm, were considered associates of God.[17]

Entities worshipped besides God are called shurakāʾ (Arabic: شُرَكَاء).[18]: 41 [19]: 77  After Judgement Day, they will be cast into Jahannam (Hell) along with devils (fallen angels) and evil jinn,[18]: 41  to whom the polytheists are said to sacrifice in order to gain protection.

Charles Adams writes that the Quran reproaches the People of the Book with kufr for rejecting Muhammad's message when they should have been the first to accept it as possessors of earlier revelations, and singles out Christians for disregarding the evidence of God's unity.[20] The Quranic verse al-Ma'idah 5:73[21]: 5:73  ("Certainly they disbelieve [kafara] who say: God is the third of three"), among other verses, has been traditionally understood in Islam as rejection of the Christian Trinity doctrine,[22] but modern scholarship has suggested alternative interpretations.[note 1] Other Quranic verses strongly deny the divinity of Jesus, the son of Mary, and reproach the people who treat Jesus as equal with God as disbelievers, who will be doomed to eternal punishment in Hell.[23][24] The Quran also does not recognise the attribute of Jesus as the Son of God or God himself but respects Jesus as a prophet and messenger of God, who was sent to children of Israel.[25]

Some Muslim thinkers, such as Mohamed Talbi, have viewed the most extreme Quranic presentations of the dogmas of the Trinity and divinity of Jesus (al-Ma'idah 5:19, 5:75-76, 5:119)[21] as non-Christian formulas, which were rejected by the Christian Church, as well.[26]

Cyril Glasse criticises the use of kafirun (sing. kafir) to describe Christians as a "loose usage".[clarification needed][27] According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, traditional Islamic jurisprudence has ahl al-kitab being "usually regarded more leniently than other kuffar (pl. of kafir)," and "in theory," a Muslim commits a punishable offense if he says to a Jew or a Christian: "Thou unbeliever."[28]

Historically, People of the Book permanently residing under Islamic rule were entitled to a special status known as dhimmi, and those who were visiting Muslim lands received a different status known as musta'min.[28] In the Quran, Jews and Christians—though accused of believing in shared divinity by asserting lineage between God and Ezra or Jesus, respectively—are not described as mushrik.[29] The term is reserved for pre-Islamic beliefs that associated partners with God. Nonetheless, medieval Muslim philosophers identified belief in the Trinity with shirk ("associationism"), by limiting the infinity of God by associating his divinity with physical existence.[30]