Al-Qawl al-Mufid ala Kitab al-Tawhid — Volume 1 (القول المفيد على كتاب التوحيد) — Page 207

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

أَشْرَكَ (١).

He has committed shirk (1).

نَقُولُ: الشِّرْكُ هُنَا أَصْغَرُ لِأَنَّهُ دَلَّتِ النُّصُوصُ عَلَى أَنَّهُ مُجَرَّدُ الْحَلِفِ بِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ لَا يُخْرِجُ مِنَ الْمِلَّةِ.

We say: The shirk here is minor, because the texts have indicated that merely swearing by other than Allah does not expel one from the religion.

الْقَوْلُ الثَّانِي: أَنَّ الشِّرْكَ الْأَصْغَرَ: مَا كَانَ وَسِيلَةً لِلْأَكْبَرِ، وَإِنْ لَمْ يُطْلِقِ الشَّرْعُ عَلَيْهِ اسْمَ الشِّرْكِ، مِثْلَ: أَنْ يَعْتَمِدَ الْإِنْسَانُ عَلَى شَيْءٍ كَاعْتِمَادِهِ عَلَى اللَّهِ لَكِنَّهُ لَمْ يَتَّخِذْهُ إِلَهًا فَهُنَا نَقُولُ: هَذَا شِرْكٌ أَصْغَرُ (٢) لِأَنَّ هَذَا الِاعْتِمَادَ الَّذِي يَكُونُ كَاعْتِمَادِهِ عَلَى اللَّهِ يُؤَدِّي بِهِ فِي النِّهَايَةِ إِلَى الشِّرْكِ الْأَكْبَرِ، وَهَذَا التَّعْرِيفُ أَوْسَعُ مِنَ الْأَوَّلِ، لِأَنَّ الْأَوَّلَ يَمْنَعُ أَنْ تُطْلِقَ عَلَى شَيْءٍ أَنَّهُ شِرْكٌ إِلَّا إِذَا كَانَ لَدَيْكَ دَلِيلٌ، وَالثَّانِي يَجْعَلُ كُلَّ مَا كَانَ وَسِيلَةً لِلشِّرْكِ فَهُوَ شِرْكٌ، وَرُبَّمَا نَقُولُ عَلَى هَذَا التَّعْرِيفِ أَنَّ الْمَعَاصِيَ كُلَّهَا شِرْكٌ أَصْغَرُ لِأَنَّ الْحَامِلَ عَلَيْهَا الْهَوَى وَقَدْ قَالَ تَعَالَى: أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَاهُ وَأَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ

The second view is that minor shirk is whatever serves as a means to major shirk, even if the Sharia has not applied the name 'shirk' to it, such as a person relying on something just as he relies on Allah, but he has not taken it as a god; here we say: this is minor shirk (2), because this reliance, which is like his reliance on Allah, leads him in the end to major shirk. This definition is broader than the first, because the first prevents you from labeling something as shirk unless you have evidence, while the second makes everything that is a means to shirk, shirk. Perhaps we can say, based on this definition, that all sins are minor shirk because the motive behind them is desire, and the Almighty has said: 'Have you seen he who has taken as his god his own desire, and Allah has sent him astray upon knowledge?' (3).

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Vocabulary · المفردات (22 verbs · 39 nouns)

• أَشْرَكَ — to associate partners with God
• قَالَ — to say
• دَلَّ — to indicate
• شِرْكٌ — polytheism
• نَصٌّ — text
• حَلِفٌ — oath