In Islam, shirk is a sin in the form of the practice of idolatry or polytheism, that is, the deification or worship of anyone or anything other than the only God, that is, Allah. In the literal sense, this means the establishment of "mediators" standing between man and God. This is a vice that is contrary to the virtue of Tawhid (monotheism). Those who practice shirk are called mushriks. Simply put, a mushrik is a pagan. In Islamic law, shirk as a crime can only be attributed to Muslims, since only a Muslim is legally responsible for such apostasy.
Etymology
The word širk comes from the Arabic root Š-R-K (ش ر ك) with the general meaning "to share". In this context, a mushrik is one who "shares" the power and majesty of Allah with other entities or people who act as intermediaries.
Islamic commentators on the Qur'an have emphasized that pre-Islamic Arab idolatry revered several goddesses (the most memorable being al-Manat, al-Lat and al-Uzza) as equal companions of Allah. Therefore, a mushrik is, first of all, a polytheist, an idolater.
Other sins
Other forms of idolatrous sin in Islam include the worship of we alth and other material objects. This is stated in the Koran in one of the stories about the children of Israel who created the Golden Calf as an idol, for which Moses ordered them to repent.
Another form of idolatry mentioned in the Qur'an is the deification of spiritual leaders, gurus, prophets (except Muhammad). People who follow false prophets are mushriks. They are actually equated with pagans and apostates.
Medieval Muslim (as well as Jewish) philosophers identified the belief in the Trinity with the shirk heresy. For according to Muslim beliefs, Allah is one and does not need intermediaries.
Partners of Allah
In a theological context, a person sins by associating some lesser being with Allah. This sin is committed by imagining that God has a partner to worship. What does the Quran say? The fact that Allah does not forgive when some spiritual partners or “companions” are assigned to him, but at the same time he forgives anything, anyone. However, assigning partners to him, as mushriks do in Islam, is one of the most serious offenses. The boundaries of the concept of idolatry are quite flexible, and theologians often describe the excessive veneration of an artifact here on Earth as an example of idol worship. Some OrthodoxIslamists, for example, claim that the faithful worshiping the Kaaba in Mecca are Mushriks.
Atheism
Atheism is also perceived by Muslims as a deviation from the true faith, because it denies the position of Allah as the unique creator and bearer of the Universe (Tawhid ar-Rububiyya, the Unity of Dominion), and people who claim to be atheists are punished in Muslim countries. Likewise, the act of avoidance extends to such things as the notion that God has human anthropomorphic qualities, as well as acts of worship or piety whose intrinsic purpose is pride, caprice, or a desire for public admiration, although public prayer is a major Islamic aspect. faith, supported and praised in the Qur'an.
Other Abrahamic religions
The status of the "People of the Book" (ahl al-kitab), especially Jews and Christians, in relation to Islamic concepts of disbelief is not clear. Charles Adams writes that the Qur'an reproaches the "people of the Book" for rejecting Muhammad's message when they should have been the first to accept it as the bearers of earlier revelations. Muslims especially single out Christians for their disregard for the concept of the oneness of God. Verse 5:73 of the Qur'an ("Surely they do not believe [Kafar] who says: God is the third of three"), among other verses, is traditionally taken in Islam as a rejection of the doctrine of the Christian trinity, although modern scholarship offers alternative interpretations of this passage.
Other verses of the Quran categorically deny the divinity of Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, and rebuke people who treat Jesus as God, promising all Christians eternal punishment in hell. The Quran also does not recognize the status of Jesus as the Son of God or God himself. At the same time, Muslims respect him as a prophet and messenger of the Most High, sent to the children of Israel.
Historically, "People of the Book" (Jews and Christians) living permanently under Islamic rule were en titled to a special status known as dhimmi. They were allowed to practice their religion but had to pay a special tax for doing so.
