Table of Contents
Toggle Introduction: Shirk – associating partners with Allaah Grave-worship, sacrificing to anything other than Allaah. allowing what Allaah has forbidden and forbidding what Allaah has allowed, magic, fortune-telling and divination. Astrology, or believing that the stars and planets have an influence on people’s lives and events. believing that certain things can bring benefit when the Creator has not made them so. Superstitious belief in omens: Swearing by something other than Allaah: Sitting with hypocrites and wrongdoers to enjoy their company or to keep them company: Lack of composure in prayer: Fidgeting and making unnecessary movements in prayer: Deliberately anticipating the movements of the imaam (when praying in congregation): Coming to the mosque after eating onions or garlic, or anything that has an offensive smell: Zinaa – fornication and adultery: Sodomy (Homosexuality): Not allowing one’s husband to have marital relations for no legitimate reason Asking one’s husband for a divorce for no legitimate reason Zihaar: Having intercourse with one’s wife during her period Having intercourse with one’s wife in her rectum Making false claims about a child’s lineage, or denying one’s own child Consuming riba (usury or interest) Concealing a product’s faults at the time of sale Artificially inflating prices Trading after the second call to prayer on Friday Gambling Theft Offering or accepting bribes Seizing land by force Accepting a gift in return for interceding Hiring someone and benefitting from his labour, then not paying him his wages Not giving gifts equally to one’s children Asking people for money when one is not in need Seeking a loan with no intention of paying it back Consuming haraam wealth Drinking khamr – even a single drop Using vessels of gold and silver, or eating and drinking from them Bearing false witness Listening to music and musical instruments Gossip and backbiting: Slander Looking into people’s houses without their permission Two people conversing privately to the exclusion of a third Isbaal – wearing clothes that come down below the ankles Men wearing gold in any shape or form Women wearing short, tight or see-though clothes Wearing wigs and hairpieces, whether made from natural or artificial hair, for men and women Men resembling women and women resembling men, in dress, speech and appearance Dyeing one’s hair black Having pictures of animate beings on clothing, walls or paper, etc. Lying about one’s dreams Sitting or walking on graves, or answering the call of nature in a graveyard Not cleaning oneself properly after passing water Eavesdropping on people who do not want to be heard Being a bad neighbour Writing a will for the purpose of harming one of the heirs Cursing a believer or someone who does not deserve to be cursed Wailing (at time of bereavement) Striking or branding the face Abandoning a Muslim brother for more than three days with no legitimate reason
This is the most serious of all prohibitions, according to the hadeeth narrated by Abu Bakrah, who said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Shall I not tell you of the most serious of the major sins?’ three times. We said, ‘Of course, O Messenger of Allaah!’ He said, ‘Associating anything in worship with Allaah . . .’”
(Agreed upon; see al-Bukhaari, no. 2511, al-Bagha edition).
Every other sin may be forgiven by Allaah, apart from shirk, which requires specific repentance, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Verily, Allaah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him in worship, but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He pleases . . .” [al-Nisaa’ 4:48]
One of the forms of shirk which is particularly widespread in Muslim countries is:
