Answered by our Shaykh, the ‘Allāmah, the Trustworthy Advisor, Abu ‘Abdirrahmān Yahya bin ‘Ali Al-Hajūri – may Allāh preserve him – on the 25th, Dhūl-Hijjah, 1441H
Question:
What is the correct opinion regarding minor shirk, does it fall under what can be forgiving, or is it a must that person is punished then he will exit (from the fire) due to the generality of the statement of Allāh:
(إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاءُ)
“Surely Allah does not forgive that anything should be associated with Him, and He forgives what is besides this to whom He pleases” [An-Nisā:116]
Answer:
Minor shirk, the origin is that it doesn’t exit one from the religion, this is what the people of knowledge are upon, and whatever does not exit from the religion then the perpetrator is still considered to be from the muslims
“قد أفلح من اسلم رزق كفافا وقنعه الله بما آتاه”
“Indeed successful is he who enters into Islām and has been given enough provisions and Allāh has made him content with what He has given him”
“إنه لا تدخل الجنة إلا و نفس مسلمة”
“None shall enter the Jennah except a believing soul”
َ”فَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ“
Therefore die not unless you are Muslims. [Al-Baqarah, 132]
والله لا تدخل الجنة حتى تؤمنوا ولا تؤمنوا حتى تحابوا ألا أدلكم على شيء إذا فعلتموه تحاببتم افشوا السلام بينكم
“By Allah you will not enter into Jennah until you believe, and you will not (truly) believe until you love one and other, shall I not direct you towards something if you was to do it you would love one another, spread the Salām between one yourselves.”
All of these proofs points towards that a Muslims (end) is to good and that he is not from the people of the fire who are it’s inhabitants, those who will neither die in it nor will they be (fully) alive and will abide in it for eternity.
What remains, is the perpetrator of minor shirk going to be punished then exit? Considering that he fell into the generality of what the evidence points towards from His statement:
(إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاءُ)
Surely Allah does not forgive that anything should be associated with Him, and He forgives what is besides this to whom He pleases; [An-Nisā, 116]
So the one who does minor shirk with Allāh condition is the like the one who commits major sins and the greatest of it , and what seems to be the correct opinion is that of the majority that the perpetrator of minor shirk is underneath the will of Allāh and that what the statement points towards:
(إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاءُ)
Surely Allah does not forgive that anything should be associated with Him, and He forgives what is besides this to whom He pleases; [An-Nisā, 116]
The intent is major shirk which exits from the fold of the religion and that this one still remains in the fold of the religion, the one who has minor shirk still remains in the religion, he hasn’t exited from it, and that
(إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاءُ)
“Surely Allah does not forgive that anything should be associated with Him, and He forgives what is besides this to whom He pleases” [An-Nisā, 116]
That he fell into a great sin, it is upon him not to persist in it till he pulls him to major and that the one who falls into great sin is in danger, verily all of these proofs suggest that the perpetrator of minor shirk has not left the fold of this religion and that he is Muslim.
ثُمَّ أَوْرَثْنَا الْكِتَابَ الَّذِينَ اصْطَفَيْنَا مِنْ عِبَادِنَا فَمِنْهُمْ ظَالِمٌ لِّنَفْسِهِ وَمِنْهُم مُّقْتَصِدٌ وَمِنْهُمْ سَابِقٌ بِالْخَيْرَاتِ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْفَضْلُ الْكَبِير ○ جَنَّاتُ عَدْنٍ يَدْخُلُونَهَا يُحَلَّوْنَ فِيهَا مِنْ أَسَاوِرَ مِن ذَهَبٍ وَلُؤْلُؤًا وَلِبَاسُهُمْ فِيهَا حَرِيرٌ
“Then We gave the Book for an inheritance to those whom We chose from among Our servants; but of them is he who makes his soul to suffer a loss, and of them is he who takes a middle course, and of them is he who is foremost in deeds of goodness by Allah’s permission; this is the great excellence. Gardens of perpetuity, they shall enter therein; they shall be made to wear therein bracelets of gold and pearls, and their dress therein shall be silk.” [Al-Fātir, 32-33]
So the one who oppresses himself with major sins or that which is less than major shirk, this is the one who remains in the fold of islām and will be from those saved.
This is what is most correct, Shaykh ul-Islām has a statement like what has preceded and we mentioned it previously, that he will be punished, not (meaning) that he is not from those who will be saved.
(الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَلَمْ يَلْبِسُوا إِيمَانَهُم بِظُلْمٍ أُولَٰئِكَ لَهُمُ الْأَمْنُ وَهُم مُّهْتَدُونَ)
“Those who believe and do not mix up their faith with iniquity, those are they who shall have the security and they are those who go aright.” [Al-An’ām, 82]
And dhulm is shirk.
He said: So those who mix their Eemān with shirk are not from those who are safe and this is like all major sins, they (the perpetrators) are not from those safe, and this (minor shirk) is the greatest of them.
Verily the point of benefit is that they are not from the disbelievers and that they are considered muslims and that if Allāh punishes them like those who committed major sins then their end result is the Jennah.
Translated by: Abū ‘Abdillāh ‘Omar bin Yahya Al-‘Akawi
Click on the link to listen to the Audio: https://t.me/sh_yahia_duroos/7608