The Difference Between Shirk and Kufr

Question:
He asks: What is the difference between shirk (associating partners with Allah) and kufr (disbelief)? Is every mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah) a kafir (disbeliever)?

Answer:
Kufr (disbelief) occurs through denial; denial of Allah the Exalted, denial of the Creator. This is kufr (disbelief). Among this are the materialists who do not acknowledge the Creator, the Dahrists; these are kafirs (disbelievers), and they are not called mushrikin (those who associate partners with Allah), because they do not acknowledge the Creator. As for the mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah), he acknowledges the Creator and affirms tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship), but he commits shirk (associating partners with Allah) in tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship). This is the mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah). Every mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah) is a kafir (disbeliever), but not every kafir (disbeliever) is a mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah); he may be a Dahryst, a materialist, or a naturalist who does not acknowledge the existence of the Creator.