The Difference Between Kufr and Shirk

Question:
What is the difference between disbelief and associating partners with Allah?

Answer:
The difference lies in meaning; as for the ruling, there is no difference between them. However, in terms of meaning, kufr (disbelief) means denial, specifically the denial of the Creator, Glorified and Exalted is He, such as the disbelief of the atheists and communists. Denial means concealing the truth, because the word kufr in the language means covering. Thus, the expiation of sins means covering them.
The word *kufur* means things that cover those who dwell in them; *kufur* are villages, and *kafur* is the sheath of the date palm, because it covers the bunch. So *kufr* means covering, and the *kafir* is called so even by farmers, who are called *kuffar* because they cover the seeds in the ground. [He recited:] "The farmers are amazed to enrage the disbelievers." Some of the exegetes said that the ones intended here are the farmers, because they cover the seeds in the ground.
So kufr means denying the Lord, Glorified and Exalted is He, and denying the existence of the Creator in the universe, like the disbelief of the communists and the atheists. As for shirk (associating partners with Allah), it means acknowledging Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, but associating others with Him in worship. He associates others with Him in worship. So every mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah) is a kafir (disbeliever), but not every kafir is a mushrik. He may be an atheist. The kafir may be a mushrik or he may be an atheist, whereas the mushrik is a mushrik and a kafir at the same time. There is a relationship of generality and specificity between them, as the scholars of usul al-fiqh (the principles of jurisprudence) say. The mushrik acknowledges the existence of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, and acknowledges His lordship, but he associates others with Him in worship. As for the kafir, he denies the existence of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He.