The Difference Between Shirk and Kufr
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Honorable Shaykh, what is the difference between shirk (associating partners with Allah) and kufr (disbelief)? May Allah keep you safe. Yes.
Answer:
We said that kufr means denial. Denying the existence of the Lord, Glorified and Exalted is He. This is the sixth type, which is being disobedient, like the communists, Pharaoh, and Aman, who denied lordship. As for the mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah), he affirms the conditions, but he associates partners with Allah. He acknowledges that Allah is the Creator and the Provider, and he does not deny the existence of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, nor does he deny His attributes, but he associates partners with Him in worship. That is what makes him a mushrik.
And between shirk and general kufr, there is a distinction: every mushrik is a kafir (disbeliever), but not every kafir is a mushrik. This is because the kafir may be one who denies the existence of the Lord, Glorified and Exalted is He. Sometimes a person performs an act, such as standing in prayer or a voluntary prayer, and it is sincere for His noble Face. But if it is said of him that he is one who fasts and prays a lot, and he loves that, and loves to be mentioned with good, is this shirk? If this person makes his work sincere for Allah and does not seek the people, but the people praise him without his intending that, then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about this and said: "That is the immediate reward of the believer." It is good for a person to be mentioned with good and praised with good, but on the condition that he does not intend it; he intends the Face of Allah, the Face of Allah. And if the people praise him and he does not accept this and does not rejoice in it, there is no harm in that, because he did not accept it. Rather, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Make me a message to others," meaning that it is good for a person to be praised for good, unlike being praised for evil in his life and after his death. Good praise is fine, but on the condition that the person does not intend it in his worship.
Honorable Shaykh, what is the difference between shirk (associating partners with Allah) and kufr (disbelief)? May Allah keep you safe. Yes.
Answer:
We said that kufr means denial. Denying the existence of the Lord, Glorified and Exalted is He. This is the sixth type, which is being disobedient, like the communists, Pharaoh, and Aman, who denied lordship. As for the mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah), he affirms the conditions, but he associates partners with Allah. He acknowledges that Allah is the Creator and the Provider, and he does not deny the existence of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, nor does he deny His attributes, but he associates partners with Him in worship. That is what makes him a mushrik.
And between shirk and general kufr, there is a distinction: every mushrik is a kafir (disbeliever), but not every kafir is a mushrik. This is because the kafir may be one who denies the existence of the Lord, Glorified and Exalted is He. Sometimes a person performs an act, such as standing in prayer or a voluntary prayer, and it is sincere for His noble Face. But if it is said of him that he is one who fasts and prays a lot, and he loves that, and loves to be mentioned with good, is this shirk? If this person makes his work sincere for Allah and does not seek the people, but the people praise him without his intending that, then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about this and said: "That is the immediate reward of the believer." It is good for a person to be mentioned with good and praised with good, but on the condition that he does not intend it; he intends the Face of Allah, the Face of Allah. And if the people praise him and he does not accept this and does not rejoice in it, there is no harm in that, because he did not accept it. Rather, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Make me a message to others," meaning that it is good for a person to be praised for good, unlike being praised for evil in his life and after his death. Good praise is fine, but on the condition that the person does not intend it in his worship.
Source
الفوزان -أشرطة- أسئلة وأجوبة من دروس التوحيد - الفوزان - أسئلة وأجوبة - 03 — archive.org (1:06:30)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.