The Difference Between Shirk, Kufr, and Nifaq
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
This questioner says: Do shirk, kufr, and nifaq have the same meaning, or are they like Islam and iman, where if they come together they differ, and if they differ they come together?
The Shaykh:
What is shirk?
The questioner:
Or are shirk, kufr, and nifaq...?
The Shaykh:
Shirk is worshipping Allah and worshipping others alongside Him; this is shirk. As for kufr, it is disbelief in Allah; one does not worship Allah, he disbelieves in Allah, he worships other than Allah and idols and does not worship Allah; this is a disbeliever. So there is a difference between shirk and kufr; between them is a relationship of absolute generality and specificity. Every mushrik is a disbeliever, but not every disbeliever is a mushrik. Yes, one may be an atheist who does not believe in Allah at all, whereas the mushrik believes in Allah but associates partners with Him[Yusuf 12:106]. As for the disbeliever, he denies the existence of Allah, he denies the existence of the Creator, saying that the matter belongs to nature and there is no Creator. Glorified is Allah from what they say. This is possible in the mind: that there could be creation without a Creator, or action without an actor, as he says. Is that reasonable? Yes. And nifaq is... [At-Tur 52:35-36] Yes.
The questioner:
And nifaq.
The Shaykh:
Nifaq is displaying Islam and concealing kufr. This is the major, creedal nifaq. As for the minor nifaq, it comes from some believers; one may have lying, he lies, he has, meaning...Sunan an-Nasa'i 5021Sahih (Darussalam) and if he quarrels, he acts treacherously. These are among the characteristics of the hypocrites, but the one who has them is not a pure hypocrite; he has a characteristic of nifaq. He is a believer, a believer with a characteristic of nifaq until he abandons it. Yes.
The questioner:
He says in his question: Are shirk, kufr, and nifaq like Islam and iman, where if they come together they differ, and if they differ they come together?
The Shaykh:
No, what does that answer? They are contradictory. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
This questioner says: Do shirk, kufr, and nifaq have the same meaning, or are they like Islam and iman, where if they come together they differ, and if they differ they come together?
The Shaykh:
What is shirk?
The questioner:
Or are shirk, kufr, and nifaq...?
The Shaykh:
Shirk is worshipping Allah and worshipping others alongside Him; this is shirk. As for kufr, it is disbelief in Allah; one does not worship Allah, he disbelieves in Allah, he worships other than Allah and idols and does not worship Allah; this is a disbeliever. So there is a difference between shirk and kufr; between them is a relationship of absolute generality and specificity. Every mushrik is a disbeliever, but not every disbeliever is a mushrik. Yes, one may be an atheist who does not believe in Allah at all, whereas the mushrik believes in Allah but associates partners with Him
And most of them believe not in Allah except while they associate others with Him.
وَمَا يُؤْمِنُ أَكْثَرُهُم بِاللَّهِ إِلَّا وَهُم مُّشْرِكُونَ(35) Or were they created by nothing, or were they the creators [of themselves]? (36) Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Rather, they are not certain.
أَمْ خُلِقُوا مِنْ غَيْرِ شَيْءٍ أَمْ هُمُ الْخَالِقُونَ أَمْ خَلَقُوا السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ بَل لَّا يُوقِنُونَThe questioner:
And nifaq.
The Shaykh:
Nifaq is displaying Islam and concealing kufr. This is the major, creedal nifaq. As for the minor nifaq, it comes from some believers; one may have lying, he lies, he has, meaning...
When he speaks, he lies; when he makes a promise he breaks it; and when he is entrusted with something, he betrays (that trust).
إذا حدث كذب وإذا وعد أخلف وإذا تمن خانThe questioner:
He says in his question: Are shirk, kufr, and nifaq like Islam and iman, where if they come together they differ, and if they differ they come together?
The Shaykh:
No, what does that answer? They are contradictory. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
Source
وجوب الأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر، بداية من قول المُصَنِّف : وفي صحيح مسلم عن عبد الله بن مسعود - رضي الله عنه - — islamhouse.com (1:02:07)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.