What is the difference between saying: "This act is a means to shirk (associating partners with Allah)," and saying: "This act is minor shirk"?

Question:
Then, when we move from genealogies, he asks: What is the difference between their saying that this act is a means to shirk, and their saying that this act is minor shirk?

Answer:
"Means" means that it is not shirk in itself, but it is a path that leads to shirk. It is not shirk in itself, but it is a path that leads to shirk. For example, writing on a grave is not shirk, but it is a means to shirk, because when the writing is seen, the common people and others assume that the deceased has a status, so they call upon him, and thus it becomes a means to shirk.
Likewise, plastering graves and lighting lamps on graves are not shirk, but they are means to shirk. For example, the one who prays at the grave for Allah the Exalted, who prays the midday prayer for Allah, this is not shirk, but it is a means to shirk. Yes.