Is every disbeliever a mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah), and is every mushrik a disbeliever?
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Question : Is every one who disbelieves in Allah a mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah), and is every one who associates partners with Allah a disbeliever in Allah? Because it is difficult for me to understand the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Kahf 18:37-38], because the verse indicates that this man disbelieved in Allah and associated partners with Allah.
Answer : First, it must be known that disbelief does not necessarily mean that a person is a mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah). For example, one who insults the Qur'an has not associated partners with Allah, yet he is a disbeliever. And one who denies the message of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) is a disbeliever, but not a mushrik. As for the mushrik, he is a disbeliever, but his disbelief may be major kufr (disbelief) if he committed major shirk (associating partners with Allah), or it may be less than that if he committed minor shirk (associating partners with Allah). As for the verse, it contains evidence that the term kufr (disbelief) is applied to shirk (associating partners with Allah), and the term shirk is applied to kufr.
Have you disbelieved in He who created you from dust and then from a sperm-drop and then proportioned you [as] a man? (38) But as for me, He is Allah, my Lord, and I do not associate with my Lord anyone.
أَكَفَرْتَ بِالَّذِي خَلَقَكَ مِن تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ مِن نُّطْفَةٍ ثُمَّ سَوَّاكَ رَجُلًا لَّٰكِنَّا هُوَ اللَّهُ رَبِّي وَلَا أُشْرِكُ بِرَبِّي أَحَدًاAnswer : First, it must be known that disbelief does not necessarily mean that a person is a mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah). For example, one who insults the Qur'an has not associated partners with Allah, yet he is a disbeliever. And one who denies the message of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) is a disbeliever, but not a mushrik. As for the mushrik, he is a disbeliever, but his disbelief may be major kufr (disbelief) if he committed major shirk (associating partners with Allah), or it may be less than that if he committed minor shirk (associating partners with Allah). As for the verse, it contains evidence that the term kufr (disbelief) is applied to shirk (associating partners with Allah), and the term shirk is applied to kufr.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 214 - 332 هل كل كافر مشرك وكل مشرك كافر؟ الفتاوى الثلاثية - ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.