The Criterion for Major and Minor Shirk
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Honorable Shaykh! What is the criterion for major shirk (associating partners with Allah), and what is the criterion for minor shirk? And are sins considered shirk, given that the person is predominantly driven by the love of desires and the love of sin rather than the love of Allah?
The criterion for major shirk is that it takes one out of the religion. This depends on the fact that if you find a report stating that something is shirk, you look to the principles of the Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law) in other texts. If it is of a kind that takes one out of the religion, it is major shirk; if it does not take one out, it is minor shirk.
Therefore, when texts come stating that something is shirk, we must refer this text back to the general principles of the Shari'ah. If the texts mention shirk, but according to the general principles of the Shari'ah it does not take one out of Islam, then it is minor shirk.Such as the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): (whoever swears by other than Allah has committed disbelief or associated partners with Allah).
As for considering all sins to be shirk, yes, in the general sense; because sins only issue from following one's desires, and Allah the Exalted has named the one who follows his desire as one who has taken it as a god.So he said: [al-Jathiyah: 23] So we have three things: the general framework, which is that every sin is a type of shirk; because it issues from following one's desires, and Allah the Exalted has made the one who takes his desire as a god one who has taken it as a god.
The second: When shirk is mentioned in a general sense, do we understand it as major shirk or minor shirk?We say: We look to the general principles in the Shari'ah. If it necessitates that one is outside of Islam, it is major; otherwise, it is not.
The criterion for major shirk is that it takes one out of the religion. This depends on the fact that if you find a report stating that something is shirk, you look to the principles of the Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law) in other texts. If it is of a kind that takes one out of the religion, it is major shirk; if it does not take one out, it is minor shirk.
Therefore, when texts come stating that something is shirk, we must refer this text back to the general principles of the Shari'ah. If the texts mention shirk, but according to the general principles of the Shari'ah it does not take one out of Islam, then it is minor shirk.Such as the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): (whoever swears by other than Allah has committed disbelief or associated partners with Allah).
As for considering all sins to be shirk, yes, in the general sense; because sins only issue from following one's desires, and Allah the Exalted has named the one who follows his desire as one who has taken it as a god.So he said:
Have you seen he who has taken as his god his [own] desire, and Allah has sent him astray due to knowledge and has set a seal upon his hearing and his heart and put over his vision a veil? So who will guide him after Allah
أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَاهُ وَأَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ وَخَتَمَ عَلَى سَمْعِهِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَجَعَلَ عَلَى بَصَرِهِ غِشَاوَةً فَمَنْ يَهْدِيهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ اللَّهِThe second: When shirk is mentioned in a general sense, do we understand it as major shirk or minor shirk?We say: We look to the general principles in the Shari'ah. If it necessitates that one is outside of Islam, it is major; otherwise, it is not.