What is the criterion for determining whether a matter is major shirk or minor shirk?
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The questioner : O Shaykh, may Allah reward you: Shaykh al-Islam said: Whoever directs any part of worship to other than Allah is a disbeliever. For example: seeking religious knowledge for other than the sake of Allah. When do we say that it is shirk? I mean, the intent of the question is: What is the criterion for knowing whether a matter is major shirk or minor shirk? Is it by induction?
The Shaykh : First, do you know what acts of worship are?
You will say: Yes, I know the acts of worship, such as prayer, vows, and slaughter, and the like. If you do this to draw near and seek closeness to a human being, then it is major shirk. And if you do it for Allah, but so that the human being sees you and praises you, then it is showing off (riya'), and it is minor shirk.
Seeking knowledge for other than Allah: if the knowledge is of a type that is not sought for the sake of Allah, such as worldly knowledge like mathematics, geometry, and physics, and the like, then there is no blame on the person for intending the world with it, because one does not draw near to Allah with it. But if it is knowledge of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), tafsir (Qur'anic exegesis), hadith, and the like, then it is not permissible to seek with it any worldly display. However, it does not become shirk, even if a person seeks knowledge in order to obtain a job, for example; it does not become the shirk that takes one out of the religion. But it is said to him: You are in error, seek knowledge for Allah the Exalted. Is that clear?
The questioner : Clear.
The Shaykh : First, do you know what acts of worship are?
You will say: Yes, I know the acts of worship, such as prayer, vows, and slaughter, and the like. If you do this to draw near and seek closeness to a human being, then it is major shirk. And if you do it for Allah, but so that the human being sees you and praises you, then it is showing off (riya'), and it is minor shirk.
Seeking knowledge for other than Allah: if the knowledge is of a type that is not sought for the sake of Allah, such as worldly knowledge like mathematics, geometry, and physics, and the like, then there is no blame on the person for intending the world with it, because one does not draw near to Allah with it. But if it is knowledge of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), tafsir (Qur'anic exegesis), hadith, and the like, then it is not permissible to seek with it any worldly display. However, it does not become shirk, even if a person seeks knowledge in order to obtain a job, for example; it does not become the shirk that takes one out of the religion. But it is said to him: You are in error, seek knowledge for Allah the Exalted. Is that clear?
The questioner : Clear.