How do we reconcile his statement (peace and blessings be upon him), “By Allah, I do not fear that you will associate partners with Allah after me,” with his statement, “The greatest thing I fear for you is minor shirk”?

The questioner : How do we reconcile his statement (peace and blessings be upon him):

By Allah, I am not afraid that you will worship others besides Allah after me

والله ما أخاف عليكم أن تشركوا بعدي

with his statement:

The thing I fear most for you is the lesser shirk

أخوف ما أخاف عليكم الشرك الأصغر

?

The Shaykh : Yes, he is addressing specific people; otherwise, shirk would remain in this Ummah, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

You will follow the ways of those nations who were before you

لتتبعن سنن من كان قبلكم

But these specific people are the ones he addressed with this.

Source alathar.net

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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