Is one excused for doing something of shirk (associating partners with Allah) out of ignorance?

Question:
Is a Muslim excused if he does something of shirk (associating partners with Allah)—such as slaughtering for other than Allah or begging—while ignorant?

Answer:
Matters are of two types:
A type in which one is excused for ignorance, and a type in which one is not excused for ignorance:
So if a person is among the Muslims and he commits shirk (associating partners with Allah) by worshipping other than Allah, is he excused? No, because he is negligent; he did not ask, he did not look into it, and he did not ask about his religion, so he is not excused. The one who worships other than Allah—whether the dead, trees, stones, or idols—is not excused among the Muslims, because this is the foundation of the religion and the basis of the faith. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sought permission from his Lord to seek forgiveness for his mother—and she died in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance—he was not given permission to seek forgiveness for her. She died in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, and he said: ; because she died upon shirk (associating partners with Allah) and the worship of other than Him, and she died upon that, upon the religion of her people. So what about the one who is among the Muslims and worships al-Badawi, or worships al-Husayn, or worships Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani, or worships the Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), or worships Ibn Abbas, or worships Umar, or Ali, or al-Hasan, or al-Husayn—as the Rafidah (the Twelver Shi'ah) worship them—or others? These people are not excused, because they have committed major shirk (associating partners with Allah). In this world, their ruling is the ruling of disbelievers, and their affair is left to Allah in the Hereafter.
And there are matters that a person may be ignorant of in the branches of issues that may be confusing to him, or because he is in lands far from Islam, at the edges of the world, far from Islam. This person may be excused, and his ruling is the ruling of the people of the period of interruption (ahl al-fatrah). His affair is left to Allah on the Day of Resurrection, and he will be tested on the Day of Resurrection. He will be commanded, and if he responds, he will enter Paradise, and if he disobeys, he will enter the Fire.