Literally, shirk means to allocate; technically, in Quranic terminology, shirk – in contrast to hanif – signifies the process of allocating someone/thing as the Almighty Allah’s partner or equal. Hanif means being inclined towards righteousness and moderation; hence, the term has been coined onto those who have disassociated themselves from shirk, abiding by pure tawhid.

            Shirk may be broadly classified into (a) shirk relating to beliefs (‘doctrinal’ shirk) and (b) shirk relating to acts of worship/obedience (‘submissive’ shirk). Doctrinal shirk may be divided into:

(i)             ‘divine’ shirk: believing in an existent, other than Allah, who independently beholds all divine attributes

(ii)           ‘creationist’ shirk: believing that the universe has more than one origin and more than one independent creator

(iii)          ‘sovereign’ shirk: believing that the universe is managed by more than one independent Lord

Submissive shirk is categorized into overt and covert divisions. All divisions of shirk are deemed aberrant, before Allah, and are regarded as a great injustice to the Almighty.

            Today, one observes some sects abusing the concept of shirk in order to fault the beliefs of others; whenever they fall short of demonstrating proof, they accuse others of shirk. Such behaviour is entirely un-Islamic, immoral and improper. Nevertheless, Islamic scholars have, indeed, replied to all their deviating thoughts and accusing outbursts.