Understanding Shirk Correctly and Clearing Misconceptions in the Muslim Community
By Sahil Razvi, New Age Islam
23 February 2026
This article clarifies widespread misconceptions about shirk in Muslim society. It explains the difference between sinful acts and shirk, highlights scholarly definitions, and argues that ordinary Muslims are wrongly labelled mushrik despite firmly believing that only Allah is the Creator and worthy of worship.
Main points:
· Not every act resembling sajdah (prostration) amounts to shirk.
· Sajdah of worship is shirk; sajdah of respect is haram but not shirk.
· Seeking help or recommendation in worldly matters is not shirk.
· Visiting shrines or placing chadar requires proper understanding of Islamic rulings.
· Shirk specifically relates to believing someone besides Allah is Creator, Necessary Being, or worthy of worship.
In our Muslim society, there is still a serious misunderstanding regarding the grave sin of shirk. Not only common people, but even educated individuals are unable to understand it properly. When it comes to ordinary Muslims, such people immediately issue a fatwa of shirk against them. For example, you're going to a dargah, you're slightly bowing while greeting someone, you're kissing the hand of an elder, and the matter has reached such an extreme that if you seek someone’s recommendation for any of your work, some people even consider that to be shirk. In today’s article, I will write about all these issues.
Generally, when a Muslim goes to a shrine (Dargah) and, out of respect, kisses the chadar there or bends down to kiss the ground, his intention is absolutely not that of sajdah. However, a person standing at a distance sees him and assumes that he is performing sajdah and has committed shirk, whereas this is absolutely not the case. Firstly, he was not performing sajdah. Secondly, even if he did perform sajdah, it would still not necessarily be shirk. How? Let me explain.
For example, if he kissed the ground of that shrine out of respect, then that act is impermissible and haram; it is a major sin. One should not act in such a manner that if another person sees him, it appears as though he is performing sajdah. Doing so is prohibited and sinful. On this issue, what do the scholars of truth write?
The fuqaha of Islam, while describing the etiquettes of presenting oneself before Rabbani scholars and elders of the religion, have clearly written that when presenting oneself in their presence, one should not kiss the ground. Although this is not an actual sajdah, outwardly (suratan) it resembles sajdah and idol worship; therefore, it is haram. Please note carefully, it is written as haram, not shirk.
“Just as some ignorant people kiss the ground before scholars and great personalities, this is haram, and both the doer and the one who is pleased with it are sinful, because it resembles idol worship.”
(Tanwir al-Absar ma‘a Durr al-Mukhtar, Vol. 9, p. 632)
Imam-e-Ahle Sunnat, Imam Ahmad Raza Khan writes:
“Kissing the ground (zamin bosi) is not actually a sajdah in reality, because in sajdah it is necessary to place the forehead on the ground. When this act has become haram and resembling idol-worship only because apparently (suratan) it is close to sajdah, then actual sajdah itself, how extremely haram it will be and how perfectly it will resemble complete idol-worship! And we seek refuge in Allah Ta'ala from that.”
(Fatawa Razawiyya, Vol. 22, p. 471)
Now some naïve people consider only sajdah itself to be shirk. My question to them is: when Allah commanded the angels to prostrate before Hazrat Adam (AS), did Allah (ma‘az Allah) command the angels to commit shirk? Certainly not! Rather, that sajdah of reverence was permissible in the earlier Shari‘ah, but later the final Prophet Muhammadur Rasulullah (AS) clearly prohibited even that. This means that merely performing sajdah does not automatically become shirk.
So when does shirk occur? Let us understand this as well. Shirk occurs when a person performs sajdah with the belief and intention that the one before him is God, the Creator, the absolute Master. If someone performs sajdah to a created being or a shrine with such belief and conviction, then that is shirk, which is a grave sin. However, if those simple and ignorant people at shrines are mistakenly performing sajdah of reverence, ask them whether they are doing it believing the saint to be God. Their answer will be no, because no Muslim would ever do that.
On this issue, Imam Ahmad Raza Khan writes:
“The prostration of worship (like bowing the head or bending to the extent of ruku‘) to anyone other than Allah is shirk. And the prostration done out of respect (ta‘zeem), whether to shrines (mazaars), to a Pir, or to anyone else, is haram.”
(Fatawa Razawiyya, Vol. 22, p. 426)
From here it becomes clear that merely performing sajdah is not shirk.
Imame Ahle Sunnat, Imam Ahmad Raza Khan further writes very clearly about kissing the ground in front of mazaars at several places:
“Prostrating to shrines or kissing the ground in front of them is haram, and bowing to the extent of ruku‘ is prohibited.”
When presenting oneself at the blessed court of the Noble Prophet Muhammad (AS), one should neither touch the wall with hands, nor kiss it, nor cling to it, nor perform tawaf around it, nor bow down, nor kiss the ground, because all of these are ugly innovations (bid‘aat-e-qabeeha) and not praiseworthy.
(Fatawa Razawiyya, Vol. 22, p. 474, Raza Foundation, Lahore)
Now, when kissing the ground in front of mazaars is haram because it resembles sajdah and apparently is itself a form of sajdah, then standing in front of a mazaar, placing both hands on the face in the proper posture of sajdah, and remaining in that position for a long time while making dua, this is undoubtedly worse and more severe than merely kissing the ground. Therefore, by greater precaution and priority, it is even more strictly forbidden and haram.
This was about sajdah. Now let us talk about the chadar at mazaars. Many people pile up numerous chadars at shrines with the intention of reward. Regarding this, scholars write:
“If a chadar is already present on the grave, is not worn out, and does not need replacement, then placing another chadar is unnecessary. Rather, the money spent on it should be given to a needy person with the intention of conveying reward (isaal-e-sawab) to the Wali of Allah.”
(Ahkam-e-Shariat, Part 1, p. 42 – Dr. Faiz Ahmad Chishti)
There are serious misconceptions among the public regarding the shrines of the Awliya. My roommate told me that near his workplace there is a mosque, and nearby there is also a shrine. He does not offer prayer there. When I asked him why, he said that if he prays there, it will become shirk. Common Muslims are unaware of these matters. The theories constructed by Wahhabi scholars are being presented as absolute truths.
Now coming to seeking recommendation (sifarish). A few days ago, Dr. Ziya Us Salam, an author, was speaking at the launch of his book A Minute a Day: Energizers and Admonitions from the Qur’an. While speaking about reliance upon Allah, he said that when we try to get someone a job or admission through recommendation or “source,” are we not committing shirk? According to this logic, a large population of Muslims would already be mushrik, because in daily life we all seek someone’s help for our needs. By that reasoning, all of them would have to recite the kalimah again. Ma‘az Allah!
It appears to me that the greatest effort in imposing the label of shirk upon common Muslims has been carried out by the Pakistani Islamic scholar Israr Ahmed and Wahhabi circles. If you watch his clips, you will find him declaring shirk even on small matters. It is evident how deeply influenced he was by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. In his writings, he considers him a reformer who removed innovative and un-Islamic elements (Dargahs) from Arabian society.
At another place, Dr. Israr says that if a Muslim leaves salah, it is as if he commits shirk because he preferred his nafs over Allah’s command. Now the question arises: millions of Muslims do not pray regularly, will all of them be declared mushrik? Absolutely not! Yes, leaving prayer is a major sin and one will be accountable for it on the Day of Judgment, but it is not shirk.
Now the question arises: what exactly is shirk and how many types does it have?
According to Sharh al-‘Aqaid (p. 61), to believe someone besides Allah to be wajib al-wujud, or to consider someone other than Allah worthy of worship, is shirk.
Hazrat Shaikh Muhaddith Abdul Haq Dehlvi writes in Ash‘at al-Lam‘at (Vol. 1, p. 72) that shirk is of three types:
To consider someone besides Allah as wajib al-wujud, To believe someone besides Allah to be the Creator and to consider someone besides Allah worthy of worship.
After reading these three definitions, it becomes clear that Muslims are not involved in any of these forms of shirk. Ask even the most ignorant Muslim, and he will say that worship is only for Allah, that Allah created the world, and that Allah has always existed and will always remain.
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