Shirk in the Worship of Allah (Eebaadah)
This category of shirk has two aspects:
(i) - Major Shirk (Shirk-al-Akbar)- As Muslims weshould believe that all forms of worship should be for Allah alone. Those people who physically direct their worship at other's than Allah, commit this major shirk. By doing this action, mankind commits the greatest act of rebellion and places himself at the doors of eternal hellfire.
Worship in Christianity is usually devoid of God's name, and Christians often bow down in front of statues of Christ, Mary and many other saints of Christendom. The Muslims have also fallen foul to this evil. Thousands, if not millions, of ignorant Muslims make pilgrimages to the graves of saints and holy men. At the graves they perform acts which clearly violate the principles of Tawheed. They perform prayers (literally!) at the graveside, they sacrifice in the name of the dead saint and they make tawwaaf (circumambulation) of the grave. Many of them even ask the dead saints to grant them children and to forgive them of their sins! All this contradicts the statement of Allah when he commands us to:
"Say; Truly my prayer, my sacrifice, my life and my death are all for Allah, Lord of the worlds" (Surah Al-An'aam 6:162)
Major shirk is rampant amongst the world's population and is ultimately the obstacle to our salvation.
(ii)- Minor Shirk (Shirk-e-Asghar) - "Mahmood bin Lubayd reported that Allah's Messenger (saws) said: 'The thing that I fear for you the most is minor shirk'. The companions asked: 'O' Messenger of Allah, what is minor shirk?' He replied: 'Showing off (ar-riya), for verily Allah will say on the day of resurrection when people are receiving their rewards, 'Go to those whom you were showing off too in the world and see if you can find any reward from them'" [7].
When doing righteous deeds our intentions should be to please the one who sustains and keeps us alive. It should not be to please those who have done nothing in comparison to what the Creator has done. Showing off has become a disease amongst humans, and tears away at any sincerity which may be present inside a person. Thus Islam is probably the only way of life which regulates this minor action, and places its danger in a proper context.
To know of the dangers of shirk should be of primary importance. Whether we are Muslim or not, we should realize that it is the crime of shirk which has led to the destruction of our world. By taking man away from the worship of Allah, it has led him to the worship of other men, leading to oppression and tyranny. By confining man to the narrowness of this world, it will deny him the vastness of the hereafter, which leads to justice and success. Therefore surely . . . . shirk is the ultimate crime.
Footnotes
1 Jinn's are another part of Allah's creation. They were created from smokeless fire and are (like man) required to worship Allah.
2 The Jewish people were granted many favors by Allah. But this favoritism resulted in them becoming arrogant, and the favors of Allah were taken away from them.