Erasing the Accusation of Shirk

THE CURRENT DELUSION OF SHIRK
It was the increase of the use of this word (shirk) in our time that made me question what was the
actually meaning of this term that was being used so frequently. A friend of mine, a sister of
wisdom and kindness, went to visit another sister. They discussed many things as they had not
seen one another for a while, and they began to talk of food and particular recipes—a typical
topic for women! My friend told the sister of a dish that I had given to her a few days back—her
exact words were: “Umm Ammar gave me such and such dish which I really enjoyed.” Upon
hearing the sister frantically stood up, clearly outraged. My friend asked her what was wrong and
she replied that the statement she made was shirk: as she was saying someone other than Allah
had given her something—or provided her with food. My friend was shocked and deeply
saddened by what this sister had just said. She explained that this was not her intention and it was
a matter of mere words—of course Allah is the sole provider she further explained, but the sister
did not want to hear of it and accused her of becoming a polytheist. My friend left her house in a
sate of confusion and shock. Later when my friend told me of this incident I did not know if I
should have laughed or cried. I could not understand how she could come up with such an absurd
idea! Sadly, this is the reality that we are currently faced with: a nation crying shirk! I am deeply
appalled that Muslims have become so accustomed to saying the word shirk without
understanding the weight of its meaning. It is one thing to merely use this word but another to
accuse a Muslim committing shirk. SubhanAllah! What a sad state indeed.
Another similar example occurred when a young girl recently approached me. I was aware that
she had been learning how to read the Qur’an from another sister who had studied from one
particular institute in Islamabad (Pakistan). The young girl told me that she was talking amongst
her friends in her Qur’an class about some new Nike trainers she had brought. She told her
friends that she loved her new Nike trainers very much. When her teacher heard this she gave a
similar reaction that my friend received from the other sister. The teacher stopped her entire class
and explained that the statement the young girl had made was a statement of shirk! She spoke
angrily as she explained that to love other than Allah was shirk—particularly the love of shoes!
The young girl explained to me that she was so upset at the embarrassment her teacher caused but
knew in her heart not to bother protest to such stupidity!
These are just two examples of the misuse of the word shirk that have happened to people I
know. I am both saddened and amused by the ignorance and the delusion about shirk which
people have. This reminds me of a story I read during my youth: There was a prince who fell ill
with the flu. The doctor requested an explanation to the patient as to how he thought he had
caught the flu. The prince explained that he was riding on his horse and his horse galloped upon a
radish peel and it must have been for this reason he caught a cold and then the flu. The doctor
laughed at his ignorant presumption. It is this similar ignorant presumption of shirk that certain
people have, which is causing them to accuse their own friends, families and students of shirk.
INTIMIDATING OTHERS
Something else which I have found in the people who are deluded with the idea of shirk is that
they often intimidate other people: they use loud voices and claim to have ample proof from the
Qur’an. They take the verses of the Qur’an out of context and recite verse after verse to sincere
people on the path of knowledge. When one sees such “knowledge” and “passion” we do not dare
to argue. I have recently seen famous Muslim sportsmen, ex-Singers, and doctors, being
brainwashed with this same delusion of shirk. Such personalities also intimidate and influence
others, forcing them to accept and join the club of the “Shirk Brigade!” An example of these
intimidating people is when I was invited to give a speech amongst some sisters, one of the sisters
was filming the event. As she was filming another sister stood up (she was a doctor at the local
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