The short answer
Tawheed means believing and affirming that Allah is One: one in His essence, with no partner; one in His attributes, with nothing like Him; one in His actions, the only Creator and Lord; and the only one who deserves worship. Shirk is associating anyone or anything with Allah in what belongs to Him alone, above all in worship. It is the one sin Allah does not forgive if a person dies upon it (4:48). Kufr is disbelief: rejecting Allah, His messenger or what is known for certain to have come from him.
قُلْ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ ﴿١﴾ ٱللَّهُ ٱلصَّمَدُ ﴿٢﴾ لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ ﴿٣﴾ وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُۥ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌۢ ﴿٤﴾
Qul huwal laahu ahad Allah hus-samad Lam yalid wa lam yoolad Wa lam yakul-lahu kufuwan ahad
(1) Say, "He is Allah, [who is] One, (2) Allah, the Eternal Refuge. (3) He neither begets nor is born, (4) Nor is there to Him any equivalent."
Quran 112:1-4 · Sahih International · Read in Surah Al-Ikhlas
What tawheed means
The word comes from wahhada, to make one or to declare one. It is the message of every prophet: "And We sent not before you any messenger except that We revealed to him that, 'There is no deity except Me, so worship Me'" (21:25). The first half of the shahadah, la ilaha illallah, is tawheed in a sentence: it denies every false god and affirms Allah alone.
فَاطِرُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ جَعَلَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَٰجًۭا وَمِنَ ٱلْأَنْعَٰمِ أَزْوَٰجًۭا ۖ يَذْرَؤُكُمْ فِيهِ ۚ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِۦ شَىْءٌۭ ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْبَصِيرُ ﴿١١﴾
Faatirus samaawaati wal ard; ja'ala lakum min anfusikum azwaajanw wa minal an'aami azwaajany yazra'ukum feeh; laisa kamislihee shai'unw wa Huwas Samee'ul Baseer
[He is] Creator of the heavens and the earth. He has made for you from yourselves, mates, and among the cattle, mates; He multiplies you thereby. There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.
Quran 42:11 · Sahih International · Read in Surah Ash-Shura
How the Hanafi creed texts explain it
Al-Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah, written by the Hanafi scholar Abu Jafar al-Tahawi to set out the creed of Abu Hanifa and his two students, opens with tawheed: Allah is One, without partner; nothing is like Him; nothing can overpower Him; and there is no god other than Him. The Hanafi and Maturidi scholars explain this as Allah's oneness in His essence (dhat), His attributes (sifat) and His actions (afal), so that He alone is worshipped. Al-Fiqh al-Akbar, attributed to Abu Hanifa, affirms His names and attributes as He described Himself, "not like anything", with no likeness to creation.
The three categories
Many teachers today, especially those following Ibn Taymiyyah and the Hanbali scholars, divide tawheed into three:
- Tawhid al-Rububiyyah, His Lordship: Allah alone creates, owns, provides and controls everything. The idol worshippers of Makkah accepted this much: "If you asked them who created the heavens and the earth, they would surely say, Allah" (39:38).
- Tawhid al-Uluhiyyah, His right to worship: all worship, dua, sacrifice, vows, reliance and fear in worship, is for Allah alone. This is what the prophets called their people to.
- Tawhid al-Asma wa al-Sifat, His names and attributes: affirming the names and attributes Allah gave Himself, without distorting them, denying them, likening them to creation or asking how.
Both ways of teaching describe the same belief. One explains what Allah's oneness covers, the other sorts it by what it demands of us. A student may meet either in books and classes.
لَوْ كَانَ فِيهِمَآ ءَالِهَةٌ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ لَفَسَدَتَا ۚ فَسُبْحَٰنَ ٱللَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَرْشِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ ﴿٢٢﴾
Law kaana feehimaaa aalihatun illal laahu lafasadataa; fa-Subhaanal laahi Rabbil 'Arshi 'ammaa yasifoon
Had there been within the heavens and earth gods besides Allah, they both would have been ruined. So exalted is Allah, Lord of the Throne, above what they describe.
Quran 21:22 · Sahih International · Read in Surah Al-Anbiya
What shirk means, and its types
Shirk means sharing: giving a share of what belongs only to Allah to someone else. Luqman told his son: "O my son, do not associate [anything] with Allah. Indeed, association [with him] is great injustice" (31:13). The Prophet ﷺ was asked which sin is greatest, and said:
أَنْ تَجْعَلَ لِلَّهِ نِدًّا وَهُوَ خَلَقَكَ
"That you set up a rival to Allah, while He created you."
Sahih al-Bukhari 4477; Sahih Muslim 86, from Ibn Masud
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِۦ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَن يَشَآءُ ۚ وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِٱللَّهِ فَقَدِ ٱفْتَرَىٰٓ إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا ﴿٤٨﴾
Innal laaha laa yaghfiru ai yushraka bihee wa yaghfiru maa doona zaalika limai yashaaa'; wa mai yushrik billaahi faqadif taraaa isman 'azeemaa
Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And he who associates others with Allah has certainly fabricated a tremendous sin.
Quran 4:48 · Sahih International · Read in Surah An-Nisa
Major shirk (shirk akbar)
Worshipping anyone or anything besides Allah or alongside Him: praying to them, prostrating to them, sacrificing or making vows to them, calling on them for what only Allah can do, or believing that anyone shares His power to create and control. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Dua is worship".1 Major shirk takes a person out of Islam and cancels deeds: "If you should associate [anything] with Allah, your work would surely become worthless" (39:65).
Minor shirk (shirk asghar)
Acts the Prophet ﷺ called shirk that do not take a person out of Islam, but are among the gravest sins:
- Showing off (riya). "The thing I fear most for you is minor shirk." They asked what it was, and he said: "Showing off".2 Doing good deeds to be seen and praised.
- Swearing by other than Allah. "Whoever swears by other than Allah has committed kufr or shirk".3
- Words that put someone level with Allah, such as "what Allah wills and you will". The Prophet ﷺ taught to say instead: "What Allah wills, then what you will".4
Scholars also speak of hidden shirk: small leanings of the heart toward people's praise. The cure is sincerity, private good deeds, and the dua the Prophet ﷺ taught for seeking refuge from shirk that we know and asking forgiveness for what we do not know.
What kufr means, and its types
Kufr literally means covering. A farmer is called kafir in Arabic because he covers the seed with soil (57:20). In belief it means covering or rejecting the truth after it has come. It also means ingratitude: "If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe" (14:7), where "deny" is kafartum.
Major kufr
In the Hanafi creed and fiqh books, kufr is denying (juhud) anything the Messenger ﷺ is known with certainty to have brought, such as the oneness of Allah, the prophethood of Muhammad ﷺ, the obligation of the five prayers, or the Last Day. Iman is affirming all of it, so rejecting any of it with knowledge is kufr.
Other madhhabs
- Wider scholarly usage
- Scholars such as Ibn al-Qayyim list the forms major kufr can take: denial (takdhib), arrogance and refusal (istikbar), as with Iblis (2:34), doubt (shakk), turning away entirely (iraad), and hypocrisy (nifaq), outward Islam with inner disbelief.
Minor kufr
Some sins are called kufr in the hadith without taking a person out of Islam, meaning a kufr of ingratitude or a deed of the disbelievers. "Insulting a Muslim is wickedness, and fighting him is kufr".5 The Prophet ﷺ also spoke of women's ingratitude to their husbands as a kind of kufr, and explained it as being ungrateful for kindness, not disbelief in Allah.6
Hypocrisy (nifaq)
Major hypocrisy is hiding disbelief behind outward Islam (2:8-10). Minor hypocrisy is taking on the traits of hypocrites: "The signs of a hypocrite are three: when he speaks he lies, when he promises he breaks it, and when he is trusted he betrays".7
A warning about calling people kafir
"If a man says to his brother, 'O kafir', then it returns to one of them."
Sahih al-Bukhari 6104; Sahih Muslim 60, from Ibn Umar
Al-Tahawi wrote: "We do not declare anyone of the people of the qibla a disbeliever because of a sin, as long as he does not hold it to be lawful." Hanafi jurists, among them Ibn Nujaym and Ibn Abidin, taught that if a Muslim's words can be read in many ways that mean kufr and in one way that does not, the mufti must take the one that does not. Judging that a particular person has left Islam is for qualified scholars and courts, never for individuals.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i, Maliki, Hanbali
- Agree that a Muslim is not declared a disbeliever for committing sins, and that judging a specific person requires that the conditions are met and the preventers, such as ignorance, error, compulsion or a plausible interpretation, are absent.
Learning the meanings of shirk and kufr is for guarding our own faith and calling to the good with wisdom, not for judging others.
The door of repentance is open
Allah forgives every sin, shirk included, for whoever repents before death. "Say, 'O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins'" (39:53). The verse that shirk is not forgiven (4:48) is about the one who dies on it. Many of the greatest companions had worshipped idols before Islam.
Questions
What is tawheed in simple words?
Believing that Allah is One, with no partner, nothing like Him, the only Creator and Lord, and the only one who deserves worship.
What are the types of tawheed?
Hanafi creed texts explain Allah's oneness in His essence, attributes and actions. Many teachers today use three categories: Lordship (Rububiyyah), worship (Uluhiyyah), and names and attributes (Asma wa Sifat). Both describe the same belief.
What is the difference between shirk and kufr?
Shirk is associating others with Allah. Kufr is the wider word for disbelief, rejecting the truth. All major shirk is kufr, but not all kufr is shirk: denying the Last Day is kufr even without worshipping another god.
Is showing off a kind of shirk?
Yes. The Prophet ﷺ called riya, doing deeds to be seen, "minor shirk" and said it was what he feared most for his followers (Musnad Ahmad, graded hasan).
Can shirk be forgiven?
Yes, if a person repents before death. Allah forgives all sins for those who repent (39:53). Shirk is not forgiven for one who dies upon it (4:48).
What does kafir mean?
Literally, one who covers. In belief, one who rejects Allah, His messenger or what is known for certain to have come from him.
Sources
- Jami at-Tirmidhi 2969, graded hasan sahih; Sunan Abi Dawud 1479.
- Musnad Ahmad, from Mahmud ibn Labid, graded hasan.
- Jami at-Tirmidhi 1535, from Ibn Umar, graded hasan.
- Sunan Abi Dawud, from Hudhayfah, graded sahih.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 48; Sahih Muslim 64.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 29.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 33; Sahih Muslim 59.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 4477; Sahih Muslim 86. Sahih al-Bukhari 6104; Sahih Muslim 60.
- Al-Tahawi, al-Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah; al-Fiqh al-Akbar, attributed to Imam Abu Hanifa.
- Ibn Nujaym, al-Bahr al-Raiq, and Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar, chapter on apostasy (bab al-murtadd). Ibn al-Qayyim, Madarij al-Salikin, on the types of kufr.
- Quran translation: Sahih International.
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.