A summary of the concepts held by the Ahl al-Sunnah.
Shirk (associating partners with Allah) is the greatest form of injustice.
Allah the Exalted says:
“And (remember) when Luqman said unto his son, when he was exhorting him: O my dear son! Ascribe no partners unto Allah. Lo! to ascribe partners (unto Him) is a tremendous wrong -” (31:13)
It is narrated from ‘Abdullah Ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said:
I asked, "O Messenger of Allah,
which sin is the greatest?"
He replied:
"That you set up a rival to Allah,
even though He created you."
This is a matter upon which there is consensus.
Shirk is the greatest injustice,
because it is the placement of worship
in a context other than that for which it was intended.
It is the diverting of worship, or any part of it,
away from Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,
the Creator and Disposer of all affairs,
the Lord of the worlds and their Provider,
who alone is deserving
of all acts of worship,
and directing it toward a weak created being
who possesses no power for himself
to bring about benefit or harm,
nor power over death or life.
The essence of shirk
is the belittling of the Lord of the worlds, glory be to Him,
the diverting of His exclusive right to others,
and the equating of others with Him.
As the Exalted says:
"All praise is due to Allah,
who created the heavens
and the earth,
and fashioned the darkness and the light;
yet those who disbelieve
equate others with their Lord."
It is therefore contradictory to the purpose
of creation and divine command,
and is in total opposition to it in every respect.
This represents the ultimate defiance
against the Lord of the worlds,
arrogance against His obedience,
and a rejection of submission to His commands,
without which there is no well-being for the world
whatsoever.
A summary of the concepts
of the Ahl al-Sunnah.