| The antonym
of Tawhid is Polytheism. Polytheism or Shirk means to consider anyone god other
than the true God. It is the most heinous and unforgivable crime. Imam Jafar as-Sadiq
(as) has said : Among all sins, Shirk is the most sinful act. Kinds
of Shirk or Polytheism. 
There
are many kinds of Shirks, but the Holy Prophet (sws) has classified them into
two main categories, which are as follows. - Shirk-e-Akbar.
( Major Shirk - Open and apparent Shirk )
- Shirk-e-Asghar.
( Minor Shirk - Concealed or hidden Shirk )
SHIRK-E-AKBAR
OR MAJOR SHIRK. [OPEN SHIRK] Major Shirk or Shirk-e-Akbar
means explicitly open polytheism. Definition of Major
Shirk. Major Shirk is of two kinds. -
To associate anyone with Allah Taala as His part.
-
To associate Allah’s attributes to someone as his own.
Associating
Allah with someone or something as His part means, to believe in more than one
God. i.e., two, three, and many separate gods or two, three, or many inseparable
gods. In general, a person is said to have committed
a major Shirk if: - He believes in many gods, separate
or inseparable.
- He associates anyone in anyway with
God as a part of Him.
- He portrays anyone in anyway
possessing supernatural powers like God.
- He portrays
or characterizes any Prophet or Imam or a leader as God or like God or a part
of God.
All such people are known as polytheists or mushriks. It is important
to know more about all kinds of Shirk in order to refrain from them completely.
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