What the Prophet Feared Most for Us
Minor Shirk: The Hidden Danger of Impure Intentions in Worship
Summary
Sh. Ali Mashhour discusses the concept of minor shirk (polytheism/associating partners with Allah), which the Prophet Muhammad feared most for his Ummah. Minor shirk comprises acts of worship that are outwardly performed for Allah but are internally compromised by hidden intentions, making them deficient. Sh. Ali Mashhour explains that minor shirk is subtle and discreet, compared to the footsteps of ants on granite rock, and emphasizes that it does not invalidate Islam entirely but weakens one's faith. Two primary examples of minor shirk are presented: riya (showing off in worship when one feels observed) and self-praise or bragging about good deeds done in private. Sh. Ali Mashhour warns that both undermine the purity of intention required for worship and can retroactively invalidate good deeds, as Allah does not accept any deed done with mixed intentions or for gathering praise from people.
Note: This transcript was generated using YouTube's automatic captioning, with AI-assisted cleanup for readability. It may contain inaccuracies due to background noise, audio quality, or limitations of the transcription software — particularly during Arabic recitation. Listener discretion is advised; please refer to the original video for precise wording.
[Arabic recitation]
We would to discuss an aspect of the of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala which is most feared upon the Muslim. This is according to who? According to our prophet sallall.aii wasallam who speaks from revelation and that is that the prophet sallall.aii Wasallam himself says he said the thing I fear most over all of you is the minor type of shik. Now let's take a a moment here to appreciate this categorization. Our prophet sallallah.aii wasallam informs us of a category of shik. A shik what is a shik? A shik is the opposite of ifhed is the worship of Allah alone without any partners then a shik is anything that compromises tohit. This is referred to generally as shik. Anything that will compromise the worship of Allah alone without any partners is considered to be a type of ship. And this compromising it can be compromise the entirety of a person's meaning if a person does this they have completely compromised theirhed and their Islam is invalid or it compromises an aspect of their which means that their tohed is deficient lacking and incomplete when they meet Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You know what we had? Yeah, and so the prophet sallall.aii wasallam tells us of a category of shik which is minor shik. Now there's nothing minor about it other than the fact that it is only minor compared to its major counterpart. When we say minor shik it doesn't mean that it is something to thumb your nose at. Minor shik is shift and Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala generally says However, minor ship is only minor compared to major ship. Major ship is that which will invalidate the entirety of a person's Islam. Minor ship is that which will invalidate a portion of a person's and islam. And so when a person meets Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala without having repented from this, they will meet Allah with their being deficient, with their testimony of Allah being incomplete, with their fulfillment of the worship of Allah alone without any partners as being missing critical and crucial parts. And so this is one of the greatest of problems and tragedies and calamities that could afflict any of us. In the prophet tells us in the narration of Abbas and he says He says in my is more subtle and discreet, more unnoticeable than the footsteps of ants on granite rock. How loud and intrusive and sorous are the sounds of the foot footsteps of ants? Has any of us heard an ant? you know walking around, barging around in our house. No, of course not. But not on any material but on granite rock. Subhan Allah. This ship is more subtle, more nuanced, more hidden in this than the footsteps of ants on granite rocks. And so this is a warning from the prophet sallall.aii wasallam that we have to learn what these types of shirk are and then we have to steer clear of them. We have to put in an active effort to steer clear of them. So what is this type of minor shirk that the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam was so worried about over his the prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam. He tells us that the shirk that he fears over this ummah even more than even more than the than the false messiah that will come at the end of days claiming to be and leading people astray in droves. Wasam.
[Silence]
[Silence]
He narrates to us that the prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam said, "Shall I not inform you all of something that I fear over you even more than I fear the fitna of for you?" They said, "Of course, oh messenger of Allah." He said that subtle hidden shirk. A man will stand to pray and beautify and adorn his prayer and exaggerate his prayer because he feels or he senses that he is being watched by someone. This narration has been collected by Imam Ahmed. We refer to this as a which is that a person behave performatively in his worship of Allah in order to garner praise. So a person stands to make salah. They're by themselves. They're praying a certain way. But then they feel like someone is watching them. All of the sudden their salah becomes very righteous. our salah becomes super focused and righteous and you know exaggerated. This is referred to as aryah meaning literally that a person show off. But there is even another way that a person can invalidate his salah, can invalidate his can invalidate his hard work, can invalidate his worship of Allah even after he has done it for the sake of Allah alone. A person stands to make salah at night. A person gives anonymously. A person does something for the sake of Allah alone without any partners. And he does it where no one was seeing him. And so he is safe from a reality. But then he starts to tell the stories about his heroism in private. Right. The journey of the hero who marched through the depths of darkness worshiping Allah alone even though no one was there to see it except for Allah. This is called what a is literally bragging. If a person does something for the sake of Allah and then brags about it and then mentions it with any intention of garnering respect or garnering attention, then this will retroactively reach back into the past and invalidate a man's good deeds. and validate a man's hard work. Why? Because generally speaking, Allah Subhanahu Waaala said in the narration of Muslim, I am least in need of a partner. Whoever does a deed and associates with me another in his intention for that deed, then I will leave him with his partner. I will leave him with his partner. I will leave him to get his reward from his partner. There's another narration in which the prophet sallall.aii wasallam tells us that on the day of judgment it will be called out everyone who has worshiped Allah but had intention of other than Allah along with him. Get your reward today from that other. Go and get your reward. Collect your reward from whoever was driving your intention. This is a danger, isn't it? It's not just a pitfall. It's positively a live landmine. It will completely obliterate a person's hard work. You see, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does not need us. We need Allah in every way. And when we work hard and do things, we are doing it in the end for our own benefit. We are the ones that reap the benefit of our hard work and the worship of Allah.
[Silence]
He says, "And whoever strives, works hard, then he is really striving for the benefit of his own self, Allah is not in need of any one of his creation." Subhanahu wa ta'ala. So when a person does something, it is absolutely paramount that his or her intention be solely for the sake of Allah alone without any partners and that he continue to protect those deeds with his tongue. that he continued to protect those deeds by not bragging about them later. And this is something that is extremely common. This is why we see that the prophet sallall.aii alaihi wasallam feared this over the general population of his more than because he will be endured by a finite number of people. He is he is the the the destruction of his fitna is largely confined by the time and place that he is. However, the whisper of a shaitan to whisper into a person's heart into a person's chest that people need to know who I am. They need to know my struggles. First of all, it's silly. The reason that it's silly is you could be bragging to someone about your heroic feats and that person you're bragging to has done twice and three times more. How silly would you feel at that point? And I guarantee that that person is out there. If you made a hundred at night in PM, there's someone out there that made 200. And if you made a,000, there's someone out there that made 2,000. That's the way that this world works. None of us is actually the absolute best at everything. It doesn't work that way. And so if you knew that the person you were bragging to has done multiple multiffold what you are bragging to him about you would feel very silly and this is only one of the pitfalls of bragging or showing off with one's worship. We worship not because it benefits us now or benefits someone else. We worship Allah solely to garner the pleasure of Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala. And it's not enough to just say I am doing this for the sake of Allah as a as a disclaimer before you start in your stories. I am.
[Silence]
Going to step through. And just a reminder that starting tomorrow will be at 4:15.