men blindly was also considered shirk. The fourth kind of shirk is referred to in the verse: “Hast thou seen him who takes his low desires for his god?” (25:43). Here the blind submission to one’s own desires is described in words used for shirk. Thus belief in the Unity of God means that true obedience is due to God alone, and whosoever obeys either anyone else, or his own low desires, in preference to the Divine commandments, is really guilty of shirk.
Of the different forms of shirk, idolatry is cited more frequently than all the others, and is denounced in the most scathing terms in the Holy Qur’ān. This is because idolatry is the most heinous form of shirk and also was the most rampant throughout the world at the advent of Islām. Not only is idolatry condemned in its gross form, which takes it for granted that an idol can cause benefit or do harm, but the idea is also controverted that there is any meaning underlying this gross form of worship: “And those who choose protectors besides Him, (say): We serve them only that they may bring us nearer to Allāh. Surely Allāh will judge between them in that in which they differ” (39:3). A similar excuse is put forward today by some of the idolaters. It is said that an idol is used only to enable a worshipper to concentrate his attention, and become more deeply engrossed in Divine contemplation. This idea is controverted in the verse quoted above — “that they may bring us nearer to Allāh.” But even in this case the worshipper must believe that the idol on which he centres his attention is a symbol of the Divine Being, which is a grossly false notion; and, moreover, it is the idol on which the worshipper’s attention is centred, not the Divine Being. It is also wrong to suppose that a material symbol is necessary for concentration, for attention can be every whit as easily concentrated on a spiritual object, and it is only when the object of attention is spiritual that concentration helps the development of will-power. Along with idol-worship, the Holy Qur’ān also prohibits dedication to idols (6:136).
Another form of prevailing shirk denounced in the Holy Qur’ān is