Shirk means attributing a partner to Allah in matters that are exclusively His—such as in worship, obedience, seeking help, love, and other such acts that are meant solely for Allah. Associating others with Allah in any of these areas is called major shirk (shirk-e-akbar), and if a person falls into it, no righteous deed of theirs will be accepted. In fact, righteous deeds are invalid if performed alongside shirk, because the first condition for a deed to be accepted and truly righteous is that it must be done sincerely for the sake of Allah.
Allah has said: “فَمَن كَانَ يَرْجُواْ لِقَاءَ رَبِّهِ، فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلًا صَلِحًا وَلَا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا” Translation: “So whoever hopes for the meeting with his Lord, let him do righteous work and associate none in the worship of his Lord.” (Surah Al-Kahf: 110)
Shirk is such a grave sin that it will never be forgiven. Allah (SWT)says: “إِنَّ الله لَا يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاءُ” Translation: “Indeed, Allah does not forgive that partners be associated with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills.” (Surah An-Nisa: 48)
Paradise is forbidden for the one who commits shirk, and the Hellfire will be their dwelling. This is the verdict of Allah: “إِنَّهُ مَن يُشْرِكْ بِالله فَقَدْ حَرَّمَ اللهُ عَلَيْهِ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَأْوَاهُ النَّارُ وَمَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ مِنْ أَنصَارٍ” Translation: “Surely, whoever associates anything with Allah, Allah has forbidden Paradise for him, and his abode is the Fire. And for the wrongdoers there will be no helpers.” (Surah Al-Ma’idah: 72)
Allah does not exempt anyone from the sin of kufr (disbelief) or shirk, but He may forgive other sins for whomever He wills. Therefore, one of the greatest pieces of advice given by the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) to respected women is to avoid all forms of shirk and shirk-related words.
As mentioned in Surah Al-Mumtahanah (60:12), Allah says to His Prophet: يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِذَا جَاءَكَ الْمُؤْمِنَاتُ يُبَايِعْنَكَ عَلَى أَن لَّا يُشْرِكْنَ بِاللَّهِ شَيْئًا وَلَا يَسْرِقْنَ وَلَا يَزْنِينَ وَلَا يَقْتُلْنَ أَوْلَادَهُنَّ وَلَا يَأْتِينَ بِبُهْتَانٍ يَفْتَرِينَهُ بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِنَّ وَأَرْجُلِهِنَّ وَلَا يَعْصِينَكَ فِي مَعْرُوفٍ فَبَايِعْهُنَّ وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُنَّ اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ Translation: “O Prophet! When believing women come to you pledging that they will not associate anything with Allah, nor steal, nor commit adultery, nor kill their children, nor utter slander (which they fabricate between their hands and feet), nor disobey you in what is right—then accept their pledge and ask Allah to forgive them. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.”
The Prophet (PBUH) said: «كُلُّ ذَنْبٍ عَسَى اللهُ أَنْ يَغْفِرَهُ إِلَّا مَنْ مَاتَ مُشْرِكًا» Translation: “Every sin may be forgiven by Allah, except the one who dies while committing shirk.”
In another hadith, he said: «مَنْ مَاتَ لَا يُشْرِكُ بِاللَّهِ شَيْئًا دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ، وَمَنْ مَاتَ يُشْرِكُ بِاللَّهِ شَيْئًا دَخَلَ النَّارَ» Translation “Whoever dies without having associated anything with Allah will enter Paradise, and whoever dies while having associated anything with Allah will enter Hellfire.”
Therefore, respected women should be extremely cautious never to utter any shirk-related words. Sometimes, women say things that are actually shirk, without realizing it. This happens because many women do not dedicate time to study religious books and learn what counts as sin and what does not. Additionally, some women utter sinful phrases out of habit. When corrected, they casually say, “Allah is Forgiving and Merciful” or “We’re used to it!”
One such phrase is swearing by someone other than Allah—such as by the life of one’s father, mother, sibling, or child. Many are unaware that such oaths are considered a form of shirk. The Prophet (PBUH) said: «أَلَا إِنَّ اللَّهَ نَهَاكُمْ أَنْ تَحْلِفُوا بِآبَائِكُمْ، فَمَنْ كَانَ حَالِفًا فَلْيَحْلِفْ بِاللَّهِ أَوْ لِيَصْمُتْ» Translation: “Be aware! Allah has prohibited you from swearing by your fathers. Whoever needs to swear, let him swear by Allah or remain silent.”
The scholars unanimously agree that swearing by anything other than Allah—such as angels, prophets, ancestors, the Ka‘bah, etc.—is prohibited. The reason for this prohibition is that oaths inherently involve veneration, and true veneration belongs only to Allah. So, when someone swears by other than Allah, they are elevating that entity to a level of reverence that belongs only to Allah, and this act becomes shirk.
This concept is supported by a hadith reported in Tirmidhi: «مَنْ حَلَفَ بِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ فَقَدْ كَفَرَ أَوْ أَشْرَكَ» Translation: “Whoever swears by anything other than Allah has committed an act of disbelief or shirk.”
The Prophet’s use of the phrase “has committed disbelief or shirk” emphasizes the seriousness of the act, although this falls under minor shirk (shirk-e-asghar), which, according to the majority of scholars, does not expel a person from Islam. Nonetheless, it remains a major sin, to the extent that the Prophet (PBUH) likened it to kufr and shirk.
Therefore, every Muslim woman who wants to safeguard her faith must avoid all words and actions that contain even a trace of shirk. Achieving this requires increasing one’s religious knowledge—especially by reading the books of the scholars on Tawhid (monotheism) and Shirk (Polytheism).
