sh-r-k

Description

The Arabic root sh-r-k fundamentally means to share, participate, or associate something with another, creating a partnership or partnership-like relationship. In Quranic theology, this root carries profound significance as it describes shirk, the grave sin of associating partners with Allah by attributing divine qualities, worship, or authority to anyone or anything besides the One God. The Quran emphasizes that shirk is the ultimate theological error and the only unforgivable sin if unrepented, making the concept central to Islamic monotheism (tawhid) and explaining why derivatives of this root appear so frequently throughout the text.