Is dedicating acts of worship to other than Allah—such as prostration, vows, prayer, and sacrifice—major shirk that expels one from the religion merely by intending to perform the act for other than Allah, or is it conditioned upon that intention being accompanied by the intention of veneration, drawing near, and worship? And does one fall into shirk if they intend veneration and drawing near by sacrificing to a ruler to gain worldly benefit or out of reverence for him, but not with the intention of veneration and drawing near through worship to Allah? And why are the sacrifice of Hajar and prostration with the intention of greeting exempted if merely dedicating an act of worship to other than Allah is considered major kufr?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
Devoting worship to other than Allah is pure , if worship is intended by it.
If the act can only be conceived as worship, such as vows and prayer, then directing it to other than Allah can only be shirk.
As for what might be an act of worship or not, there is a detailed explanation, like prostration.
The slaughter in question is not among the shirk-related slaughters.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/165194
Where this answer came from
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- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 165194
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy