Shirk (Islam)

Sin of associating/equating an entity with God

Part of a series on

Islam

Beliefs

* Oneness of God

* Angels
* Holy books

* Prophets
* Judgement Day

* Predestination

Practices

* Profession of faith
* Prayer

* Almsgiving
* Fasting
* Pilgrimage

* Texts
* Foundations

* Quran
* Sunnah (Hadith, Sirah)

* Tafsir (exegesis)
* Ijtihad
* Aqidah (creed)
* Qisas al-Anbiya (Stories of the Prophets)
* Mathnawi (poems)

* Fiqh (jurisprudence)
* Sharia (law)

History

* Timeline
* Jahiliyyah
* Muhammad
* Ahl al-Bayt
* Sahabah
* Rashidun
* Caliphate
* Imamate
* Spread of Islam
* Succession to Muhammad
* Abbasid Caliphate
* Al-Andalus
* Golden Age
* Seljuk Empire
* Ilkhanate
* Timurid Renaissance
* Gunpowder empires
* Ottoman Empire
* Saudi Arabia

Culture and society

* Academics
* Animals
* Art
* Association football
* Calendar
* Cats
* Censorship
* Children
* Circumcision
* Democracy
* Demographics
* Diaspora
* Denominations
* Sunni
* Shia
* Ibadi
* Economics
* Education
* Ethics
* Exorcism
* Feminism
* Festivals
* Finance
* Liberalism
* Madrasa
* Moral teachings
* Mosque
* Music
* Mysticism
* Philosophy
* Poetry
* Politics
* Proselytizing
* Science
* Sexuality
* LGBTQ
* Slavery
* Concubinage
* Social welfare
* Women

Related topics

* Arabic language
* Apostasy
* Criticism
* Muhammad
* Quran
* Hadith

* Other religions
* Islamism
* Violence
* terrorism
* war
* Islamophobia
* Jihad
* Jihadism
* Salafi jihadism
* Deobandi jihadism
* Military laws
* Peace
* Pacifism
* Glossary

* Islam portal

* v
* t
* e

In Islam, shirk (Arabic: شِرْك, lit. 'association') refers to words, acts, or practices that involve associating any entity or entities with God. It is generally identified with idolatry or polytheism,[1][2][a] which may equate other entities to God or deny the absolute supremacy of God's power. It is considered to be the gravest sin in Islam and may irreversibly compromise the fundamental faith (shahada) of a Muslim who commits it;[4] Quran 4:48 states that God will not forgive those who are found guilty of shirk on Judgement Day by having died before being able to repent.[5][6][7][8][9] Disavowing shirk and actively pursuing monotheism is one of the central Islamic tenets (tawhid), as the religion teaches that God has no equals and does not share divine attributes with any entity.[10][6]

A person who commits shirk is called a mushrik (lit. 'associator'),[b] while a person who does the opposite is called a muwahhid (lit. 'monotheist').[c]

## Etymology

[edit]

The word shirk comes from the Arabic root sh-r-k (ش ر ك), with the general meaning of 'to share'.[11][d] In the context of the Quran, the particular sense of 'sharing as an equal partner' is usually understood, so that polytheism means 'attributing a partner to God'. In the Quran, shirk and the related word mushrikūn (مشركون)—those who commit shirk and plot against Islam—often refer to the enemies of Islam (as in al-Tawbah verses 9:1–15).[13]: 9:1–15

## Quran

[edit]

According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, the Quran states twice in An-Nisa verses 48 and 116 that God can forgive all sins save one: shirk.[14]

> Indeed, Allah does not forgive associating others with Him ˹in worship˺, but forgives anything else of whoever He wills. And whoever associates others with Allah has indeed committed a grave sin.

— Q4:48[15]

Islamic commentators on the Quran have emphasized that a number of pre-Islamic Arabian deities and jinn, most notably the three goddesses Manat, al-Lat and al-Uzza mentioned in al-Najm, were considered associates of God.[16]

Entities worshipped besides God are called shurakāʾ (Arabic: شُرَكَاء).[17]: 41 [18]: 77 After Judgement Day, they will be cast into Hell along with devils (fallen angels) and evil jinn,[17]: 41 to whom the polytheists are said to sacrifice in order to gain protection.

Charles Adams writes that the Quran reproaches the People of the Book with kufr for rejecting Muhammad's message when they should have been the first to accept it as possessors of earlier revelations, and singles out Christians for disregarding the evidence of God's unity.[19] The Quranic verse Al-Ma'idah 5:73[20]: 5:73 ("Certainly they disbelieve [kafara] who say: God is the third of three"), among other verses, has been traditionally understood in Islam as rejection of the Christian Trinity doctrine,[21] but modern scholarship has suggested alternative interpretations.[note 1] Other Quranic verses strongly deny the divinity of Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, and reproach the people who treat Jesus as equal with God as disbelievers, who will be doomed to eternal punishment in Hell.[22][23] The Quran also does not recognise the attribute of Jesus as the Son of God or God himself but respects Jesus as a prophet and messenger of God, who was sent to children of Israel.[24] Some Muslim thinkers such as Mohamed Talbi have viewed the most extreme Qur'anic presentations of the dogmas of the Trinity and divinity of Jesus (Al-Ma'idah 5:19, 5:75-76, 5:119)[20] as non-Christian formulas, which were rejected by the Church as well.[25]

Cyril Glasse criticises the use of kafirun (pl. of kafir) to describe Christians as a "loose usage".[clarification needed][26] According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, traditional Islamic jurisprudence has ahl al-kitab being "usually regarded more leniently than other kuffar [pl. of kafir]," and "in theory," a Muslim commits a punishable offense if he says to a Jew or a Christian, "Thou unbeliever."[27]

Historically, People of the Book permanently residing under Islamic rule were entitled to a special status known as dhimmi, and those who were visiting Muslim lands received a different status known as musta'min.[27] In the Quran Jews and Christians, although accused of believing shared divinity by asserting lineage between God and Ezra or Jesus respectively, are not described as mushrik.[28] The term is reserved for pre-Islamic beliefs who associated partners with God. Nonetheless, medieval Muslim philosophers identified belief in the Trinity with shirk ("associationism"), by limiting the infinity of God by associating his divinity with physical existence.[29]

## Theological interpretation

[edit]

In a theological context, one commits shirk by associating some lesser being with God (Allah). The sin is committed if one imagines that there is another power associated with Allah as a partner.[30] It is stated in the Quran: "Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him, but He forgives anything else, to whom He pleases, to set up partners with Allah is to devise a sin most heinous indeed" (Quran An-Nisa 4:48).[31]: 4:48 [32]

The term is often translated as polytheism, however more complex than the English translation.[33][34] The term also implies that humans need to renounce claiming divine status for themselves by regarding themselves as better than others.[35] Besides worshipping only one God, it also postulates that God must be considered as entirely unique and condemns anthropomorphization.[36] Shirk further implies that God's attributes cannot be associated with any other entity or that any other entity can exist independent from God.[37] At the same time, shirk contains additional assumptions not entailed by the concept of polytheism and does not require a physical object of worship.[38]

### Forms of shirk

[edit]

Shirk is classified into two categories:[39]

* Shirk al-akbar (Arabic: شِرْك ٱلْأَكْبَر, romanized: shirk al-akbar; lit. 'greater shirk'): open and apparent
* Shirk al-asghar or al-shirk al-khafi (Arabic: شِرْك ٱلْأَصْغَر, romanized: shirk al-aṣghar; lit. 'lesser shirk'): concealed or hidden. It is when people perform the necessary rituals but not for God but for the sake of others, including social recognition.[40] Hidden shirk might be unwitting, yet punishable, although to a lesser extent than greater forms of shirk.[41]

### Shirk al-akbar

[edit]

Shirk al-akbar is defined as open association and has been described in two forms:[42]

* To associate anything with God
* To associate anything with God's attributes

### Shirk al-asghar

[edit]

Shirk al-asghar may be committed by one who professes tawhid, but for the sake of others.

> One who offers the ritual prayers in an ostentatious way is a polytheist. One who keeps the fast, or gives alms, or performs the hajj to show the public his righteousness or to earn good name is a polytheist.

— Sayyed Qasim Mujtaba Moosavi Kamoonpuri [6]

Mahmud ibn Lubayd reported,

> Allah's messenger said: "The thing I fear for you the most is ash-Shirk al-Asghar."

> The companions asked, "O messenger of Allah, what is that?"

> He replied, "Ar-Riya (showing off), for verily Allah will say on the Day of Resurrection when people are receiving their rewards, 'Go to those for whom you were showing off in the material world and see if you can find any reward from them."

Mahmud ibn Lubayd also said,

> The Prophet came out and announced, "O people, beware of secret Shirk!"

> The people asked, "O messenger of Allah, what is secret Shirk?"

> He replied, "When a man gets up to pray and strives to beautify his prayer because people are looking at him; that is secret Shirk."

Umar ibn al-Khattab narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: "Whoever swears by other than Allah has committed an act of kufr or shirk." (graded hasan by Al-Tirmidhi and saheeh by Al-Hakim)

According to Ibn Mas’ood, one of Muhammad's companions said: "That I should swear by Allah upon a lie is more preferable to me than that I should swear by another upon the truth."[43]

## In Sufism

[edit]

According to Sufi teachings, to avoid "hidden shirk" (al-shirk al-khafi), it is necessary to focus solely on God and give up one's own will.[44]

Some Sufi scholars even go so far as to describe a belief in free will as a form of shirk. According to such an uncompromising view, beliefs usually accommodated within monotheism, such as that in a personal devil (rather than the unregenerate self deficient in God) as the source of evil, or a belief in the concept of free will, are regarded as beliefs in creative powers other than (i.e. standing beside/external to) God, and are thus equated with shirk.[45]

Abdullah Ansari describes the highest stage of tawhid a human can possess, when the mind becomes fully immersed in the presence of God and understand how all things are put into their proper places.[46]

In Sufism, every action done with an expectation of reward, either in this world or in the hereafter, is considered an act of shirk. Despite that this level of shirk does not entail disbelief, or require repeating the action to follow Islam's legal prescriptions, Sufis work on purification until their thoughts are not dominated by any desire except the pure love of God, which results in pure actions of worship.[citation needed]

## In Salafism and Wahhabism

[edit]

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, founder of the Wahhabi movement, classified shirk into three main categories.[47] However, ibn Taymiyya is considered to have been the spiritual founder of this distinction.[29][48]: 106

* tawhid al-rububiyyah (Lordship): the verbal profession that God (Allah) is the sole creator and ruler over the world.[49]
* tawhid al-Asma wa's-Sifat (names and attributes): accepting the attributes of God as written in the Quran without interpretation.[50]
* tawhid al-ibada (servitude): the commitment of religious or spiritual duties to God without intermediaries and that religious or spiritual practises must be limited to Islamic sources.[51][52]

For abd al-Wahhab, tawhid al-ibada was the decisive factor to determine the identity of a Muslim and also the execution of tawhid al-rububiyyah. Muslims who violated his interpretation of tawhid al-ibada were considered to be "associators" (mushrikūn) and "unbelievers" (kāfirūn).[53]

Building on the legacy of abdl-Wahhab, in the writings of Islamist writers Sayyid Qutb, al-Mawdudu, and Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi interprete adherences to human-made laws as shirk.[54]

## See also

[edit]

* Religion portal

* Pre-Islamic Arabia
* Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia
* Shituf, a similar sin in Judaism
* Islamic view of the Trinity

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ That this verse criticizes a deviant form of Trinitarian belief which overstressed distinctiveness of the three persons at the expense of their unity. Modern scholars have also interpreted it as a reference to Jesus, who was often called "the third of three" in Syriac literature and as an intentional over-simplification of Christian doctrine intended to highlight its weakness from a strictly monotheistic perspective.[21]

1. ^ These translations have been criticized by Nicolai Sinai as inaccurate. According to him, the terms idolatry and polytheism have a narrow definition of worshipping images, betraying the Quranic meaning. In the Quran, those who commit shirk may place an idol, but the sin itself consists of associating something with God.[3]
2. ^ Arabic: مُشْرِك; pl. مُشْرِكُون, mushrikūn
3. ^ Arabic: مُوَحِّد; pl. مُوَحِّدُون, muwaḥḥidūn
4. ^ The term must not be confused with the English verb "to shirk", meaning to avoid, which is of quite separate origin, possibly derived from the German word for knave or rogue (Scharke).[12]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Nonbelief: An Islamic Perspective
2. ^ "Surah Luqman Verse 13 | 31:13 لقمان - Quran O". qurano.com. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
3. ^ Sinai, Nicolai. "Key terms of the Qur'an: a critical dictionary." (2023): 1-840.
4. ^ The Book of Major Sins in Islam. Islamic Digital. 4 January 2019. ISBN 978-88-295-8927-2.
5. ^ "Forgiveness for Shirk". "The meaning of the verse is that whoever dies while a Mushrik (polytheist) Allah will not forgive him and he will surely be punished for this sin, i.e. he will remain in Hell-fire forever. As for the person who repents, Allah forgives his previous Shirk."
6. ^ a b c Kamoonpuri, S: "Basic Beliefs of Islam" pages 42–58. Tanzania Printers Limited, 2001.
7. ^ Cenap Çakmak. Islam: A Worldwide Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO 2017. ISBN 978-1-610-69217-5 p. 1450.
8. ^ Gimaret, D. (2012). "S̲h̲irk". In Bearman, P.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W. P. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.). Brill. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_6965.
9. ^ Glassé, Cyril; Smith, Huston (2003-01-01). "shirk". The New Encyclopedia of Islam. Rowman Altamira. p. 429\. ISBN 9780759101906.
10. ^ "Shirk". Encyclopædia Britannica.
11. ^ A. A. Nadwi, "Vocabulary of the Quran"
12. ^ Harper, Douglas. ""Shirk (verb)"". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
13. ^ Ibn Kathir. "Tafsir Ibn Kathir (English): Surah Al Tawbah". Quran 4 U. Tafsir. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
14. ^ Encyclopaedia of Islam, volume 9, 2nd edition, s.v. shirk
15. ^ "Surah An-Nisa - 1-176". Quran.com.
16. ^ Pantić, Nikola. Sufism in Ottoman Damascus: Religion, Magic, and the Eighteenth-century Networks of the Holy. Taylor & Francis, 2023. chapter 3
17. ^ a b Magic and Divination in Early Islam. (2021). Vereinigtes Königreich: Taylor & Francis.
18. ^ Eichler, Paul Arno, 1889-Publication date 1928 Topics Koran Publisher Leipzig : Klein Collection microfilm; additional_collections Digitizing sponsor Internet Archive Contributor Internet Archive Language German
19. ^ Charles Adams; Kevin Reinhart (2009). "Kufr". In John L. Esposito (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195305135.
20. ^ a b Ibn Kathir. "Surah Al Ma'ida". Quran 4 U. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
21. ^ a b Thomas, David (2006). "Trinity". In Jane Dammen McAuliffe (ed.). Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān. Brill.
22. ^ Joseph, Jojo, Qur’an-Gospel Convergence: The Qur’an’s Message To Christians Archived 2022-02-17 at the Wayback Machine, Journal of Dharma, 1 (January–March 2010), pp. 55-76
23. ^ Mazuz, Haggai (2012) Christians in the Qurʾān: Some Insights Derived from the Classical Exegetic Approach, Journal of Dharma 35, 1 (January–March 2010), 55-76
24. ^ Schirrmacher, Christine, The Islamic view of Christians: Qur’an and Hadith, http://www.worldevangelicals.org
25. ^ Carré, Olivier (2003). Mysticism and Politics: A Critical Reading of Fī Ẓilāl Al-Qurʼān by Sayyid Quṭb. Boston: Brill. pp. 63–64\. ISBN 978-9004125902.
26. ^ Glasse, Cyril (1989). The New Encyclopedia of Islam (Revised 2001 ed.). NY: Altamira Press. p. 247. ISBN 978-0759101890.
27. ^ a b Björkman, W. (2012). "Kāfir". In P. Bearman; Th. Bianquis; C.E. Bosworth; E. van Donzel; W.P. Heinrichs (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.). Brill. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_3775.
28. ^ Gimaret, D., “Tawḥīd”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 25 February 2024 doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_7454 First published online: 2012 First print edition: ISBN 978-90-04-16121-4, 1960-2007
29. ^ a b Learning from other faiths Hermann Häring, Janet Martin Soskice, Felix Wilfred - 2003 - 141 "Medieval Jewish (as well as Muslim) philosophers identified belief in the Trinity with the heresy of shituf (Hebrew) or shirk (Arabic): 'associationism', or limiting the infinity of Allah by associating his divinity with creaturely being"
30. ^ Mark, Durie. "Semantic decomposition of four Quranic words." Russian Journal of Linguistics 26.4 (2022): 937-969.
31. ^ Ibn Kathir. "Tafsir Ibn Kathir (English): Surah Al Nisa". Quran 4 U. Tafsir. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
32. ^ Faruki, Kemal. "TAWḤĪD AND THE DOCTRINE OF'IṢMAH." Islamic Studies 4.1 (1965): 31-43.
33. ^ Mark, Durie. "Semantic decomposition of four Quranic words." Russian Journal of Linguistics 26.4 (2022): 937-969.
34. ^ Mulia, Siti Musdah. "Muslim Family Law Reform in Indonesia A Progressive Interpretation of The Qur’an." Al-Mawarid: Jurnal Hukum Islam (2015): 1-18.
35. ^ Mulia, Siti Musdah. "Muslim Family Law Reform in Indonesia A Progressive Interpretation of The Qur’an." Al-Mawarid: Jurnal Hukum Islam (2015): 1-18.
36. ^ Mulia, Siti Musdah. "Muslim Family Law Reform in Indonesia A Progressive Interpretation of The Qur’an." Al-Mawarid: Jurnal Hukum Islam (2015): 1-18.
37. ^ Faruki, Kemal. "TAWḤĪD AND THE DOCTRINE OF'IṢMAH." Islamic Studies 4.1 (1965): 31-43.
38. ^ Sinai, N. (2018). Polytheism. In K. Fleet, G. Krämer, D. Matringe, J. Nawas and D. J. Stewart (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Islam Three Online. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_46230
39. ^ Winter, Timothy, ed. The Cambridge companion to classical Islamic theology. Cambridge University Press, 2008. p. 233
40. ^ Winter, Timothy, ed. The Cambridge companion to classical Islamic theology. Cambridge University Press, 2008. p. 233
41. ^ Faruki, Kemal. "TAWḤĪD AND THE DOCTRINE OF'IṢMAH." Islamic Studies 4.1 (1965): 31-43.
42. ^ Winter, Timothy, ed. The Cambridge companion to classical Islamic theology. Cambridge University Press, 2008. p. 233
43. ^ Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, Kitab At-Tawheed, chapter 40
44. ^ Sands, Kristin. Sufi commentaries on the Qur'an in classical Islam. routledge, 2006. p. 29
45. ^ Awn, Peter J. (1983). Satan's Tragedy and Redemption: Iblīs in Sufi Psychology. Leiden: Brill Publishers. p. 104. ISBN 978-9004069060
46. ^ Abdullah, Wan Suhaimi Wan. "Herawi's Concept of Tawhid: An Observation Based on His Manazil Al-Sa'irin." Jurnal Usuluddin 12 (2000): 95-104.
47. ^ Peskes, Esther and Ende, W., “Wahhābiyya”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 25 February 2024 doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_1329 First published online: 2012 First print edition: ISBN 978-90-04-16121-4, 1960-2007
48. ^ Ibrahim, Hassan Ahmed (2006). "Shaykh Muḥammad Ibn ʿAbd Al-Wahhāb and Shāh Walī Allāh: A Preliminary Comparison of Some Aspects of Their Lifes and Careers". Asian Journal of Social Science. 34 (1): 103–119\. doi:10.1163/156853106776150126. JSTOR 23654402.
49. ^ Peskes, Esther and Ende, W., “Wahhābiyya”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 25 February 2024 doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_1329 First published online: 2012 First print edition: ISBN 978-90-04-16121-4, 1960-2007
50. ^ Peskes, Esther and Ende, W., “Wahhābiyya”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 25 February 2024 doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_1329 First published online: 2012 First print edition: ISBN 978-90-04-16121-4, 1960-2007
51. ^ Pall, Z. (2014). Lebanese Salafis between the Gulf and Europe: Development, fractionalization and transnational networks of Salafism in Lebanon. Amsterdam University Press. p. 20
52. ^ Peskes, Esther and Ende, W., “Wahhābiyya”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 25 February 2024 doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_1329 First published online: 2012 First print edition: ISBN 978-90-04-16121-4, 1960-2007
53. ^ Peskes, Esther and Ende, W., “Wahhābiyya”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 25 February 2024 doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_1329 First published online: 2012 First print edition: ISBN 978-90-04-16121-4, 1960-2007
54. ^ Sinai, N. (2018). Polytheism. In K. Fleet, G. Krämer, D. Matringe, J. Nawas and D. J. Stewart (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Islam Three Online. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_46230

## External links

[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Shirk (Islam).

* Zebiri, Kate (1995). "Relations Between Muslims and Non-Muslims in the Thought of Western-Educated Muslim Intellectuals – Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations". Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations. 6 (2): 255–277\. doi:10.1080/09596419508721055.
* Shirk in legislation Archived 2015-05-29 at the Wayback Machine

* v
* t
* e

People and things in the Quran

Characters

Non-humans

* Allāh ('The God')
* Names of Allah found in the Quran, such as Karīm (Generous)

| Animals|

| Related|

* The baqara (cow) of Israelites
* The dhiʾb (wolf) that Jacob feared could attack Joseph
* The fīl (elephant) of the Abyssinians
* Ḥimār (Domesticated donkey)
* The hud-hud (hoopoe) of Solomon
* The kalb (dog) of the sleepers of the cave
* The namlah (female ant) of Solomon
* The nūn (fish or whale) of Jonah
* The nāqat (she-camel) of Ṣāliḥ

|

Non-related|

* ʿAnkabūt (Female spider)
* Dābbat al-Arḍ (Beast of the Earth)
* Ḥimār (Wild ass)
* Naḥl (Honey bee)
* Qaswarah ('Lion', 'beast of prey' or 'hunter')

Malāʾikah (Angels)|

* Angels of Hell
* Mālik
* Zabāniyah
* Bearers of the Throne
* Harut and Marut
* Jundallah
* Kirāman Kātibīn (Honourable Scribes)
* Raqib
* Atid

| Muqarrabun|

* Jibrīl (Gabriel, chief)
* Ar-Rūḥ ('The Spirit')
* Ar-Rūḥ al-Amīn ('The Trustworthy Spirit')
* Ar-Rūḥ al-Qudus ('The Holy Spirit')
* Angel of the Trumpet (Isrāfīl or Raphael)
* Malakul-Mawt (Angel of Death, Azrael)
* Mīkāil (Michael)

|

Jinn (Genies)|

* Jann
* ʿIfrīt
* Sakhr (Asmodeus)
* Qarīn

Shayāṭīn (Demons)|

* Iblīs ash-Shayṭān (the (chief) Devil)
* Mārid ('Rebellious one')

Others|

* Ghilmān or Wildān
* Ḥūr

Prophets

| Mentioned|

* Ādam (Adam)
* Al-Yasaʿ (Elisha)
* Ayyūb (Job)
* Dāwūd (David)
* Dhūl-Kifl (Ezekiel?)
* Hārūn (Aaron)
* Hūd (Eber?)
* Idrīs (Enoch?)
* Ilyās (Elijah)
* ʿImrān (Joachim the father of Maryam)
* Isḥāq (Isaac)
* Ismāʿīl (Ishmael)
* Dhabih Ullah
* Lūṭ (Lot)
* Ṣāliḥ
* Shuʿayb (Jethro, Reuel or Hobab?)
* Sulaymān ibn Dāwūd (Solomon son of David)
* ʿUzair (Ezra?)
* Yaḥyā ibn Zakariyyā (John the Baptist the son of Zechariah)
* Yaʿqūb (Jacob)
* Isrāʾīl (Israel)
* Yūnus (Jonah)
* Dhūn-Nūn ('He of the Fish (or Whale)' or 'Owner of the Fish (or Whale)')
* Ṣāḥib al-Ḥūt ('Companion of the Whale')
* Yūsuf ibn Ya‘qūb (Joseph son of Jacob)
* Zakariyyā (Zechariah)

| Ulul-ʿAzm
('Those of the
Perseverance
and Strong Will')|

* Muḥammad
* Aḥmad
* Other names and titles of Muhammad
* ʿĪsā (Jesus)
* Al-Masīḥ (The Messiah)
* Ibn Maryam (Son of Mary)
* Mūsā Kalīmullāh (Moses He who spoke to God)
* Ibrāhīm Khalīlullāh (Abraham Friend of God)
* Nūḥ (Noah)

|

Debatable ones|

* Dhūl-Qarnain
* Luqmān
* Maryam (Mary)
* Ṭālūt (Saul or Gideon?)

Implied|

* Irmiyā (Jeremiah)
* Ṣamūʾīl (Samuel)
* Yūshaʿ ibn Nūn (Joshua, companion and successor of Moses)

People of Prophets

| Good ones|

* Adam's immediate relatives
* Martyred son
* Wife
* Believer of Ya-Sin
* Family of Noah
* Father Lamech
* Mother Shamkhah bint Anush or Betenos
* Luqman's son
* People of Abraham
* Mother Abiona or Amtelai the daughter of Karnebo
* Ishmael's mother
* Isaac's mother
* People of Jesus
* Disciples (including Peter)
* Mary's mother
* Zechariah's wife
* People of Solomon
* Mother
* Queen of Sheba
* Vizier
* Zayd (Muhammad's adopted son)

| People of
Joseph|

* Brothers (including Binyāmin (Benjamin) and Simeon)
* Egyptians
* ʿAzīz (Potiphar, Qatafir or Qittin)
* Malik (King Ar-Rayyān ibn Al-Walīd))
* Wife of ʿAzīz (Zulaykhah)
* Mother

|

People of
Aaron and Moses|

* Egyptians
* Believer (Hizbil or Hizqil ibn Sabura)
* Imraʾat Firʿawn (Āsiyá bint Muzāḥim the Wife of Pharaoh, who adopted Moses)
* Magicians of the Pharaoh
* Wise, pious man
* Moses' wife
* Moses' sister-in-law
* Mother
* Sister

Evil ones|

* Āzar (possibly Terah)
* Firʿawn (Pharaoh of Moses' time)
* Hāmān
* Jālūt (Goliath)
* Qārūn (Korah, cousin of Moses)
* As-Sāmirī
* Abū Lahab
* Slayers of Ṣāliḥ's she-camel (Qaddar ibn Salif and Musda' ibn Dahr)

Implied or
not specified|

* Abraha
* Abu Bakr
* Bal'am/Balaam
* Barṣīṣā
* Caleb or Kaleb the companion of Joshua
* Luqman's son
* Nebuchadnezzar II
* Nimrod
* Rahmah the wife of Ayyub
* Shaddad

Groups

| Mentioned|

* Aṣḥāb al-Jannah
* People of Paradise
* People of the Burnt Garden
* Aṣḥāb as-Sabt (Companions of the Sabbath)
* Jesus' apostles
* Ḥawāriyyūn (Disciples of Jesus)
* Companions of Noah's Ark
* Aṣḥāb al-Kahf war-Raqīm (Companions of the Cave and Al-Raqaim?
* Companions of the Elephant
* People of al-Ukhdūd
* People of a township in Surah Ya-Sin
* People of Yathrib or Medina
* Qawm Lūṭ (People of Sodom and Gomorrah)
* Nation of Noah

| Tribes,
ethnicities
or families|

* ‘Ajam
* Ar-Rūm (literally 'The Romans')
* Banī Isrāʾīl (Children of Israel)
* Muʾtafikāt (Sodom and Gomorrah)
* People of Ibrahim
* People of Ilyas
* People of Nuh
* People of Shuaib
* Ahl Madyan People of Madyan)
* Aṣḥāb al-Aykah ('Companions of the Wood')
* Qawm Yūnus (People of Jonah)
* Ya'juj and Ma'juj/Gog and Magog
* People of Fir'aun
* Current Ummah of Islam (Ummah of Muhammad)
* Aṣḥāb Muḥammad (Companions of Muhammad)
* Anṣār (literally 'Helpers')
* Muhajirun (Emigrants from Mecca to Medina)
* People of Mecca
* Wife of Abu Lahab
* Children of Ayyub
* Sons of Adam
* Wife of Nuh
* Wife of Lut
* Yaʾjūj wa Maʾjūj (Gog and Magog)
* Son of Nuh

Aʿrāb (Arabs
or Bedouins)|

* ʿĀd (people of Hud)
* Companions of the Rass
* Qawm Tubbaʿ (People of Tubba)
* People of Sabaʾ or Sheba
* Quraysh
* Thamūd (people of Ṣāliḥ)
* Aṣḥāb al-Ḥijr ('Companions of the Stoneland')

Ahl al-Bayt
('People of the
Household')|

* Household of Abraham
* Brothers of Yūsuf
* Lot's daughters
* Progeny of Imran
* Household of Moses
* Household of Muhammad
* ibn Abdullah ibn Abdul-Muttalib ibn Hashim
* Daughters of Muhammad
* Muhammad's wives
* Household of Salih

Implicitly
mentioned|

* Amalek
* Ahl as-Suffa (People of the Verandah)
* Banu Nadir
* Banu Qaynuqa
* Banu Qurayza
* Iranian people
* Umayyad Dynasty
* Aus and Khazraj
* People of Quba

Religious
groups|

* Ahl al-Dhimmah
* Kāfirūn
* disbelievers
* Majūs Zoroastrians
* Munāfiqūn (Hypocrites)
* Muslims
* Believers
* Ahl al-Kitāb (People of the Book)
* Naṣārā (Christian(s) or People of the Injil)
* Ruhban (Christian monks)
* Qissis (Christian priest)
* Yahūd (Jews)
* Ahbār (Jewish scholars)
* Rabbani/Rabbi
* Sabians
* Polytheists
* Meccan polytheists at the time of Muhammad
* Mesopotamian polytheists at the time of Abraham and Lot

Locations

Mentioned|

* Al-Arḍ Al-Muqaddasah ('The Holy Land')
* 'Blessed' Land'
* Al-Jannah (Paradise, literally 'The Garden')
* Jahannam (Hell)
* Door of Hittah
* Madyan (Midian)
* Majmaʿ al-Baḥrayn
* Miṣr (Mainland Egypt)
* Salsabīl (A river in Paradise)

| In the
Arabian Peninsula
(excluding Madyan)|

* Al-Aḥqāf ('The Sandy Plains,' or 'the Wind-curved Sand-hills')
* Iram dhāt al-ʿImād (Iram of the Pillars)
* Al-Madīnah (formerly Yathrib)
* ʿArafāt and Al-Mashʿar Al-Ḥarām
* Al-Ḥijr (Hegra)
* Badr
* Ḥunayn
* Makkah (Mecca)
* Bakkah
* Ḥaraman Āminan ('Sanctuary (which is) Secure')
* Kaʿbah (Kaaba)
* Maqām Ibrāhīm (Station of Abraham)
* Safa and Marwa
* Sabaʾ (Sheba)
* ʿArim Sabaʾ (Dam of Sheba)
* Rass

|

Sinai Region
or Tīh Desert|

* Al-Wād Al-Muqaddas Ṭuwan (The Holy Valley of Tuwa)
* Al-Wādil-Ayman (The valley on the 'righthand' side of the Valley of Tuwa and Mount Sinai)
* Al-Buqʿah Al-Mubārakah ('The Blessed Place')
* Mount Sinai or Mount Tabor

In Mesopotamia|

* Al-Jūdiyy
* Munzalanm-Mubārakan ('Place-of-Landing Blessed')
* Bābil (Babylon)
* Qaryat Yūnus ('Township of Jonah,' that is Nineveh)

Religious
locations|

* Bayʿa (Church)
* Miḥrāb
* Monastery
* Masjid (Mosque, literally 'Place of Prostration')
* Al-Mashʿar Al-Ḥarām ('The Sacred Grove')
* Al-Masjid Al-Aqṣā (Al-Aqsa, literally 'The Farthest Place-of-Prostration')
* Al-Masjid Al-Ḥarām (The Sacred Mosque of Mecca)
* Masjid al-Dirar
* A Mosque in the area of Medina, possibly:
* Masjid Qubāʾ (Quba Mosque)
* The Prophet's Mosque
* Salat (Synagogue)

Implied|

* Antioch
* Antakya
* Arabia
* Al-Ḥijāz (literally 'The Barrier')
* Al-Ḥajar al-Aswad (Black Stone) & Al-Hijr of Isma'il
* Cave of Hira
* Ghār ath-Thawr (Cave of the Bull)
* Hudaybiyyah
* Ta'if
* Ayla
* Barrier of Dhul-Qarnayn
* Bayt al-Muqaddas & 'Ariha
* Bilād ar-Rāfidayn (Mesopotamia)
* Canaan
* Cave of Seven Sleepers
* Dār an-Nadwa
* Jordan River
* Nile River
* Palestine River
* Paradise of Shaddad

Events, incidents, occasions or times

* Incident of Ifk
* Laylat al-Qadr (Night of Decree)
* Event of Mubahala
* Sayl al-ʿArim (Flood of the Great Dam of Ma'rib in Sheba)
* The Farewell Pilgrimage
* Treaty of Hudaybiyyah

| Battles or
military expeditions|

* Battle of al-Aḥzāb ('the Confederates')
* Battle of Badr
* Battle of Hunayn
* Battle of Khaybar
* Battle of Uhud
* Expedition of Tabuk
* Conquest of Mecca

|

Days|

* Al-Jumuʿah (The Friday)
* As-Sabt (The Sabbath or Saturday)
* Days of battles
* Days of Hajj
* Doomsday

Months of the
Islamic calendar|

* 12 months: Four holy months
* Ash-Shahr Al-Ḥarām (The Sacred or Forbidden Month)
* Ramaḍān

Pilgrimages|

* Al-Ḥajj (literally 'The Pilgrimage', the Greater Pilgrimage)
* Al-ʿUmrah (The Lesser Pilgrimage)

Times for prayer
or remembrance|

Times for Duʿāʾ ('Invocation'), Ṣalāh and Dhikr ('Remembrance', including Taḥmīd ('Praising'), Takbīr and Tasbīḥ):

* Al-ʿAshiyy (The Afternoon or the Night)
* Al-Ghuduww ('The Mornings')
* Al-Bukrah ('The Morning')
* Aṣ-Ṣabāḥ ('The Morning')
* Al-Layl ('The Night')
* Al-ʿIshāʾ ('The Late-Night')
* Aẓ-Ẓuhr ('The Noon')
* Dulūk ash-Shams ('Decline of the Sun')
* Al-Masāʾ ('The Evening')
* Qabl al-Ghurūb ('Before the Setting (of the Sun)')
* Al-Aṣīl ('The Afternoon')
* Al-ʿAṣr ('The Afternoon')
* Qabl ṭulūʿ ash-Shams ('Before the rising of the Sun')
* Al-Fajr ('The Dawn')

Implied|

* Ghadir Khumm
* Laylat al-Mabit
* First Pilgrimage

Other

Holy books|

* Al-Injīl (The Gospel of Jesus)
* Al-Qurʾān (The Book of Muhammad)
* Ṣuḥuf-i Ibrāhīm (Scroll(s) of Abraham)
* At-Tawrāt (The Torah)
* Ṣuḥuf-i-Mūsā (Scroll(s) of Moses)
* Tablets of Stone
* Az-Zabūr (The Psalms of David)
* Umm al-Kitāb ('Mother of the Book(s)')

Objects
of people
or beings|

* Heavenly food of Jesus' apostles
* Noah's Ark
* Staff of Musa
* Tābūt as-Sakīnah (Casket of Shekhinah)
* Throne of Bilqis
* Trumpet of Israfil

| Mentioned idols
(cult images)|

* 'Ansāb
* Jibt and Ṭāghūt (False god)

| Of Israelites|

* Baʿal
* The ʿijl (golden calf statue) of Israelites

|

Of Noah's people|

* Nasr
* Suwāʿ
* Wadd
* Yaghūth
* Yaʿūq

Of Quraysh|

* Al-Lāt
* Al-ʿUzzā
* Manāt

Celestial
bodies|

Maṣābīḥ (literally 'lamps'):

* Al-Qamar (The Moon)
* Kawākib (Planets)
* Al-Arḍ (The Earth)
* Nujūm (Stars)
* Ash-Shams (The Sun)

Plant matter|

* Baṣal (Onion)
* Fūm (Garlic or wheat)
* Shaṭʾ (Shoot)
* Sūq (Plant stem)
* Zarʿ (Seed)

| Fruits|

* ʿAdas (Lentil)
* Baql (Herb)
* Qith-thāʾ (Cucumber)
* Rummān (Pomegranate)
* Tīn (Fig)
* Zaytūn (Olive)
* In Paradise
* Forbidden fruit of Adam

|

Bushes, trees
or plants|

* Plants of Sheba
* Athl (Tamarisk)
* Sidr (Lote-tree)
* Līnah (Tender Palm tree)
* Nakhl (Date palm)
* Sidrat al-Muntahā
* Zaqqūm

Liquids|

* Māʾ (Water or fluid)
* Nahr (River)
* Yamm (River or sea)
* Sharāb (Drink)

Note: Names are sorted alphabetically. Standard form: Islamic name / Biblical name (title or relationship)
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[lit.]: literal translation
*[pl.]: plural