Shirk in obedience

 It is narrated from him (narrator of the Hadith above) from ‘Abd Allah ibn Muskan from abu al-‘Abbas who has said the following: “Once I asked abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) about the minimum degree of al-Shirk (paganism). The Imam said, ‘It is one’s inventing an opinion and thereafter loving and hating (people) on that basis.’”

Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from Yunus from ibn Bukayr from Durays from abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) who has said the following: “About the words of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, ‘Most of them do not believe in Allah; without associating others with Him’ (12:106) the Imam said, ‘Al-Shirk (paganism) is obedience and not in worship,’ and the words of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, ‘ . . . certain people worship Allah to achieve worldly gains. . . .,’ (22:11) the Imam said, ‘A verse comes down about a man and then it applies to his followers.’ I then said, ‘Do those who appoint others (as people possessing Divine Authority) instead of you ( Ahl al-Bayt) worship for worldly gains?’ The Imam said, ‘Yes, at certain cases it is just that ( al - Shirk ).’”

Yunus has narrated from Dawud ibn Farqad from Hassan al-Jammal from ‘Amirah who has said the following: “I heard abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) saying, ‘People are commanded to know us ( Ahl al-Bayt ), and they are referred to us and to submit to us.’ The Imam then said, ‘If they fast, perform prayers, testify that there is no one who deserves to be worshipped except Allah but keep it in themselves and do not refer to us for guidance, for this they will be considered Mushrik, (considering things as partners of Allah).”’

A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid from his father from ‘Abd Allah ibn Yahya from ‘Abd Allah ibn Muskan from abu Basir who has said the following: “Once I asked abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) about the words of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, ‘. . . they (unconditionally) obeyed the rabbis and the monks. ... as they should have obeyed Allah. . . .’ (9:31) The Imam said, ‘By Allah, they (rabbis and monks) did not call the people to worship them. Had they done so people would not have listened to them. They, however, made certain things lawful and unlawful as they liked and people obeyed and worshipped them without realizing the evil in such worship.’”

Ali ibn Muhammad has narrated from Salih ibn abu Hammad and Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from ibn abu ‘Umayr from a man from abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) who has said the following: “Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) has said, ‘Whoever obeys a man in a sin has worshipped him.’”

📚Kitab Al Kafi V2,P222-223