1. The Sin of Shirk and Why It Is A Major Sin In Islam
BY:
Ruqayyah Lamara
And
Mariam Akbar
IBADAH:-all acts of worship/any permissible actions performed to obey Allah.
SHIRK:- the sin of regarding anything as an equal or partner of Allah.

2. WHAT IS SHIRK?
The literal meaning of shirk is ‘association’. It is the idea of associating anyone or anything with Allah or thinking that anyone or anything can be equal to Allah or is worthy of worship. Shirk can also mean giving someone or something attributes of Allah as He can only have them and they are unique to Him only.one way of performing shirk can be idolatry(worshipping an idol). It is the worst sin a Muslim can commit and will not be forgiven by Allah.

3. WHY IS SHIRK SUCH A MAJOR SIN?
Belief in tawheed, the oneness of Allah is the most basic foremost belief in Islam. Allah is divine and nothing in this world is as great as Him or can be associated with Him. To make anyone or anything equal with Allah or give them some of Allah's attributes, is classed as shirk as it goes against that most basic and foremost principal.
Shirk breaks the testimony of shahadah that ‘There is no God but Allah’.
Because Islam is the only true and pure religion and shirk takes you out of fold of Islam.
Every action must be for the sake of Allah and to glorify Allah

4. How do Muslims avoid shirk?
Making sure they concentrate in Allah during salah by refraining from keeping pictures that may be a distraction
Don’t get distracted by worldly materials/desires as it may take you away from worship of Allah
Don’t become obsessed with anyone or anything as it may lead to worshipping/ idolising the person or thing leading to you loving it more than Allah, it is shirk!
Avoid spending too much time watching TV as it is a tool of shaytaan and it can easily take you away from salah, dhikr or Quran as you may find yourself unable to get away from the TV (wastes time)
Money can be a distraction from Allah as well