all that someone in his position can do to exercise judgment in choosing whom to follow, then he is not held accountable if he errs, just as when determining the direction of prayer. But if he follows one person rather than another of equal standing merely out of personal desire, and supports him through his actions and words without knowing that the truth is with him, then he belongs to the people of pre-Islamic ignorance. Even if the person he follows is correct, his own action is not righteous; and if the person he follows is mistaken, he is sinful. He is like someone who interprets the Quran according to his own opinion: even if he is correct, he has acted wrongly; and if he is mistaken, let him take his seat in the Fire.

Such people are of the same kind as the person who withholds zakat, concerning whom the warning was mentioned earlier, and as the slave of the dinar, the dirham, plush cloth, and patterned cloaks. For when someone loves wealth so much that it prevents him from worshipping and obeying Allah, he becomes its slave. The same applies to these people: they have an element of minor shirk and are subject to the warning of punishment accordingly.

The hadith states:

“Even a little showing off is shirk.”

This is discussed at length in connection with the texts that describe many sins as disbelief and shirk.

The point here is that the unqualified term “wrongdoing” encompasses disbelief but is not restricted to it; rather, it also encompasses lesser wrongdoing, each according to its degree. The same applies to the terms “sin,” “offence,” and “disobedience”: they encompass disbelief, wickedness, and disobedience. Thus, in the two authentic hadith collections, ‘Abd Allāh ibn Mas‘ūd said:

“I asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, which sin is the gravest?’

“He replied, ‘To set up a rival to Allah when He created you.’

“I asked, ‘Then which?’

“He replied, ‘Then to kill your child for fear that he will share your food.’

“I asked, ‘Then which?’

“He replied, ‘Then to commit adultery with your neighbour’s wife.’ Then Allah, Exalted is He, revealed:

“‘And those who do not invoke another god besides Allah, nor kill a soul whom Allah has forbidden to be killed, except by right, nor commit adultery. Whoever does these things will meet with punishment. His punishment will be multiplied on the Day of Resurrection, and he will remain in it forever, humiliated