The Fountain of God’s Unity — Page 20
One [form of shirk] is shirk-e-jali¹ and the other one is shirk-e-khafi. Shirk-e-jali is a form of shirk that manifests itself visibly, for example, worshipping idols or people, worshipping graves, the moon and the sun, etc. People who practise this form of shirk admit it openly that they follow these practices and consider it to be a good deed, and this form of shirk can easily be removed. THE REALITY OF SHIRK-E-KHAFI However, the more formidable foe of mankind is shirk-e-khafi, or shirk that is concealed. A person who adopts this [form of shirk] considers God to be One yet is an idolater all the same. Such a person considers the worship of idols and other things to be evil, but is at the same time, engrossed in idolatry. 1 Manifest form of associating partners with God. [Publishers] 2 A concealed or hidden form of associating partners with God. [Publishers] -20-