“Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique has narrated that Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said : ‘Shirk in my Ummah is much more hidden than the pace of an ant crawling upon a black stone.’
Shirk is very hidden. It enters the heart very silently and very few are saved from it.
Upon hearing this, Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique asked : ‘How can one be saved from it?’
Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said: ‘ Should I not show you such a supplication (dua) that if you recite it, you will be free from minor and major shirk.’
Hazrat Abu Bakr requested him to do so. Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) instructed him to say :
‘Allahumma innee a’oozu bika min an ushrika bika shay-a`w wa-ana a’alam wa-astaghfiruka limaa laa a’alam.’
‘O Allah, I seek protection in You from that I ascribe partners to You knowingly and I seek forgiveness from You for those things which I do not know.’
Minor Shirk is the doing of good actions for show, name, fame or recognition”