Is it considered shirk (polytheism) for a man to say: "I went to the doctor, I was cured," or "I took the medicine, I was cured," or "I drank water, the thirst left," given that healing and the departure of thirst all come from Allah?

If the question pertains to the ruling on attributing blessings to their known, tangible causes, then this, in itself, is not polytheism (shirk) as long as one believes that these are merely causes and that they are not independent in their effect from the Creator, glorified be He.

However, if one attributes blessings to their causes, one should not forget the Bestower, majestic and exalted is He; rather, blessings must be attributed to Allah verbally and by acknowledgment, because this is part of the perfection of monotheism (tawhid).

So, whoever acknowledges in his heart that all blessings are from Allah alone, but then sometimes attributes them to Allah with his tongue, and other times attributes them to himself and his actions, then such a person must repent.

Gratitude (shukr) is built upon three pillars: the heart's acknowledgment of Allah's blessings, speaking of them and praising Allah, and using them to obey the Bestower.

As for the saying: "Were it not for so-and-so, such-and-such would not have happened," its details are as follows: 1. If it is intended as news, and the news is truthful and corresponds to reality, then there is no harm in it. 2. If it is intended as a cause: a. If it is a hidden cause with no effect, such as saying: "Were it not for such-and-such saint, such-and-such would not have happened," then this is major polytheism (shirk akbar). b. If it is attributed to a sound cause established by religious texts or by sensory experience, then this is permissible, provided that one does not believe the cause is effective by itself and does not forget the Bestower. c. If it is attributed to an apparent cause, but its being a cause has not been established, neither by religious texts nor by sensory experience, then this is a type of minor polytheism (shirk asghar).

This detailed explanation is supported by the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) attribution of (lola - were it not for) to the cause alone in his saying about his uncle Abu Talib: "Were it not for me, he would have been in the lowest depths of Hellfire."