the attainment of those acts. They remain praiseworthy and pleasing to Him even when they are never actually carried out.

The third category is that Allah grants the servant assistance in performing what He loves from him.

Thus: the first concerns Allah’s assistance; the second concerns the servant’s worship; and the third unites worship with assistance, as in His saying:

“You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help.” (al-Fātiḥah 5)

Whenever an unlawful supplication produces an effect, its efficacy falls under the heading of Allah’s universal assistance, not under the heading of worship—exactly as happens with the rest of the unbelievers, hypocrites, and flagrant sinners.

For this reason Allah said of Mary: “She affirmed the words of her Lord and His scriptures” (at-Taḥrīm 12). The Prophet ﷺ would likewise seek refuge “in the perfect words of Allah, which neither a righteous nor a wicked creature can transcend.”

Out of Allah’s mercy, any supplication tainted with shirk—such as asking someone other than Him to act, or asking that being to intercede—does not secure the petitioner’s aim, nor does it create any real ambiguity about its effectiveness, except in trivial matters. In weighty affairs—sending down rain during drought, or lifting a descending punishment—such polytheism is of no avail.

As the Most High says:

“Say: ‘Tell me, if Allah’s punishment were to come upon you, or the Hour were to arrive, would you call upon anyone other than Allah—if you are truthful?’ No. It is Him you call upon, and, if He wills, He removes the hardship for which you called upon Him, and you forget whatever partners you ascribed to Him.” (al-Anʿām 40–41)