There is no doubt that supplication is an act of worship—indeed, it is the finest form of worship. Directing it to anyone other than Allah is therefore polytheism, and calling it tawassul (seeking a means of approach) does nothing to change its true nature. Whoever invokes created beings who are dead or absent and seeks their aid has associated partners with Allah Almighty and suffered manifest loss.

Through these forms of misguidance, such people have opened the way for the enemies of the religion to spread their error, advance their falsehood, defend their beliefs, and plot against the Muslims. Here is an astonishing account that casts light on this matter and demonstrates its gravity: three monks once met Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyya. He—may Allah have mercy on him—debated them and established the proof against them, showing that they were disbelievers and did not follow the path of Abraham and Jesus—peace be upon them both. They said to him, “We do the same as you do: you invoke Lady Nafīsa, while we invoke Lady Mary. You and we agree that the Messiah and Mary are superior to al-Husayn and Nafīsa. You seek aid from the righteous people who preceded you, and so do we.” Consider, my Muslim brother, how these people opened the way for the enemies of the religion by imitating their practices and departing from the spirit and true essence of Islam.

Shaykh al-Islām therefore answered these monks: “Whoever does that bears a resemblance to you. This is not the religion that Abraham followed. The religion Abraham—peace be upon him—followed was that we worship none but Allah alone, who has no partner, rival, consort, or child; that we associate with Him neither an angel, the sun, the moon, nor a star; and that we associate with Him neither a prophet nor a righteous person.” He—may Allah have mercy on him—then mentioned several points elucidating the true monotheism of the prophets and messengers, in contrast to the practices of