One of the gravest of these errors is that they belittle the Prophet’s rank—Allah bless him and grant him peace—and even deny his miracles.

Among their mistakes is that they reduce the standing of the Prophet, treating him—both after his passing and during his lifetime—as nothing more than one of the people, undistinguished from any other human being. Yes, he was human, but only inasmuch as Allah created him so; beyond that, Allah honoured His Messenger with extraordinary dignities—how great those honours are! The Prophet is alive in his grave after the death that removed him from this world, for the prophets are alive in their graves. Whoever claims that the prophets are dead like ordinary mortals is someone who cannot tell the living from the dead, the true Prophet from a mere pretender; such a person needs to relearn the matter from beginning to end. The Messenger of Allah informed us that the martyrs are alive in their graves, and our Master, the Messenger of Allah, enjoys a station, an honour, a rank, and a glory far above that of the martyrs. Therefore, to diminish the Messenger’s stature under the pretext of “protecting doctrine” is sheer error and deviation.

We also observe that these people rarely mention the Prophet’s noble miracles, his blessed signs, and his exalted states in a way that brings comfort to the hearts. Instead, they focus on matters that, one senses, only belittle the dignity of prophethood, diminish the Prophet’s stature, and portray him as nothing more—and nothing less—than an ordinary human being. This, in turn, drags them into numerous errors. Hence they are mistaken in the various claims to which I have just alluded, and no one should be deceived by such statements or by similar allegations they advance; for our Master, the Messenger of Allah, instructed us