the way in which major sins arise from minor ones. He said:

“In just this manner did the worship of idols force its way into former communities: when people began to honour certain individuals—each aggrandising the other—beyond the bounds that ought to be observed, whether those individuals were alive or deceased.

Allah the Exalted has said:

Say: “Call upon those whom you claim besides Him. They possess no power to remove affliction from you, nor to shift it elsewhere. Those whom they invoke themselves seek a means of nearness to their Lord—striving as to which of them is nearer—hoping for His mercy and fearing His punishment; truly the punishment of your Lord is something to dread.” ⦗Al-Isra 56–57⦘

A group of scholars said: There were people who called upon the angels and the prophets—such as ʿUzayr, the Messiah, and others. Allah, blessed and exalted, made clear that these are His servants just as you are His servants; they hope for His mercy as you hope for it, fear His punishment as you fear it, and seek closeness to Him as you seek closeness to Him.

Allah the Exalted has also said:

“It does not befit a human being to whom Allah has given the Scripture, judgment, and prophethood to say to mankind, ‘Be worshippers of me instead of Allah.’ Rather, be devoted to the Lord because you teach the Book and because you study it. Nor would he command you to take the angels and the prophets as lords. Would he command you to disbelief after you have submitted?” ⦗Al ʿImran 79–80⦘

Thus the Most High has made plain that whoever takes the angels and the prophets as lords is a disbeliever, even while acknowledging that they are created beings; for no one has ever claimed that all the angels