—attributes of absolute perfection that are His alone, unmatched by any created being—; along with the same kind of excessive veneration of prophets and saints that leads to associating partners with the Lord of all realms; the claim of ḥulūl (incarnation) and ittiḥād (mystical union) that turns a created servant into the very Lord of the servants; abandoning, in matters of religion, the laws laid down by the prophets and messengers; relying in religion on nothing but the heart’s whim, personal taste, and emotional ecstasy, without following the knowledge Allah has sent down in His clear Book; and taking the senior scholars and devout worshippers as lords who are obeyed in the innovations they introduce—innovations that run counter to the way of the prophets, peace be upon them—just as the Most High has said:

“They have taken their rabbis and monks as lords besides Allah, and also the Messiah, son of Mary, while they were commanded to worship but one God. There is no deity worthy of worship except Him. Exalted is He above what they associate with Him.” (at-Tawbah 9:31).

They likewise oppose plain reason and sound transmitted evidence, imagining such opposition to be the result of divine condescension and sacred unveilings, when in truth it is nothing but the whisperings of the Accursed One—until the person who embraces it becomes among those of whom Allah has said:

“And they will say, ‘If only we had listened or reasoned, we would not now be among the companions of the Blaze.’” (al-Mulk 67:10).

He, Exalted, also says:

“Indeed, We have created for Hell many of the jinn and humankind. They have hearts with which they do not understand, eyes with which they do not see, and ears with which they do not hear. Such people are like cattle; rather, they are even further astray.” (al-Aʿrāf 7:179).