His creation, conveying His commands and prohibitions, His promises and warnings, and what He has made lawful and unlawful. What is lawful is only what Allah and His Messenger have declared lawful; what is unlawful is only what Allah and His Messenger have declared unlawful; and the religion itself is only what Allah and His Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—have laid down.
Hence, whoever believes that any of Allah’s devout friends can reach Allah by a path other than following Muhammad ﷺ is an unbeliever, an ally of Satan.
As for creating the creatures, providing for them, answering their supplications, guiding their hearts, granting them victory over their enemies, and every other form of bringing benefit or repelling harm—these belong to Allah alone. He accomplishes them through whatever means He wills; the messengers play no mediating role in such matters.
[Devout Friends Comparable to Diviners and Sorcerers]
Even if a person attains the utmost in asceticism, worship, and learning, yet does not believe in everything Muhammad ﷺ brought, he is not a believer and not a friend of Allah—like the rabbis and monks among the learned men and worshippers of the Jews and Christians.
The same applies to those who claim knowledge and devotion among the polytheists—the idolaters of the Arabs, Turks, Indians, and others, including the sages of India and the Turks—who may possess learning, renunciation, or worship in their own religions but do not believe in everything Muhammad ﷺ brought. Such a person is an unbeliever, an enemy of Allah, even if some people imagine him to be a friend of Allah. The sages of Persia among the Magians were Magian unbelievers, and so were the Greek philosophers—such as Aristotle and those like him—who were polytheists that worshipped idols and the heavenly bodies.