for the world to have an originator other than Allah.

Allah Most High says:

“So set your face towards the religion, inclining to the truth—the innate disposition Allah has instilled in mankind. There is no changing Allah’s creation. That is the upright religion.” [Al-Rūm: 30]

In the two Sahīh collections, Abū Hurayrah reports that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“Every child is born upon the innate disposition, but his parents make him a Jew, a Christian, or a Magian, just as an animal gives birth to an intact offspring. Do you see any mutilation in it?”

In Sahīh Muslim, ‘Iyād ibn Himār reports that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“Allah says: ‘I created My servants devoted to pure monotheism, but the devils led them astray, forbade them what I had made lawful for them, and commanded them to associate with Me that for which I had sent down no authority.’”

People’s innate dispositions recognize this far more clearly than they recognize the food and drink suited to them. Yet the innate disposition may suffer a kind of corruption that impairs its perception, just as its perception is impaired when it finds something sweet to be bitter. This is the most clearly recognized good that Allah commanded His messengers to enjoin, while associating partners with Him is the most abhorrent evil that He commanded them to forbid. Allah does not forgive the association of partners with Him, for it is a corruption that admits of no soundness.

It is therefore necessary to distinguish between loving something alongside Allah and loving it for Allah’s sake. The former is associating partners with Him; the latter is faith.

Allah Most High says:

“Among people are those who take others besides Allah as equals, loving them as they love Allah. But those who believe are stronger in their love for Allah.” [Al-Baqarah: 165]

Thus, no one may love anything alongside Allah.