fast—yet the moment an extraordinary act occurs at his hands they proclaim it a marvel, when in fact it is nothing more than a satanic exploit. Some go even further: they exaggerate in their veneration of a pious saint until they make him a god beside Allah, exactly as the grave-worshippers have done. If you were to read al-Shaʿrānī’s book Tabaqāt al-Awliyāʾ, you would encounter the most astonishing fabrications, for in their eyes the saint is exempt from all religious duties and needs no act of worship.

No matter how great a person’s righteousness and devotion become, he can never cast off servitude to Allah—not the angels, not the saints, not even the prophets. Our own Prophet ﷺ declared, “By Allah, I hope that I am the one among you who knows Allah best and fears Him most.” He is the master of humankind and the finest to walk the earth, yet Allah says to him, “So worship your Lord until certainty (death) comes to you” (al-Ḥijr 15:99). No one has ever reached the station attained by the Prophet ﷺ, yet he never abandoned the worship of Allah.

Concerning the Messiah ﷺ, Allah states: “The Messiah would never disdain to be a servant of Allah—nor would the angels who are near. Whoever disdains His worship and grows arrogant, He will gather them all to Himself. As for those who believe and do righteous deeds, He will give them their full reward and more out of His bounty; but as for those who were disdainful and arrogant, He will punish them with a painful torment, and they will find for themselves neither ally nor helper besides Allah” (al-Nisāʾ 4:172–173).

Such, then, is the matter.