Whatever veneration the servants may conceive, Allah is greater than it.

88 — Likewise, when one says, “Allahu akbar” (Allah is greater), he attests that whatever greatness enters the minds of angels, jinn, or humans, Allah—exalted is He—is greater still; every estimate of His majesty that takes shape within a soul falls short of the majesty that truly belongs to Him.

89 — He, glorified be He, also transcends the praise His servants offer Him, as the one who knew Him best declared: “I cannot enumerate Your praise; You are as You have praised Yourself.” (1)

90 — Therefore, each time a servant says “Allahu akbar,” his heart affirms that Allah is, within it, greater than everything else; no creature retains in the heart a lordship comparable to the Lord’s, let alone equal to it.

The love that is enjoined and the love that is forbidden

91 — This, too, is encompassed by the testimony of tawḥīd, “There is no god but Allah.” His heart must harbor no divinization of any creature—neither small nor great—for all divinization belongs solely to Allah. A creature may indeed hold a measure of worth, status, and love, yet never one comparable to the Creator’s. The love that is commanded is love for Allah’s sake—such as loving the prophets and the righteous; he loves them because Allah has commanded their love, and this is love for Allah’s sake. Whoever, however, loves them alongside Allah has fallen into shirk.

92 — As Allah, exalted is He, says: “Among people are those who take others as equals to Allah, loving them as they should love Allah” (al-Baqarah 2:165).