What is meant by itraʾ in his case ﷺ is to add excesses to his praise. He ﷺ forbade this when he said, “Do not extol me as the Christians extolled the son of Mary. I am merely a servant, so say: the servant of Allah and His Messenger.” (1) In other words: do not laud me with falsehood, nor overstep the proper bounds in praising me as the Christians went to extremes concerning Jesus—until they declared him divine. Rather, describe me with the titles my Lord has given me: the servant of Allah and His Messenger.

When one of his Companions said to him, “You are our master,” he replied, “The Master is Allah.” And when they added, “You are the best among us and the greatest in stature,” he said, “Speak as you normally would—or some of what you would say—but let not Satan drag you away.” (2)

On another occasion some people addressed him: “O Messenger of Allah, the best of us and the son of the best of us, our master and the son of our master!” He responded, “People, speak as you usually do and let not Satan beguile you. I am Muhammad, the servant of Allah and His Messenger. I do not wish you to raise me above the station to which Allah has appointed me.” (3)