and the pillars of the faith and the mainstay of those endowed with certainty—may receive an ample share of the sovereign’s care and a measure of mercy and compassion. For this is a distinction unmatched by any other virtue, and a good deed that no evil can overshadow: it embodies true reverence for Allah Most High’s command and the essence of compassion for His creation.

I, your humble servant, have indeed examined the question put to the shaykh, imam, and erudite scholar, unequalled in his day and peerless in his age, Taqī al-Dīn Abū al-'Abbās Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah, together with his answer. I found it to be a distillation of what the scholars have said on this subject, suited to the circumstances, drawing upon his accurate citations and the implications established and accepted in the course of the discussion. It is neither tainted by prejudice nor marred by a wilful disregard of the facts. Nor does it contain—Allah forbid—anything that would disparage or diminish the Messenger’s standing, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

How could scholars allow partisanship to lead them to utter words disparaging or belittling the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace? Could anyone conceivably imagine that visiting his grave, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, enhances his stature, or that refraining from visiting it diminishes the reverence due to him? The Messenger is far above such a notion!

Admittedly, if someone were to make such a statement unprompted, and there were indications of disparagement and belittlement, it could be construed in that sense—though even then it would be an implicit allusion, not an explicit statement.