the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, between the grave visitation practiced by those who worship Allah alone and that practiced by those who associate partners with Him. When those who worship Allah alone visit Muslim graves, they greet the deceased with peace and supplicate for them. This is like offering the funeral prayer over them. By contrast, the visitation practiced by those who associate partners with Allah involves likening a created being to the Creator: they make vows to him, prostrate before him, invoke him, and love him as they love the Creator. Thus, they have made him a rival to Allah and equated him with the Lord of all worlds.

Allah has forbidden associating angels, prophets, or anyone else with Him. The Most High says:

“It is not for a human being to whom Allah has given the Scripture, wisdom, and prophethood to then say to people, ‘Be my worshippers rather than Allah’s.’ Rather, ‘Be devoted servants of the Lord through your teaching of the Scripture and through your study of it.’ Nor would he command you to take angels and prophets as lords.”

“Would he command you to disbelieve after you have submitted to Allah?”

The Most High also says:

“Say, ‘Call upon those you claim to be gods besides Him. They have no power to remove harm from you or to shift it elsewhere.’”

“Those whom they invoke themselves seek a means of drawing near to their Lord, striving to be closest to Him. They hope for His mercy and fear His punishment. Indeed, your Lord’s punishment is something to beware of.”

A group of the early generations said: Some people used to invoke prophets such as the Messiah and Ezra, and to invoke the angels. The Most High therefore informed them that these are His servants: they hope for His mercy, fear His punishment, and draw near to Him through their deeds. He, glory be to Him, also forbade drawing analogies between Him and created beings. He must therefore not be likened to a created being who