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

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

Allah, glorified and exalted is He, censures those who invoke the angels, the prophets, and other righteous people. He explains that those whom they invoke have no power to remove their hardship or shift it elsewhere. They themselves draw near to Allah through the means of approach—namely, righteous deeds—and hope for His mercy and fear His punishment. How, then, can people invoke created beings and forsake the Creator? The Most High says:

“Do those who disbelieve think they can take My servants as protectors besides Me? We have prepared Hell as a welcome for the disbelievers.”

He, glorified and exalted is He, knows His servants’ circumstances and is merciful to them, as related in an authentic hadith about the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“He saw a woman among the captives who, upon seeing a child, pressed him to her belly. He said, ‘Do you think this woman would cast her child into the Fire?’ They replied, ‘No, O Messenger of Allah.’ He said, ‘Allah is more merciful to His servants than this woman is to her child.’”

He, glorified is He, is All-Hearing and Near. Allah Most High says:

“Say, ‘If I go astray, I do so only to my own detriment; but if I am guided, it is through what my Lord reveals to me. Indeed, He is All-Hearing and Near.’”

He, Most High, is Merciful and Loving. “Affection” means kindness and love. He loves His believing servants and places affection for them in people’s hearts, as the Most High says:

“Indeed, those who believe and do righteous deeds—the Most Merciful will grant them affection.”

Ibn ‘Abbās and others said: He loves them and makes His servants love them.