And supplication is among the acts of worship. Whoever calls upon created beings who are dead or absent and seeks their aid—although neither Allah nor His Messenger has commanded this as obligatory or recommended—is introducing an innovation into religion, associating partners with the Lord of the worlds, and following a path other than that of the believers.

Whoever asks Allah Most High by created beings, or adjures Him by created beings, is introducing an innovation for which Allah has sent down no authority. If he condemns those who disagree with him and seeks to have them punished, he is unjust, ignorant, and transgressive. If he issues a judgment to that effect, he has judged by something other than what Allah has revealed, and his judgment must be overturned by the consensus of the Muslims. He is far more in need of being required to repent of this judgment and being punished for it than of having it enforced on his behalf and receiving assistance in doing so. All of this is agreed upon among the Muslims; there is no disagreement over it, whether among the four imams or others.

These matters have been discussed at length in several volumes, including a work in which we set out principles concerning judges’ rulings and the matters on which they may or may not pass judgment. It is a separate treatise dealing with the rulings pertaining to this subject. It would not be appropriate to include any of its chapters here, since the discussion in this place is devoted specifically to the principles of monotheism and related matters. An abridged portion of that work, with its chapters carefully refined, will be presented later in separate sheets for the thoughtful reader to consult, given the further benefit it offers and the pressing need to understand this important matter. And Allah grants success.

While I was in Egypt in the year 711 AH, I was asked for a legal opinion concerning