in rank for such things. This happened to a man who, together with a group accompanying him, was carried from Alexandria to ʿArafāt. He saw angels descending and recording the pilgrims’ names, so he asked, “Have you recorded my name?”
They replied, “You have not performed Hajj as other people have. You have neither undergone hardship nor entered ihrām, nor have you attained what the pilgrims attain through the Hajj for which people are rewarded.”
Some of these people asked a spiritual master to perform Hajj with them by travelling through the air. He told them, “This Hajj does not discharge your obligation, because you have not performed Hajj as Allah and His Messenger commanded.”
The religion of Islam rests upon two foundations: that Allah alone should be worshipped, without associating anything with Him, and that He should be worshipped according to what He prescribed through His Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. These two foundations constitute the true meaning of our declaration:
“I bear witness that none is worthy of worship except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.”
A deity is one to whom hearts turn in worship, seeking help, love, veneration, fear, hope, reverence and honour. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has a right that none shares with Him: none but Allah is to be worshipped, none but Allah invoked, none but Allah feared, and none but Allah obeyed.
The Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, conveys from Allah Most High His commands and prohibitions, and what He declares lawful and forbidden. Thus, what he declares lawful is lawful, what he declares forbidden is forbidden, and religion is what he prescribes. The Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is an intermediary between Allah and His creation in conveying His commands and prohibitions, His promises and warnings, what He declares lawful and forbidden, and all the rest of His speech that he conveys.
As for answering supplications, removing affliction, granting guidance and providing sufficiency, Allah Most High is the One who hears their words, sees where they are, and knows their secrets and private conversations; and He, glorified be He, is able to