do not deserve punishment. Among the examples of this are the words of the Most High:

“Were it not for believing men and believing women…”—through to His words—“Had they been separated, We would have punished those among them who disbelieved with a painful punishment.”

Were it not for the weak believers living among the disbelievers in Mecca, Allah would have punished the disbelievers. Likewise, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Were it not for the women and children in the houses, I would order the prayer to be established, then set out with men carrying bundles of firewood to people who do not attend the prayer with us, and burn their houses down upon them.”

Likewise, he postponed stoning the pregnant woman until she delivered her child. The Messiah, peace be upon him, said:

“And He has made me blessed wherever I may be.”

Thus, the blessings of Allah’s righteous allies—insofar as they benefit people by calling them to obey Allah, supplicating for them, and being a means through which Allah sends down mercy and wards off punishment—are real and do exist. Whoever intends this by blessing, and speaks truthfully, has spoken the truth.

As for the “false meaning,” an example is intending to associate created beings with Allah: a man may be buried in a place, and people suppose that Allah will take them into His care for that man’s sake, even if they do not obey Allah and His Messenger. This is ignorance. The Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the foremost of Adam’s descendants, lay buried in Medina in the year of al-Harrah, yet its people suffered killing, plunder, and fear to an extent known only to Allah. That happened because, after the rightly guided caliphs, they introduced practices that warranted it. During the caliphs’ time, Allah had warded off harm from them because of their faith and piety, for the rightly guided caliphs used to call them to that.