statements. Rather, all his statements are without legal effect: no ruling of Islamic law, reward, or punishment attaches to them. This differs from a child who has reached the age of discernment: in some matters, his statements have legal effect according to scriptural texts and scholarly consensus, while in others their effect is disputed.
If an insane person’s faith, fear of Allah, and drawing near to Him through obligatory and voluntary acts of worship are not valid, and he therefore cannot be a friend of Allah, then no one may believe that he is a friend of Allah. This is especially so when the evidence offered is either some disclosure of hidden matters heard from him, or some exercise of extraordinary power—for example, seeing him point at someone who then dies or falls into a fit. For it is known that disbelievers and hypocrites—among the polytheists and the People of the Book—have disclosures of hidden matters and extraordinary powers originating from devils, as do soothsayers, sorcerers, and devotees among the polytheists and the People of the Book.
No one may therefore infer from such things alone that a person is a friend of Allah, even if nothing is known about him that contradicts friendship with Allah. How, then, could this be permissible when something is known about him that does contradict it? For example, he may be known not to believe that following the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, is obligatory both inwardly and outwardly; rather, he believes that he follows the outward religious law, but not the inward reality. Or he may believe that Allah’s friends have a path to Allah other than the path of the prophets, peace be upon them.
Or he may say, “The prophets have made the path narrow,” or, “They are exemplars for ordinary people, not the elect,” and similar things said by some who claim friendship with Allah. Such people harbour disbelief that is incompatible with faith, let alone friendship with Allah, Mighty and Majestic. Whoever cites the extraordinary feats performed by any of them as evidence of their friendship with Allah is more astray than the Jews and Christians.