something you need, appeal to Shaykh So-and-so, for you will find him; or take a few steps towards his tomb and call out to him, ‘O shaykh!’ He will fulfil your need.” This is an error, and doing so is unlawful. Although some who invoke others besides Allah occasionally see the form of the one they invoke, that is a devil who has assumed that form before them. Such things have happened to many people. Similar to this is the statement made by some ignorant followers of Shaykh Adī and others: “Any provision that does not come through the shaykh’s hands, I do not want.” It is astonishing that someone of sound mind should appeal to a dead person and seek his aid, yet not seek the aid of the Ever-Living who never dies. The delusion grows stronger in his mind that, had he not sought the dead shaykh’s aid, his need would not have been fulfilled. Doing this is forbidden.

One of them says: “If you need something from a king, you seek access to him through his aides; likewise, one seeks access to Him through the shaykhs.” These are the words of people of polytheism and misguidance. A king does not know the needs of his subjects, cannot fulfil them unaided, and only wishes to do so for some benefit he gains thereby. Allah, however, knows all things: He knows what is secret and what is still more hidden, and He has power over all things. All causes proceed from Him and return to Him. Every cause is itself dependent on other causes and subject to counteracting factors. Fire burns only when the object is susceptible to burning; thus it does not burn the salamander. If Allah wills, He prevents its effect, as He did for Abraham, peace be upon him.