the means of drawing near to their Lord, each seeking to be closest to Him. They hope for His mercy and fear His punishment. Indeed, your Lord’s punishment is ever to be feared.”

A group of the early generations said:

Some people used to invoke the Messiah, Ezra, and the angels. Allah Most High explained that these angels and prophets are His servants, just as those who invoke them are His servants. These angels and prophets seek nearness to Allah, hope for His mercy, and fear His punishment.

The polytheists took rivals alongside Allah, loving them as they loved Allah, and took intercessors to intercede for them with Allah. Their love for these beings and their association of them with Allah are akin to the Christians’ love for the Messiah and their association of him with Allah.

The believers, however, are stronger in their love for Allah. They worship Allah alone and do not set up anything alongside Him that they love as they love Him—neither His prophets nor anyone else. Rather, they love what He loves out of their love for Allah. They devote their religion sincerely to Allah and know that no one can intercede for them except by Allah’s permission.

Thus, they love Allah’s servant and Messenger, Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, out of their love for Allah. They know that he is Allah’s servant who conveys His message, so they obey his commands and believe what he tells them. They place their hope in none but Allah, fear none but Allah, and ask none but Allah. His intercession for those on whose behalf he intercedes is only by Allah’s permission. Neither our hope in the intercessor nor our fear of him benefits us. What benefits us is our worship of Allah alone, our sincere devotion to Him, and our reliance upon Him, for He is the One who grants the intercessor permission. A Muslim must therefore distinguish between the love and religion of the believers and the love of the Christians