Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah said concerning the words of Allah, Mighty and Majestic:

“Call upon your Lord humbly and privately. Indeed, He does not love transgressors.”

“And do not cause corruption on the earth after it has been set right, and call upon Him in fear and hope. Indeed, Allah’s mercy is near to those who do good.”

These two verses encompass the etiquette of both kinds of invocation: invocation through worship and invocation through petition. In the Quran, invocation sometimes means the former, sometimes the latter, and sometimes both together. The two are inseparable. Invocation through petition means seeking what benefits the one invoking and seeking the removal and prevention of what harms him. Whoever possesses power over harm and benefit is the one worshipped; the one worshipped must necessarily possess power over benefit and harm. Thus, the Most High rebuked those who worshipped besides Him that which possesses no power to harm or benefit.

This occurs frequently in the Quran, as in His words:

“Do not invoke besides Allah that which neither benefits you nor harms you.”

And He said:

“They worship besides Allah that which neither harms them nor benefits them.”

He thus denied that these objects of worship have any power to harm or benefit, whether concerning themselves or extending to others: they possess no such power for themselves or for their worshippers. This occurs frequently in the Quran, where the Most High explains that the one worshipped must possess power