for the rivals they set up beside Him. He Most High also says:

“Allah presents an example: a man owned by quarrelling partners and a man belonging exclusively to one man—are the two equal in comparison?”

Likewise, arrogance prevents true humble submission to Allah; indeed, it prevents true love for Allah, for complete love necessarily entails humble submission and obedience: a lover obeys the one he loves. Thus, love has degrees, the highest of which is enslavement by love, which is worshipful devotion. Taym Allāh means “servant of Allah”; a heart enslaved by love is one bound in servitude to its beloved. None but Allah alone deserves this.

Islam means that a servant submits to Allah and to no one else, as expressed by the declaration:

“There is no god worthy of worship except Allah.”

Whoever submits to Him and to another is a polytheist, while whoever does not submit to Him is arrogant. Both attitudes are contrary to Islam. Associating partners with Allah is prevalent among Christians and those who resemble them from among the misguided and those affiliated with the Muslim community.

We have discussed the matters related to this subject at length in several places. These include establishing Allah’s divinity and oneness; the impossibility of His having any partner; the ruin of the heavens and the earth if another god besides Him were assumed to exist; the distinction between associating partners with Him in lordship and associating partners with Him in worship; explaining that human beings are naturally disposed to acknowledge Him, love Him, and revere Him; and that hearts cannot be sound unless they worship Allah alone, and have no