Such was the state of humankind when the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—was sent: stark ignorance and blind misguidance. Through him Allah delivered those who accepted his call, bringing them out of darkness into light. He revived the gentle ḥanīfiyyah, the pure religion of Abraham—peace be upon him—demolished idols, forbade every form of shirk, and blocked every path that could lead to it.

Below are the verbal and practical avenues that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—forbade because they pave the way to polytheism:

1. He prohibited utterances that place the Creator on the same level as His creation, such as: “Whatever Allah and you will,” or, “Were it not for Allah and you.” Instead he instructed people to say, “Whatever Allah then you will,” for the conjunction “and” (wa) implies equality, whereas “then” (thumma) indicates sequence. Such verbal equality is minor shirk and a stepping-stone to major shirk.

2. He forbade exaggerating the veneration of graves by building over them, lighting lamps upon them, whitewashing or plastering them, and writing on them.

3. He forbade turning graves into places of prayer—performing ṣalāh beside them—because that leads to worshipping them.

4. He forbade praying at sunrise and at sunset, for that resembles those who prostrate to the sun at those very times.

5. He forbade setting out on a journey to any place for the purpose of drawing near to Allah through worship there, except to the three mosques: the Sacred Mosque, the Prophet’s Mosque, and al-Aqsa Mosque.

6. He forbade excessive praise of him, saying: “Do not over-praise me as the Christians over-praised the son of Mary. I am only a servant; so say: the servant of Allah and His Messenger.” Excessive praise (ittrāʾ) is to overdo in