pure monotheism.
This caution appears repeatedly in the sound Sunnah. He ﷺ said, “Do not extol me as the Christians extolled the son of Mary; I am only a servant, so say: the servant of Allah and His Messenger.” He also said, “It is not I who grant deliverance; deliverance is sought only from Allah.” Moreover, he forbade excessive praise and was emphatic about it. To someone who lauded another man he said, “Woe to you! You have slit your companion’s neck.” And he declared, “When you meet those who heap praise upon people, throw dust in their faces.” Such warnings stem from fear that the one praising may slip into exaggeration and the one praised may fall into self-admiration—both of which undermine sound creed.
A remaining question: may a created being be called sayyid (master)? Ibn al-Qayyim remarked: “Scholars differed over the permissibility of using sayyid for human beings. Some—for whom a report from Mālik exists—forbade it, citing the Prophet’s response when he was addressed, ‘O our master!’ He said, ‘The Master is Allah.’ Others allowed it, citing the Prophet’s words to the Anṣār, ‘Stand up for your master,’ and this narration is stronger than the first…” End quote.
The commentator adds: “As for their proof from the Prophet’s words to the Anṣār—‘Stand up for your master’—it seems that the Prophet did not address Saʿd with the title directly; rather, he spoke about him, and in that context it served as a description.” End quote.
In other words, it is impermissible to face a person and say, “O master!” as a form of praise, whereas it is permissible to describe him as such in his absence if he truly deserves the title—thereby reconciling the evidences. Allah knows best.
- Exaggeration concerning the righteous: if exaggeration regarding him ﷺ is forbidden, then exaggeration regarding anyone else among the righteous is, a fortiori, even more prohibited.