What is meant by exaggeration concerning the righteous is to raise them above the station Allah assigned them and to grant them prerogatives that belong to Him alone—such as calling upon them for relief in times of hardship, circling their graves, seeking blessing from their soil, slaughtering sacrificial animals for their shrines, or asking them for supernatural aid.
It was through this very door—exaggeration in honoring the righteous—that Satan introduced polytheism to the people of Noah, so one must beware of it even when the underlying intention appears good.
The same has happened in this nation. Satan displayed to many deluded people various forms of excess and innovation, clothing them in the garb of reverence and love for the righteous, so that he might plunge them into what befell the people of Noah. He continuously whispers to the devotees of graves, suggesting that building structures over the tombs of the righteous and lingering beside them is an act of love for them, and that supplication made at their graves will surely be answered. From there he moves them on to invoking and seeking intercession through the graves themselves. Once they grow accustomed to that, he shifts them to calling upon the buried occupants, worshipping them, and asking them for intercession apart from Allah. Their graves then become idols: lamps are hung upon them, curtains draped over them, people circumambulate them, touch them, and kiss them.
When this becomes familiar, he urges them to invite others to worship these graves and to turn them into festivals and rites. Once that too becomes ingrained, he leads them to believe that anyone who forbids such practices has belittled and hated the saints, denying them honor and rank. This notion has spread through the hearts of many ignorant commoners and even of many who claim knowledge and piety, until they have turned against the people of pure monotheism, hurled grave accusations at them, and driven the public away from them—all under the banner of loving and venerating the righteous. In truth they are lying, for genuine love of the righteous accords with the Quran and the Sunnah: recognizing their virtue and following their example in righteous deeds, without excess and without negligence, as in the words of the Almighty: “Our Lord, forgive us and our brethren who preceded us in faith, and place not in our hearts any rancor toward those who believe. Our Lord, You are indeed Most Kind, Most Merciful.” 1