Allah. Nor did he regard mere pronunciation of “There is no god but Allah” as sufficient; hence, anyone who says “There is no god but Allah” yet refuses to abandon the worship of the dead and attachment to tombs enjoys no protection for his property or his blood.
Third: Among the specious arguments they also advance is their claim that no act of idolatry can occur within the Muhammadan community so long as its members say, “There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.” Thus, they insist that what they practice at shrines—venerating the dead and calling upon them instead of Allah—does not count as shirk in their view.
The answer is that the Prophet ﷺ foretold that segments of this Ummah would resemble the Jews and Christians, including their taking rabbis and monks as lords besides Allah. He ﷺ likewise informed us that the Hour will not come until a group from his community joins the idolaters and until factions of his community worship idols. Indeed, various forms of idolatry, subversive ideologies, and deviant sects have already emerged within this Ummah, causing many people to depart from Islam while still declaring, “There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.”
Fourth: Another doubt to which they cling concerns intercession. They say, “We do not ask the saints and the righteous to fulfil our needs independently of Allah; we only want them to intercede for us with Allah, for they are pious and enjoy high standing with Him. We seek their status and their intercession.”
The reply is that this is exactly what the earlier polytheists said to justify their conduct, and Allah declared them disbelievers and named them idolaters, as He says: “They worship, instead of Allah, that which can neither harm nor benefit them, and they say, ‘These are our intercessors with Allah.’” ⦗1⦘
Intercession is real, but it belongs exclusively to Allah, as He says: “Say: All intercession rests entirely with Allah.” ⦗2⦘ It must therefore be sought from Allah—not from the dead—for Allah has not licensed