…so no one may declare something lawful or unlawful on the basis of his own whim, nor may he obey anyone who does so. Whoever ventures into that is himself a taghut (false deity) and a follower of the taghuts who legislate without God. This is the sense of the phrase “or the one obeyed,” that is, the person obeyed in declaring things lawful or unlawful, for such authority belongs solely to God, Glorified and Exalted be He; the Messenger ﷺ merely conveys what God has deemed lawful and unlawful. (79) His words: “The taghuts are many, but their chiefs are five.” Every being that is worshipped, followed, or unconditionally obeyed falls under the term taghut, and they are indeed numerous; yet their principal leaders are five. The first: Iblis—may God curse him—whom God expelled and removed from His mercy because he refused to prostrate to Adam, disobeyed the Almighty, and acted arrogantly, saying: “I am better than him; You created me from fire, whereas You created him from clay” (Sad 76). For this defiance and pride God cursed, banished, and distanced him. He was named Iblis, it is said, because he iblas—despaired—of divine mercy…