Taking the shaykhs of the Sufi orders as intercessors before Allah Most High

Question: We are all familiar with the noble ḥadīth, “Whoever among you sees a wrong should change it with his hand; if he is unable, then with his tongue; and if he is still unable, then with his heart—and that is the weakest level of faith.”

What do you advise us concerning a problem that has become widespread in our time—namely, innovations and superstitions? Among these is a group who call themselves shaykhs. They claim that they possess spiritual guardianship over their devotees in this world and the next. They gather people around them and preach, each one declaring to his audience, “I am shaykh so-and-so; pledge yourselves to me that I may be your patron and intercessor in this world and the Hereafter!”

What is the ruling on such conduct? What is the ruling on those who believe them? And what is our duty toward them? Please enlighten us—may Allah reward you with goodness.

Answer: First, we thank the questioner for his zeal for the religion and his concern for sound creed; this is the obligation of every Muslim.

As for the situation he has described—people who summon the masses, deliver sermons, and urge them to venerate and worship them instead of Allah by taking them as intercessors and patrons in this world and the Hereafter—this is a grave evil and an odious act of disbelief. Whoever calls people to worship himself is a ṭāghūt (a false object of worship), as the scholars have explicitly stated, for worship is the exclusive right of Allah; no one else has any share in it whatsoever. Intercession likewise belongs solely to Allah: “Say: All intercession belongs to Allah alone” (Az-Zumar 44); “Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission?” (Al-Baqarah 255); and “They will not intercede except for those with whom He is pleased” (Al-Anbiyāʾ 28).