On the authority of ʿUmar—may Allah be pleased with him—that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Do not lavish praise on me as the Christians lavished praise on the son of Mary. I am only a servant, so say: the servant of Allah and His Messenger.” Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim (1).

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Biographical note on ʿUmar—may Allah be pleased with him: He is ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab ibn Nufayl al-Qurashi al-ʿAdawi, the Commander of the Believers and the most virtuous Companion after the Siddiq. He was martyred in Dhu al-Hijjah, 23 AH.

“Do not lavish praise on me”: itrāʾ refers to praise that goes beyond due bounds and involves exaggeration.

“as the Christians lavished praise on the son of Mary”: that is, just as the Christians went to extremes concerning Jesus—peace be upon him—until they claimed divinity for him.

“so say: ‘the servant of Allah and His Messenger’ ”: in other words, describe me only with the title my Lord has given me.

Overall meaning of the hadith: The Prophet ﷺ warns, “Do not exaggerate in praising me as the Christians exaggerated in praising Jesus—peace be upon him—and attributed divinity to him. I am nothing more than a servant of Allah and His Messenger; therefore, describe me as such and do not elevate me above the station Allah has granted me.”

Relevance to the chapter: The Prophet’s ﷺ prohibition of excess regarding his own status—by assigning him any attribute exclusive to the Lord—demonstrates that extremism is forbidden and that it opens the door to polytheism, just as it led the Christians to deify Jesus.