the righteous even more emphatically, for that leads to shirk (polytheism).

Benefits derived from the ḥadīth:
1 – The prohibition of excess and an explanation of its disastrous consequences.
2 – Taking lesson from the nations before us so as to avoid the mistakes into which they fell.
3 – His ﷺ earnest concern that his community be kept safe from shirk, its precursors, and anything that draws toward it.
4 – An exhortation to moderation in worship and all other affairs, steering a middle course between excess and negligence.
5 – Excessive veneration of the righteous is a cause of falling into shirk.
6 – The Prophet’s ﷺ intense fear of shirk and his persistent warning against it.