Had we considered them on an equal status with Allah...

Had we considered them on an equal status with Allah, it would have been 'an act of Shirk', but we merely consider them the slaves and creatures of Allah, Who had vested in them an authority and given them the capability to the effect that they manipulate the matters concerning this world by the Will of Allah. Therefore calling upon them for help is calling upon Allah for His Help. These people are dear ones to Allah and therefore are free to do whatever they like.

These are our advocates who will intercede with Allah on our behalf. Meeting them makes one meet his Cherisher and calling upon them makes us near to Allah. The more we recognize their greatness and pay our respect to them, the more we shall be drawn towards Allah. In addition to all this, they make a lot of other absurd and baseless statements.

The verdict of Qur'an: The sole reason for all the above incongruities is that people have forsaken Qur'an and Hadith and exercise their own judgments in the matters concerning Shari 'ah by applying their own intellect, pursue myths and superstitions, and try to justify their erroneous customs and traditions by presenting insubstantial evidence.

If they had the knowledge of Qur'an and Hadith, they would have known that even the pagans among the Arabs used to employ similar kind of arguments before the Prophet {Peace be upon Him}.Allah's wrath befell them as He declared them liars in one of the Qur'anic verses: {And they worship besides Allah things that hurt them not, nor profit them, and they say: 'These are our intercessors with Allah.' Say: Do you inform Allah of that which He knows not in the heavens and on the earth?

Glorified and Exalted is He above all that which they associate as partners with Him!} (V.I0:18) None but Allah is the Capable: The objects which the polytheists offer their worship to, are absolutely powerless. They possess no capability of either benefiting anybody or inflicting any harm on someone. As to their notion that they will intercede with Allah on their behalf, is nothing but a mere fallacy for the simple reason that Allah did not inform them about any such thing.

Do they profess to be more knowledgeable than Allah in regard to the matters of this world and the heavens in what they believe to be their mediators with Allah on their behalf? 'Thus, it becomes known to us that there is no such mediator in this universe who, on the basis of people's belief or disbelief in them, can either benefit or harm someone.