For the fulfilment of humanity’s spiritual needs...

For the fulfilment of humanity’s spiritual needs, Allah (awj), the Wise, has placed another form of sustenance at people’s disposal in the form of laws and religion, with sound nourishment in terms of belief, worship, morals, and training, conveyed by the prophets (ع).

This is why they are called the “vessel of legislative grace.” This is while the divine prophets, too, are required to observe those limits and duties and to utilize them to meet their spiritual needs and become linked to the spiritual and celestial realm, which is beyond their senses and perception, and for at least some moments of every day they must connect to the sacred realm (through the daily acts of worship).

There are some people who, in availing themselves of this Divine legislative blessing, have excelled others and have linked themselves to that realm both quicker and more strongly than them, so that it is as if they have detached themselves from the natural world and have themselves become celestial. Even amongst these people there are some who have surpassed the rest and attained the station of Divine regent (khalifah) , becoming the “‘ummal Allah” (workers of Allah).

And in this way, they also become vessels of creational grace; that is, they become intermediaries between that realm and people who have fallen behind the caravan. Thus, these individuals who have fallen behind have no choice but to make use of these intermediaries to benefit from the spiritual realm and meet their needs. This is where the misconception arises that taking recourse to or seeking one’s needs from these personages contradicts Unity of action or Unity of Lordship.

But just as utilizing material resources and fulfilling physical needs is not polytheism, since Allah (awj) Himself created these blessings, subjected them to mankind[^1] and gave him permission (in the manner of his creation) to use them in the correct way (which is explained by religious law)—and anyone who is a monotheist knows that they are His gifts, created by Him, and dependent on Him and does not consider them independent or necessary existents—in the same way, taking recourse to, respecting, and seeking one’s needs from those personages, too, presents no contradiction to the Unity of Action or Unity of Lordship and to the fact that only Allah (awj) is the (independent) Fulfiller of needs, since in this recourse or attention to these personages, they are not viewed as being parallel to or independent of Allah (awj).