Praising the skilled driver and attributing the merit to him

Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. Sometimes a car driver on a long journey covers distances in less time than others, and in less time than others. So we say the driver is skilled and an expert, and that is why he did this. Is this attributing merit to other than Allah?

Answer:
Yes, this is attributing merit to other than Allah, because Allah is able to disable this driver you are praising; He disables him and he is unable to do so. Your covering the distance safely is from Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He); it is not due to the driver, nor his experience, nor his knowledge, nor his skill. Rather, this is from the facilitation of Allah, . The driver may be skilled and proficient, but an obstacle to driving may occur for him, whether he falls ill, or the car breaks down, or he gets lost and takes the wrong road even though he is skilled. So do not attribute this to the driver. As for praising the driver for driving well, there is no harm in that. But saying that covering the distance and arriving is by the driver’s merit, that is not permissible. As for saying the driver is what Allah willed, skilled, and drives well, and so on, there is no harm in that. But do not attribute to him that by his merit you covered the distance, for that is ingratitude for the blessing. Attribute this to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). Likewise, safety from overturning or from accidents on the road is not due to the driver’s skill; it is from the grace of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). Do not attribute this to the driver.