What is the reality of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) call to the polytheists?

The Shaykh : But he called them to something they were in the greatest need of, like parched earth to the water of the sky. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said in the Noble Qur'an—this verse is the answer to my previous question: Why did Allah send Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) to these polytheists, given that they acknowledged that the Creator is One with no partner? He (the Exalted) said: Here is something the scholars call a contraction of speech, and this is part of the inimitability of the Qur'an. Where is the contraction? Where is the brevity? If it were said to them: Why did you take these as allies besides Allah? He said: So they acknowledged two things: The first is that they worshipped them besides Allah, and that they only worshipped them to have them intercede with Allah. Therefore, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was sent to them so that they would purify worship for Allah alone, with no partner. He did not call them to believe that the Creator is One, because as we said, that is a tautology. But despite their acknowledgment that the Creator, the Giver of Life, and the Giver of Death is One with no equal and no partner, they worshipped others alongside Him, as in this verse and many, many other verses. For example: We said earlier that if a polytheist, whatever his religion, says: "There is no Lord but Allah," he does not enter Islam, because he has the faith of the polytheists. He must have the faith of the monotheists. True monotheists affirm the oneness of Allah in His essence, they affirm the oneness of Allah in worship, not worshipping anyone else alongside Him—as the Christians do, for example, worshipping 'Isa (peace be upon him)—they affirm His oneness in His names and His attributes. So if a Muslim believes that Allah is One in His essence, as the polytheists used to affirm this oneness, and then this Muslim adds to that that he worships Allah alone and does not worship anyone else alongside Him—for example, perhaps you have heard that many good, righteous Muslims, when they fall into distress, call upon whom? They call upon the one they call al-Badawi, Sayyid 'Abd al-Qadir, and the like of the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the righteous, calling upon them besides Allah. So they are doing the deed of the first age of ignorance.