The Messengers and the Prophets are the best of the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the righteous

Q: When I listened to this program — I mean *Nur 'ala al-Darb* — I benefited greatly, especially when I learned that the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the dead do not benefit a person. When I told my family this, they accused me of being a disbeliever, and that the awliya (close friends of Allah) would harm me, and that they see me in dreams where these righteous people are blaming me. What do you advise for people like these whose minds are saturated with superstitions and religious innovations that are almost widespread in Arab countries?

A: We advise everyone to fear Allah , and to know that happiness and salvation in this world and the Hereafter lie in worshipping Allah alone, and following the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and proceeding according to his methodology, for he is the master of the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the best of the awliya (close friends of Allah).
The Messengers and the Prophets are the best of people and the best of the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the righteous, and after them in excellence come the Companions of the Prophets (peace be upon them) and those after them, and the best of this Ummah (the Muslim community) are the Companions of our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and after them come the rest of the believers, differing in their degrees and ranks in taqwa (mindfulness of Allah).
The awliya (close friends of Allah) are the people of righteousness and uprightness in obedience to Allah and His Messenger, and at the head of the Prophets is our Prophet Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah (peace and blessings be upon him), then his Companions (peace be upon them) , then the best and then the best in taqwa (mindfulness of Allah) and faith, as mentioned previously.
Loving them for the sake of Allah, emulating them in good, and doing righteous deeds is a required matter, but it is not permissible to cling to them and worship them instead of Allah, nor to call upon them alongside Allah, nor to seek their help or ask them for aid; such as saying: “O Messenger of Allah, help me,” or “O Ali, help me,” or “O al-Hasan, help me or support me,” or “O my master al-Husayn,” or “O Shaykh Abdul Qadir,” or others. All of this is not permissible, because worship is the right of Allah alone, as He said: : [al-Baqarah: 21] And He the Exalted said: [Ghafir: 60] And He the Exalted said: the verse [al-Bayyinah: 5] And He the Sublime said: [an-Naml: 62] And He said: : [al-Mu’minun: 117] So He called them disbelievers for their calling upon other than Allah, and He the Sublime said: [al-Jinn: 18] And He the Exalted said: If you call them, they will not hear your call, and even if they heard, they would not respond to you, and on the Day of Resurrection they will disavow your association of partners with them, and none can inform you like one who is well-informed [Fatir: 13 - 14].
He the Sublime made clear that those they call upon besides Allah, whether Messengers or awliya (close friends of Allah) or others, do not hear; because they are either dead, or occupied in obedience to their Lord like the angels, or absent and do not hear their supplication, or inanimate and do not hear or understand. Then He the Sublime informed that even if they heard, they would not respond to their supplication, and that on the Day of Resurrection they will disavow their shirk (associating partners with Allah). Thus it is known that Allah the Mighty and Majestic is the One who hears the supplication and responds to the supplicant if He wills, and He is the Benefactor, the Harmer, the Owner of everything, and the Capable of everything.
The obligatory thing is to beware of worshipping other than Him and clinging to other than Him, whether the dead, the absent, inanimate objects, or other created things that do not hear the supplicant and are not able to benefit or harm him. As for the living, present, and capable person, there is no harm in seeking his aid in what he is able to do, as He the Mighty and Majestic said in the story of Musa: the verse [al-Qasas: 15] And as a Muslim seeks the aid of his fellow mujahideen (those struggling in the path of Allah) in jihad and fighting the enemies. And success is from Allah.