What is the meaning of: {Fear Allah and seek the means of nearness to Him}?

The following message was received by the program from some of our brothers in Sudan. In their message, they ask about shirk (associating partners with Allah) in terms of its concept, and they request an explanation of this verse. Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Ma'idah: 35]. May Allah reward you with good. Please inform us of the correct ruling, and may you have the reward and recompense from Allah the Exalted?
Answer: Shirk (associating partners with Allah), by its name, is associating other than Allah with Allah in worship. For example, calling upon idols, seeking their aid, making vows to them, praying to them, fasting for them, slaughtering for them, slaughtering for al-Badawi, slaughtering for al-'Idrus, slaughtering for so-and-so, praying to so-and-so, seeking aid from Shaykh 'Abd al-Qadir, from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), from al-'Idrus in Yemen, or from the like of these among the various objects of worship other than Allah. This is called shirk.
Likewise, if one calls upon the stars or the jinn, or seeks their aid, or asks them for support, or does the like of that.
So if one does any of these acts of worship with the created beings or with the dead, this becomes shirk with Allah . Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, said: [Al-An'am: 88]. He, the Exalted, said: [Az-Zumar: 65].
And among shirk is also: worshipping other than Allah with complete worship. It is called shirk and it is called kufr (disbelief). So whoever turns away from Allah completely and makes his worship for other than Allah, for trees or stones or idols or jinn or some of the dead whom they call the awliya (close friends of Allah), worshipping them, praying to them, fasting for them, and forgetting Allah completely, this is the greatest kufr, the most severe kufr, and the most severe shirk. We ask Allah for safety.
Likewise, whoever denies the existence of Allah and says: there is no God, and life is matter, like the communists and the atheists who deny the existence of Allah, these are the most disbelieving of people and the most astray, and the greatest in shirk and misguidance. We ask Allah for safety.
So the point is that these beliefs and the like of them are all called shirk and are called kufr with Allah .
And some people may err due to their ignorance and call calling upon the dead and seeking their aid a "means" (wasilah). This is an error. This is a means to kufr, it is not a permissible means. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, says: [Al-Ma'idah: 35]. The "means" is nearness, meaning: through His obedience. This is the "means" according to all the scholars. The "means" is drawing near to Allah through His obedience. So prayer is a means of nearness to Allah, slaughtering for Allah is a means, such as sacrifices and gifts, fasting is a means, charity is a means, the remembrance of Allah and reciting the Qur'an is a means. This is the meaning of His saying, Glorified and Exalted is He: [Al-Ma'idah: 35], meaning: seek nearness to Him through His obedience. This is what Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir, al-Baghawi, and others of the imams of tafsir (exegesis) said.
The meaning is: seek nearness to Him through His obedience, and seek it, ask for it wherever you are, with what Allah has prescribed for you of prayer, fasting, charity, and the like.
And likewise His saying in the other verse: [Al-Isra: 57], that they may seek nearness to their Lord, meaning through His obedience, [Al-Isra: 57]. Thus the messengers and their followers, in drawing near to Allah by the means He has prescribed, of jihad, of fasting, of prayer, of dhikr (remembrance), of reciting the Qur'an, and other than this of the ways of nearness.
As for the belief of some people that the "means" is clinging to the dead and seeking the aid of the awliya (close friends of Allah) and making vows to them, this is an error and a false belief. And this is the belief of the mushrikin (those who associate partners with Allah) about whom He, the Exalted, said: [Yunus: 18]. This is the work of the mushrikin. They call upon the dead and seek the aid of the jinn, and seek the aid of the angels, and claim that they are their means to Allah.
And He the Exalted said in His noble Book: [al-Zumar:3] Allah the Sublime said: [al-Zumar:3] So He called them liars and disbelievers; liars in their claim that it brings them closer to Allah, and disbelievers in their claim that Allah commanded them to do this, ... , so He the Sublime did not command this. Thus, they are liars in their claim and disbelievers in their action. For this reason, He the Glorious and Majestic said: [al-Zumar:3], [al-Zumar:3], for it does not bring them closer to Allah or draw them near to Him, but rather it distances them from Allah and His mercy . So they are liars in this claim and disbelievers in this action which they attributed to Allah and made it a religion for Him .
And Allah says: [Az-Zumar: 2]. And He says: [Al-Fatihah: 5], [Al-Isra: 23], [Al-Bayyinah: 5]. And this is the meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god but Allah), [Muhammad: 19].