What is the ruling on those who follow the ambiguous in matters of shirk (associating partners with Allah)?

Question:
The polytheists, in their shirk (associating partners with Allah), are described by Allah in His Book as following the ambiguous. Many scholars today state that one is not declared a disbeliever until the shubhah (doubt) is removed. How do we detail this issue?

Answer:
As for what contains shubhah (doubt), the shubhah is removed from it. And as for what does not contain shubhah, praise be to Allah, if one speaks on the telephone, there is no shubhah, praise be to Allah, or if one speaks through a proxy or by letter, there is no shubhah.
But if one speaks to a dead person: this does not contain shubhah. This is the shirk of the polytheists. Speaking to the dead and istighathah (calling for aid) does not contain shubhah. This is the explicit shirk of the polytheists: they invoke al-Lat, al-Uzza, Manat, and their like, and they invoke the angels, and they invoke the jinn. This is their shirk. And as for the one who has shubhah, the shubhah is removed from him.
Invoking the jinn and the absent angels, and invoking the dead, is not the same as invoking the living person who is present. The Muslims are in agreement that there is no harm in invoking the living person who is present, such as saying to the living person who is present: "Intercede for me," "Invoke Allah for me," "May Allah reward you with good," "Lend me such and such," meaning such and such, "Convey my greetings to so-and-so."