A Spiritual Guide’s Claim to Divinity

Question

If a certain spiritual guide says, “If the disciple regards and believes me to be God, then to him I am God,” will the person who calls the guide God be a sinner or not? And what sin does the one who consents to this commit?

Answer

This is shirk. It is not right for the disciple to regard the guide as God, nor is it right for the guide to teach this or to be pleased with it. In such a case both will become mushriks (polytheists); it will be necessary to sever ties with such a guide.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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