Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
The awliya of Allah are people of faith and piety, as Allah says:
“Unquestionably, for the allies of Allah there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve. Those who believed and were conscious of Allah.”
[Yunus 10:62–63]
Loving and respecting the righteous servants of Allah is permissible, but it is not permissible to raise them to a status that belongs only to Allah Almighty.
Governing the universe and having absolute control over it are among the exclusive attributes of Allah’s Lordship.
No wali or prophet has the power to control the universe according to his own will, create, provide sustenance, bring the dead to life, or say to something, “Be,” and it is.
Allah says:
“Say, ‘Who provides for you from the heaven and the earth… and who arranges every matter?’ They will say, ‘Allah.’”
[Yunus 10:31]
Therefore, believing that any human being has been given absolute control over the universe or has become a partner in governing it is a form of shirk in the Lordship of Allah.
Merely adding the phrase “by Allah’s permission” does not make the belief correct if what is meant is that Allah has granted a wali general authority to govern the universe and control it whenever he wishes.
Allah has not made any of His creation a partner in His dominion and management of the universe, and there is no Islamic evidence that the awliya have been granted such authority.
Scholars have explained that believing Allah has granted a human being a rank through which he can control the world however he wishes is a false belief that contradicts the oneness of Allah’s Lordship.
Even the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, who is the best of creation, used to turn to Allah in supplication and ask Him for victory, provision, and healing. He never claimed that he controlled the universe or could say to things, “Be,” and they would be. One example is his earnest supplication to Allah before the Battle of Badr.
Allah said to His Prophet ﷺ:
“Say, ‘I hold no power to benefit or harm myself, except as Allah wills.’”
[Al-A‘raf 7:188]
A distinction must be made between a karamah granted to a wali and claiming control over the universe.
A karamah is an extraordinary event that Allah may cause to occur through a righteous servant as an honor for him. However, the wali does not possess the karamah and cannot produce it whenever he wishes. Its occurrence depends entirely on Allah’s will.
Therefore, the miracles of the awliya cannot be used as evidence that they possess control over the universe or can fulfill people’s needs independently or through some general authority delegated to them by Allah.
The awliya have virtue and status according to their faith and piety, and Allah may honor some of them with karamat. However, they are created servants who do not possess control over the universe or the affairs of creation.
Believing that a wali possesses general control over the universe, independently brings benefit or harm, gives life or causes death, or says to something, “Be,” and it is, constitutes major shirk.
This belief does not become correct merely by adding the phrase “by Allah’s permission,” because Allah has not given any of His creation a share in His dominion or governance.
As for authentic karamat granted to the awliya, they occur by Allah’s action and will and are not powers that a wali possesses and can use whenever he wishes.
And Allah knows best.