Is the statement of some Sufis, "Awliya' (saints) benefit and harm" - whether they mention "by Allah's permission" or do not mention it except when they are rebuked - considered minor or major Shirk (polytheism), taking into account that they may not believe the saint is the cause, but rather say "by Allah's permission" to ward off objectors?

Extremist Sufis believe that their saints (awliya') manage the affairs of the world and control the universe. They assert that each saint is entrusted with managing a specific aspect of creation, culminating in the "Qutb" (Axis) or "Ghawth" (Succor), who manages the affairs of the entire cosmos. They describe him as an intermediary between Allah and His creation regarding sustenance and victory. They also claim that these saints have the power to say "Be, and it is," to revive the dead, and to guide the astray, and that their influence increases after their death.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah described these beliefs as explicit disbelief, for which their proponent must repent. This is because these beliefs elevate the saint to the status of divinity and associate him in Allah's attributes and management. He clarified that this extremism is more severe than the polytheism of the pre-Islamic Arabs, because the Arabs associated partners in worship, not in Lordship, and they did not believe their deities were independent of Allah. The noble Sunnah of the Prophet has shown that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, himself did not possess these abilities; rather, he would supplicate to Allah and implore Him in all his affairs, which confirms that the management of the universe belongs to Allah alone.