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First: The supplicant must devote his supplication sincerely to Allah, the Exalted, and must be fully certain that Allah alone has the power to answer it. He must therefore not supplicate to anyone other than Allah, nor seek nearness to Him through any created being—whether a prophet, a righteous saint, an angel, a pious servant, or anyone else whatsoever. Allah, the Exalted, says:
“So call upon Allah with sincere devotion” [Ghāfir: 14]