This is nothing but a grave error and not “interesting” in any way Reminds me of the story of Ibn Abī al-ʿIzz (couldn’t be surprised it’s him) in Damascus objecting to a qaṣīdah written in praise of Rasūlullāh ﷺ by the poet ʿAlī ibn Aybak. One of Ibn Abī al-ʿIzz’s objections was the poet describing Rasūlullāh ﷺ as “the most noble creation in the sight of Allāh” (يا أكرم الخلق عند الله منزلةً). The scholars refuted Ibn Abī al-ʿIzz’s objections, and Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī mentions that Ḥanafī scholars were especially harsh in refuting him, despite Ibn Abī al-ʿIzz attributing himself to the Ḥanafī school. The issue spread and inquiries were sent to Egypt as well, and many Egyptian scholars wrote back refuting him, including al-Bulqīnī and Zayn al-Dīn al-ʿIrāqī. This ultimately lead to the taʿzīr of Ibn Abī al-ʿIzz. Imām al-Bulqīnī’s extensive fatwā on the matter spanning 64 pages can be found in the third volume of his fatāwā collection. Among what Ibn Abī al-ʿIzz claimed was that it is not befitting to describe the Prophet ﷺ as “the most noble creation in Allāh’s sight” nor as “a creation incomparable all other creations” because Rasūlullāh ﷺ merely informed us that he is “the Leader of the children of Ādam (i.e. humans)” and this does not include angels. Thus, he claimed that tawaqquf is the correct stance, and that “discussing this [topic] is useless”. Shaykh al-Islām al-Bulqīnī responded to this with many evidences, including the very ḥadīth used by Ibn Abī al-ʿIzz himself. The ḥadīth states: “I am the Leader of the children of Ādam on the Day of Judgement, and I am not boasting. In my hand shall be the banner of praise (liwāʾ al-ḥamd). There is no prophet—be it Ādam or another—except that he shall be under my banner on that day.” Imām al-Bulqīnī notes that the latter part of this ḥadīth (which Ibn Abī al-ʿIzz did not quote) indicates that Rasūlullāh ﷺ is more virtuous than Ādam ﷺ (since he shall be under Rasūlullāh’s banner ﷺ). And verses that indicate Allāh ﷻ granting Ādam virtue greater than that of the angels is well-known in the Qurān, such as the verses mentioning the story of the angels being commanded to prostrate to Ādam ﷺ. Thus, if the Prophet ﷺ is more virtous than Ādam ﷺ and Ādam ﷺ is more virtuous than the angels, then it necessarily follows that the Prophet ﷺ is more virtuous than the angels. Hence, the very ḥadīth used by Ibn Abī al-ʿIzz to support his position of tawaqquf contains an indication to the superiority of Rasūlullāh ﷺ over the angels, when paired with other texts. It is also narrated from ʿAbdullāh ibn Salām, the Companion: “The most noble of Allāh’s creation in Allāh’s sight is Abū al-Qāsim ﷺ.” (Authenticated by al-Dhahabī) There are similar narrations from other Companions and Successors too; were they all speaking without knowledge on an ambiguous issue? Did they not know tawaqquf is safer? Another evidence al-Bulqīnī mentions is the ḥadīth narrated by both al-Bukhārī and Muslim: “Three qualities are such that whoever has them will taste the sweetness of faith...” The very first quality mentioned was: “to love Allāh and His Messenger ﷺ more than ALL others.” (Explanation: Allāh is to be loved the most as He is the Sole Creator above all creation. The second most loved being Rasūlullāh ﷺ indicates that he ﷺ is the most virtuous among the created beings. Had there been a creation more virtuous and noble in Allāh’s sight than Rasūlullāh ﷺ, that creation would be more worthy of being loved and hence would have been mentioned second, next to the mention of Allāh ﷻ.) Hence, to claim that the superiority of Rasūlullāh ﷺ over all of creation is ambiguous and that tawaqquf (silence) is “safer” is completely erroneous and contrary to scholarly consensus, even if one does not intend to belittle his ﷺ grand status.