Shaykh Wahba al-Zuhayli on “questionable lines” from the Burda

Question:

What is the legal ruling concerning the one who sings [the lines]:

[O most generous of creation,] who but you can I turn to
When the Universal Cataclysm occurs?…

From your largess flows the good of this world and its counterpart in the next,
And from your knowledge is knowledge of the Tablet and the Pen…

By the pre-eminence of the one whose house is in the Pure Land,
And whose name is an oath among the greatest of oaths.*

Bearing in mind that I love this poem of al-Buṣīrī a great deal, and I ask Allah to be true in my love for the Prophet–sallallahu ‘alayi wa sallam, however some say that it contains words that are against the doctrine of Divine Unity (tawhīd)?

Answer:

1. The first line contains faith and affirmation of the Prophet’s intercession–sallallahu ‘alayi wa sallam . His intercession is two types: the greater intercession for all of the creation in being relieved of the terrors of the standing and going forward to their accounts and the second intercession for the disobedient among the Muslims.
2. The second line does not imply independent creation and bringing into existence, rather, it means that the bounty of the this world and the next is through faith in the message of the greatest Messenger–sallallahu ‘alayi wa sallam . As for what is meant by knowledge here, it refers to the knowledge that Allah taught him via revelation only, and not peering into the matters of the unseen that were not learned through the revelation.
3. The meaning of the third line is that Allah swore an oath by the Prophet–sallallahu ‘alayi wa sallam, when He said: “And by your life, they are blind in their drunkenness.” [15/72]

After warning from this [incorrect] understanding, I warn from the confusion of the confused and taking advantage of the foolish ones who do not understand al-Buṣīrī’s intent or that of others. We are the most keen of people in having sound doctrine; the ill understanding of the ignorant will not harm us the least.

*adapted from Shaykh Hamza Yusuf’s translation of the Burdah with slight change