What is Ghuluw (Exaggeration) and who are the Ghulat ( Exaggerators)?

The word ghuluw in the Arabic language means going beyond the limit. The Qur'an addresses the People of the Book thus:

O People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your religion or say about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allah and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul [created at a command] from Him.(Sura al-Nisa', 4: 171)

They are criticized for ghuluw because they had made the rights of Jesus to exceed the bounds of truth, by referring to him as God or as the son of God.

After the death of the Prophet, certain groups likewise went beyond the bounds of truth in respect of the Prophet and some of the members of the ahl al-bayt, ascribing to them degrees of eminence that are the preserve of God alone. Thus, they were given the name of ghali or ghaliyan [in Persian], as they had exceeded the bounds of the truth.

After the death of the Prophet, certain groups likewise went beyond the bounds of truth in respect of the Prophet and some of the members of the ahl al-bayt, ascribing to them degrees of eminence that are the preserve of God alone. Thus, they were given the name of ghali or ghaliyan [in Persian], as they had exceeded the bounds of the truth.
Shaykh Mufid says:

'The ghaliyan are those who pretend to profess Islam, but who regard Imam 'Ali and his children as having the properties of divinity and prophecy, and presenting them as having qualities which go beyond the bounds of the truth.'[1] 

'Allama Majlisi says:

'Ghuluw in regard to the Prophet and the [religious] leaders applies if we name them God, or that in our prayers and our worship we see them as partners with God, or that we see creation or our daily sustenance as being from them, or that we believe that God has incarnated Himself ( Hulul) in them, or that we say that they know the secrets of the unseen without [needing] inspiration from God, or that we think of the Imams as [having the same rank as the] Prophet, or that we presume that knowledge and recognition of the Imams renders us beyond the need for any kind of worship and absolves us of all religious responsibilities. '[2]

'Allama Majlisi says:
'Ghuluw in regard to the Prophet and the [religious] leaders applies if we name them God, or that in our prayers and our worship we see them as partners with God, or that we see creation or our daily sustenance as being from them, or that we believe that God has incarnated Himself ( Hulul) in them, or that we say that they know the secrets of the unseen without [needing] inspiration from God, or that we think of the Imams as [having the same rank as the] Prophet, or that we presume that knowledge and recognition of the Imams renders us beyond the need for any kind of worship and absolves us of all religious responsibilities.

Imam 'Ali and his pure progeny always sought to distance themselves from the exaggerators, and even cursed them. Here we shall relate one sound hadith in which Imam Sadiq gives his followers the instruction:

'Warn your youth about the exaggerators, lest they ruin their religious beliefs, for truly the exaggerators are the worst of God's creatures; they try and belittle the majesty of God while claiming lordship for the slaves of God.'[3]

Their outward profession of Islam is thus valueless, and the religious authorities regard them as disbelievers. Let us note that, despite the fact that we must guard against the dangers of ghuluw, it must not be thought that all types of reverential belief regarding the Prophet and the saints pertain to this aberration; we must, as always, maintain circumspection and caution, and with the appropriate criteria, arrive at a proper evaluation of the beliefs in question.

1. Shaykh Mufid, Tashih al-i'tiqad, p. 109.
2. al-Majlisi, Bihar al-anwiir, vol. 25, p. 364.
3. Ibid., p. 265.