They have taken their scribes and their monks as lords besides Allah, and also Christ, Mary’s son; though they were commanded to worship only the One God, there is no god except Him; He is far too immaculate to have any partners that they ascribe [to Him]!
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah At-Tawbah – Verse 31
اتَّخَذُوا أَحْبَارَهُمْ وَرُهْبَانَهُمْ أَرْبَاباً مِن دُونِ اللّهِ وَالْمَسِيحَ ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ وَمَآ أُمِرُوا إِلاَّ لِيَعْبُدُوا إِلَهاً وَاحِداً لآ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ سُبْحَانَهُ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ
31 . “They have taken their rabbis and their monks and Messiah, son of Mary, as (their) lords apart from Allah, while they were commanded to worship but One God; there is no god but He; Pure is He and Exalted is He from what they associate (with Him).”
The Qur’ānic term /’ahbār/ is the plural form of /hibr/ which means ‘scholar, learned’; and the Arabic term /ruhbān/ is the plural form of /rāhib/ with the meaning of ‘monk’. These people, with all their saintliness, are servants and worshippers of God, not objects of worship. Unconditioned obedience from Jewish rabbis and Christian monks is a kind of worship done by the Jews and the Christians. Imam Sadiq (as) said:
“Whoever obeys a person in sinning Allah; he has worshipped him.” 1
The verse says:
Thus, obeying other than Allah unconditionally is a sort of serving other than Allah. To worship the prophets, exaggerating about them, and considering them as son(s) of God is attributing partners to God. The verse continues saying:
Footnotes
- 1. Nūr-uth-Thaqalayn, the commentary