The gravest deviation from the path of pure submission is revealed when it is said:
They have taken their scholars and their monks as lords besides Allah
At-Tawbah: 31
This form of lordship was not one of prostration, but of absolute legislative obedience. When ‘Adi ibn Hatim, who was a Christian before embracing Islam, heard this verse, he protested, “But we did not worship them.” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) then exposed the heart of the matter, asking, “Did they not make unlawful that which Allah made lawful, and you made it unlawful? And they made lawful that which Allah made unlawful, and you made it lawful?” When ‘Adi replied, “Yes, we did,” the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) declared, “That was your worship of them.” [Tirmidhi, 3095].This act directly challenges the very foundation of faith, for
The command is for none but Allah
Yusuf: 40
To grant any created being the right to permit or prohibit contrary to Allah’s decree is to make them a partner in His sole right of sovereignty. This is the very judgment of ignorance that Islam came to abolish, as Allah asks,
Then is it the judgment of [the time of] ignorance they desire? But who is better than Allah in judgment for a people who are certain [in faith]?
Al-Ma’idah: 50
The path is clear and singular, for Allah commands His final Messenger,
And judge between them by what Allah has revealed and do not follow their inclinations
Al-Ma’idah: 49
Even the most honored of creation, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), did not possess this authority for himself, because:
Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. It is not but a revelation revealed
An-Najm: 3-4
Therefore, obedience to him is the very essence of obedience to Allah, for
He who obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah
An-Nisa: 80
His entire mission was to establish the unadulterated rule of the Creator, warning against the very error of the people before, to whom it was said,
O People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your religion
An-Nisa: 171
Their excess was precisely this: elevating the words of men until they became a law, a corruption so severe that Allah says,
So woe to those who write the “scripture” with their own hands, then say, “This is from Allah,” in order to exchange it for a small price
Al-Baqarah: 79
At its root, this is the deification of human desire, a spiritual sickness so profound that Allah asks,
Have you seen the one who takes as his god his own desire?
Al-Furqan: 43
The one who does this is described as someone whom
Allah has sent astray due to knowledge and has set a seal upon his hearing and his heart and put over his vision a veil
Al-Jathiyah: 23
They abandon the clear light of revelation for the conjectures of men, becoming those who
follow not except assumption and what [their] souls desire, while there has already come to them from their Lord guidance
An-Najm: 23
On the Day when all secrets are laid bare, this false allegiance will crumble. The followers will cry out in regret, pleading,
Our Lord, indeed we obeyed our masters and our great men, and they misled us from the [right] way
Al-Ahzab: 67
Their plea will be for double punishment upon those they took as lords, screaming,
Our Lord, give them double the punishment and curse them with a great curse
Al-Ahzab: 68
But it will be too late. The regret will be all-consuming as the wrongdoer bites his hands and says,
Oh, I wish I had taken with the Messenger a way! Oh, woe to me! I wish I had not taken that one as a friend!
Al-Furqan: 27-28
This is the inevitable end for those who trade the clear authority of Allah for the rulings of men, a form of association with Allah that He does not forgive, for
Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills
An-Nisa: 48