In The Name of Allaah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.

Imaam Muhammad Bin Abdul Wahhaab [may Allaah have mercy upon him] said: They [i.e. people of the pre-Islamic era of ignorance] followed their sinful scholars and ignorant ones devoted to worship. Allaah said:

يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ إِنَّ ڪَثِيرً۬ا مِّنَ ٱلۡأَحۡبَارِ وَٱلرُّهۡبَانِ لَيَأۡكُلُونَ أَمۡوَٲلَ ٱلنَّاسِ بِٱلۡبَـٰطِلِ وَيَصُدُّونَ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ‌ۗ

O you who believe! Verily, there are many of the (Jewish) rabbis and the (Christian) monks who devour the wealth of mankind in falsehood, and hinder (them) from the Way of Allaah (i.e. Allaah’s Religion of Islaamic Monotheism). [Surah At-Tawbah. Aayah 34]

Allaah said:

قُلۡ يَـٰٓأَهۡلَ ٱلۡڪِتَـٰبِ لَا تَغۡلُواْ فِى دِينِڪُمۡ غَيۡرَ ٱلۡحَقِّ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوٓاْ أَهۡوَآءَ قَوۡمٍ۬ قَدۡ ضَلُّواْ مِن قَبۡلُ وَأَضَلُّواْ ڪَثِيرً۬ا وَضَلُّواْ عَن سَوَآءِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ

Exceed not the limits in your religion (by believing in something) other than the truth, and do not follow the vain desires of people who went astray in times gone by, and who misled many, and strayed (themselves) from the Right Path. [Surah Al-Maa’idah. Aayah 77]

Al-Allaamah Saaleh Al-Fawzaan [may Allaah preserve him] stated: And from affairs of the pre-Islamic era of ignorance is that (they) were guided by sinful scholars. The Faasiq (sinner) is one who deviates from obedience to Allaah by knowledge and action, and the sinful scholars are those who do not act upon their knowledge, or those who utter lies against Allaah whilst being aware of that, saying, “This is permissible and this is impermissible”, whilst knowing that they are liars, and in order that they may obtain what they covet, follow desires under the auspices that they are scholars and that the people consider them trustworthy. And the sinful worshippers are those who act without knowledge. The people consider them trustworthy and say, “These ones are righteous”.

Therefore, do not be inclined towards the scholar or the one devoted in worship until each one of them is one upright upon the religion ordained by Allaah [The Mighty and Majestic]. Allaah said about the Jews and the Christians:

يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ إِنَّ ڪَثِيرً۬ا مِّنَ ٱلۡأَحۡبَارِ وَٱلرُّهۡبَانِ لَيَأۡكُلُونَ أَمۡوَٲلَ ٱلنَّاسِ بِٱلۡبَـٰطِلِ وَيَصُدُّونَ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ‌ۗ

O you who believe! Verily, there are many of the (Jewish) rabbis and the (Christian) monks who devour the wealth of mankind in falsehood, and hinder (them) from the Way of Allaah (i.e. Allaah’s Religion of Islaamic Monotheism). [Surah At-Tawbah. Aayah 34]

[ ٱتَّخَذُوٓاْ أَحۡبَارَهُمۡ وَرُهۡبَـٰنَهُمۡ أَرۡبَابً۬ا مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّ – ‘They (Jews and Christians) took their rabbis and their monks to be their lords besides Allaah].

They (i.e. the rabbis and the monks) made lawful for them that which is unlawful and they obeyed them, and they made unlawful for them that which is lawful and they obeyed them. So they became lords besides Allaah, because to declare something lawful or unlawful is the right of Allaah. It is not allowed for anyone to declare something lawful or unlawful based on his desires, self-interest, to appease people and being in conformity with them. At present there are those who play tricks with the Sharee’ah. They make lawful that which is unlawful in order to be in conformity with the people, and to please the people. And with these assumptions of theirs, they solicit trickery and make concessions, (see footnote 1) or lie against Allaah; that Allaah has declared this lawful and that unlawful for the benefit of such and such (individual). These ones are the sinful scholars. And the faasiq (the sinner) is the one who deviates from obedience to Allaah.

Allaah [The Exalted] said: [يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ إِنَّ ڪَثِيرً۬ا مِّنَ ٱلۡأَحۡبَارِ – O you who believe! Verily, there are many of the ahbaar (Jewish) rabbis and the ruhbaan (Christian) monks]…

This is a warning to the believers. The ‘ahbaar’ are the scholars, and in most cases it is a reference to the Jewish scholars; and the ‘ruhbaan’ are the worshippers, and in most cases it is a reference to the Christian worshippers. The Christians are attributed to monasticism and the Jews attributed to knowledge, but the Jews are those who have earned the Anger of Allaah and the Christians are those who have been led astray (i.e. those amongst them who deviated from the path of their Prophets and rejected the path of Muhammad). Allaah commanded us to say in every rakah in the prayer: [صِرَٲطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنۡعَمۡتَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ – Guide us to the Straight Way]- these are the people of knowledge and action; [غَيۡرِ ٱلۡمَغۡضُوبِ عَلَيۡهِمۡ – Not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger]- these are the people who possess knowledge but do not act, and they are the evil sinful scholars; [وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ – nor of those who went astray]- these are the monks amongst the Christians and other than them. They worship Allaah without evidence and proof, rather they worship Allaah through innovations, newly invented matters and superstitions. Allaah forbade us (from following/resembling) the evil sinful scholars and the misguided worshippers. And Allaah commanded us to adhere to the truth with evidence from the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of His Messenger [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him].

At present when someone desires something he would say, “Such and such a person has given a verdict on this (affair)” without considering whether it has a basis in the Book and the Sunnah. And you say to him, “This verdict is wrong”, he says, “It has nothing to do with me” as long as the verdict was given by such and such (person)”. And if the verdict is not in agreement with his desires, he says, “This verdict is not correct or it is a harsh one”. They gather lies and the mistakes of the scholars in a book and present it to the people, and spread it amongst the people with their assumptions, saying, “The Religion of Islam is easy. It does not make things uneasy for the people”. And when it is said to them, “Examine it (i.e. these verdicts) under the Book and Sunnah”, they say, “These are statements of the scholars”. Is the scholar greater than the Book and the Sunnah? Are his statements not to be examined under the Book and the Sunnah!? This is how the people of desires act, and Allaah’s Refuge is sought. They are those who ‘took their rabbis and monks to be lords besides Allaah’. (see footnote 2)

And when they are forbidden from innovation in religious affairs about which the Messenger of Allaah warned against, they say, “Such and such a person acts upon this and he is a scholar or that he is a righteous person”, “And that this is acted upon by the people of such and such a country and they are people who possess righteousness and piety”. We say, righteousness and piety does not suffice, rather there has to be conformity to the Book and the Sunnah. Therefore, to take the statements of the scholars and the worshippers as sound legal verdicts without examination under the Book and the Sunnah was a way of the people of the pre-Islamic era of ignorance, and they are those who took their rabbis and their monks as lords besides Allaah. [An Excerpt from Sharh Masaa’il Al-Jaahiliyyah. pages 74-77]

Footnote 1: Ruling on following the legislated concessions: https://salaficentre.com/2016/05/03/ruling-on-following-the-legislated-concessions-shaykh-fawzaan/

Footnote 2: Shaikh Abdul Waahid Abu Khadeejah [may Allaah preserve him] quotes Al-Allaamah Ahmad Bin Yahyah An-Najmi [may Allaah have mercy upon him] as follows: Then Shaikhul-Islaam mentioned the saying of Allaah: [اتَّخَذُوا أَحْبَارَهُمْ وَرُهْبَانَهُمْ أَرْبَابًا مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ – They have taken their “ahbaar” and “ruhbaan” as lords besides Allah..] [at-Tawbah: 31]

The “Ahbaar” are the scholars, and the “Ruhbaan” are the general worshippers – and the habit of the people is to refer back to these two groups and take to their speech and opinions. Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, rebuked the unbelievers because they took the Ahbaar and Ruhbaan (the scholars and worshippers) as Lords besides Allaah whereby they made them as legislators of Religious Law (i.e. the Revelation). They would make halaal for them that which Allaah had made haraam, so they would then consider it to be halaal. And they would make haraam for them that which Allaah had made halaal, so they would then consider it to be haraam. This however does not necessitate, in an absolute sense, exiting from Islaam, rather this point it requires further explanation. So sometimes the one who falls into this reaches the point whereby he exits Islaam, and this is when they take them as legislators of Religious Law (i.e. the Revelation). So they take their legislation and they give it precedence over an above that which Allaah has legislated in His Book, and that which the Messenger (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wassallam) legislated, and they believe that this legislation that is not from Allaah and His Messenger is equal to Allaah’s Legislation or an increase upon it.

However, if they seek verdicts (fatwas) from them and they issue fatwas making haraam what is halaal, or making halaal what is haraam. So they obey them in making haraam the halaal matters, and making halaal the haraam matters by way of acting upon those verdicts – and the people obey them whilst they know they are sinning and they affirm the fact that it is a sin, yet they still follow them but they know internally what is halaal is halaal and what is haraam is haraam. This is then a major sin. https://abukhadeejah.com/ahmad-an-najmees-kitaab-at-tawheed-chapter-5-the-explanation-of-tawheed-and-the-shahaadah-laa-ilaaha-illallaah/