Allaah The Exalted Says (what means): {They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allaah, and [also] the Messiah, the son of Mary.} [Quran 9:31] The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, clarified to ‘Uday ibn Haatim, may Allaah be pleased with him, that what is meant by “taking as lords” here is not worshipping them, but that they have abided by their commands concerning judging things as lawful or unlawful. Why was the Messiah ‘Eesa ibn Maryam (Jesus), may Allaah exalt their mention, whom the Christians regarded as their god and lord, joined by means of conjunction with that sentence in the verse? If we coupled that sentence by conjunction with ‘Eesa ibn Maryam, may Allaah exalt their mention, the meaning would be that the Christians have abided by the commands of ‘Eesa, may Allaah exalt their mention, concerning what is lawful and what is unlawful, which is not wrong for he was their prophet. What is your opinion regarding this issue?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

What is meant in the verse by taking ‘Eesa as lord, is not obeying him in what he received by divine revelation; rather, it means that they worshipped him as their Lord and claimed that he is the son of Allaah The Exalted, Exalted is Allaah and high above what they say by great sublimity. This is more hazardous than mere obedience in judging things as lawful or unlawful; Al-Aloosi said in his Tafseer: “Joining the Messiah the son of Mary by means of conjunction with their monks refers to the fact that they worshipped him or claimed that he is the son of Allaah The Exalted.”

Allaah Knows best.