Following the opinions of someone

Hawzah News Agency - A number of our people has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid from ’Abdallah ibn Yahya from ibn Muskan from abu Basir who has said the following. “I asked Imam abu ‘Abdallah about the verse of the holy Quran that says,

«اتَّخَذُوا أَحْبارَهُمْ وَرُهْبانَهُمْ أَرْباباً مِنْ دُونِ الله»؛ فَقَالَ أَمَا وَالله مَا دَعَوْهُمْ إِلَى عِبَادَةِ أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَلَوْ دَعَوْهُمْ مَا أَجَابُوهُمْ وَلَكِنْ أَحَلُّوا لَهُمْ حَرَاماً وَحَرَّمُوا عَلَيْهِمْ حَلالاً فَعَبَدُوهُمْ مِنْ حَيْثُ لا يَشْعُرُونَ.

‘They (unconditionally) obeyed the rabbis and the monks and worshiped the Messiah, son of Mary, as they should have obeyed God, (9:31)’. The Imam replied, “By Allah they did not call people to worship them. If they had done so people would not have accepted it. The Rabbis and monks made unlawful things lawful for them and the lawful things as unlawful. And in this way they worshiped them unintentionally.”.

Al-Kāfi, v.1, Book 2, Chapter 18