that they consulted men—whether scholars or devout worshippers—and obeyed them when those men declared lawful what Allah had forbidden and forbade what He had allowed. By doing so they raised them to the station of the Lord, for the prerogative of permitting and proscribing belongs to Him alone. In the same way, the Christians worshipped Jesus and claimed that he was the son of Allah, casting aside the Book of Allah, which commands them to obey Him alone and worship Him alone. This report from Allah, exalted is He, implicitly rebukes their conduct; hence He proclaims Himself far above the polytheism inherent in such acts.

Relevance of the verse to the chapter: The verse shows that an integral part of monotheism and of the testimony “There is no deity except Allah” is to single out Allah in obedience regarding what is lawful and what is unlawful. Whoever appoints someone other than Allah to legalize what He has permitted or to forbid what He has prohibited is guilty of polytheism.

Benefits derived from the verse:

1. Monotheism and the testimony that there is no deity except Allah demand obedience to Allah alone in matters of permission and prohibition.
2. Whoever obeys a created being in making lawful what is forbidden or forbidding what is lawful has taken that person as a partner alongside Allah.
3. It refutes the Christians’ belief concerning the Messiah, peace be upon him, and makes clear that he is a servant of Allah.
4. It affirms Allah’s transcendence above every form of associating partners with Him.