Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah

Sayyiduna ‘Adi bin Hatim (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and there was a golden cross around my neck. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Adi, throw away this idol.” Then I heard him recite this verse from Surah Bara’ah: “They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah.” I said: We did not worship them. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Be aware! They did not worship them, but when they declared something lawful, their followers considered it lawful, and when they declared something unlawful, their followers considered it unlawful. That was their worship of them.”