This act of following Mujtahids is called imitation or Taqlid.

This act of following Mujtahids is called imitation or Taqlid. Of course this imitation differs from imitation in the principles of religious knowledge which is forbidden according to the very text of the Qur’an, “(O man), follow not that whereof thou hast no knowledge.”.(2) It must be known that Shi’ism does not permit imitation of a dead Mujtahid.

That is to say, a person who does not know the answer to a problem through ijtihad and through religious duty must imitate a living Mujtahid and cannot depend on the view of a Mujtahid who is not living, unless he had received that guidance while the Mujtahid was alive. This practice is one of the factors which have kept Islamic Shi’ite jurisprudence alive and fresh throughout the ages. There are individuals who continuously follow the path of independent judgment, ijtihad, and…