This means that if he/she does not know the ruling of an...

This means that if he/she does not know the ruling of an action but thinks that it may be obligatory, she/he must act upon it, and if he/she thinks it could be forbidden, she/he must abstain from it. However, finding the method of precaution in issues needs dexterity and familiarity with Muslim jurisprudence; thus, the only way to reach a conclusion concerning religious laws is limited to either becoming a religious jurist or following one highly experienced in this field.

A duty-bound person may not know the rulings related to a certain case, whether that case is in language or actions, worship or business, etc. Therefore, before acting, she/he must refer to a religious jurist and identify his/her religious duty, for if she/he acts without referring to a jurist, he/she may refrain from an act while it is obligatory to do or perform an act while it is forbidden to do, thus committing a sin.

If in a single period there is more than one well-qualified religious jurist, it is obligatory upon one who wants to follow one of them to investigate about all of them. If all of them are equal or close in knowledge, he/she may refer to any one she/he wants. If they vary in the degree of knowledge, he/she must then refer to the most knowledgeable.

It is an obligation for a follower of an unqualified jurist to refer to a qualified one, whether she/he intentionally followed the unqualified jurist or by mistake, whether the jurist was unqualified to begin with or later became unqualified. This is the case even if someone later becomes preferable over the first jurist. In case a jurist dies, it is obligatory upon the jurist’s followers to refer to a living jurist in all affairs.

This is the case if the living jurist is more knowledgeable than the deceased one. One may remain a follower of a deceased jurist if the jurist is more knowledgeable than the living one or if both are equal in knowledge. One may remain a follower of the earlier jurist or can refer to the living one, or may follow the earlier in some issues and the second in others. It is collectively obligatory ( wajib kifa'i : i.e.