ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Islamic Laws of Ayatullah Khui Taqlid Following a Mujtahid 1. It is necessary for a Muslim to believe in the fundamentals of faith on the basis of proof and he cannot follow anyone in this respect i.e. he cannot accept he word of another with regard to the fundamentals without demanding proof. However, in order to act on Islamic code (except in those matters which are considered by all to be indisputable e.g.

the obligatory nature of the five daily prayers, fasting during the holy month of Ramadan etc.) a person must adopt one of the following methods: i) The man concerned should be a Mujtahid (jurist)[^1] himself and should know the Articles of Acts on the basis of Ijtihad [^2] and reason (i.e. he should be a man of such high learning and scholarship that he can solve problems from his study of the Qur’an and Hadith). ii) If he is not a jurist himself, he should follow a jurist i.e.

he should act according to the judgment ( fatwa ) of the jurist without demanding proof. iii) If he is neither a jurist nor a follower ( muqallid ) he should act after taking such precaution that he should become sure of his having performed his religious duty.

For example, if some jurists consider an act to be unlawful and some others say that it is not unlawful, he should not perform that act and in case some jurists consider an act to be obligatory ( wajib ) and others consider it to be recommended ( mustahab ) he should perform it. Hence it is obligatory for those persons who are not jurists and cannot also take precautionary measures ( ihtiyat ) to follow a jurist.[^3] 2. Following ( taqlid ) means acting according to the judgment of a jurist.

It is necessary that the jurist who is followed is male, Shi’ah Ithna ‘Asha’ari,[^4] adult, sane, legitimate, alive and just (‘ adil ). A person is said to be just when he performs all those acts which are obligatory for him and refrains from all those things which are prohibited for him.

And the sign of a man’s being just is that he is apparently a good man so that if enquiries are made about him from the people of his locality or from his neighbours or from those persons with whom he associates, they should confirm his goodness.