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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Logic For Islamic Rules Following (taqlid) the Religious Maraja (mujtahid) Question: There are among us such people also who do not think that doing Taqlid in Islamic law is obligatory. They argue that it is incumbent on all to derive the laws of the Sharia from the Holy Quran and other sources. Because: The Holy Quran is opposed to any kind of following (Taqlid) and it is absolutely against blindly following anyone.

Taqlid is to follow without question, and reason and wisdom do not like this type of following. Taqlid is the cause of disunity among the Muslims because there are usually more than one Maraja and their legal rulings are not the same. Answer: We think that the source of all these objections is one. It is that there are two meanings of the word Taqlid. One of them is a general meaning which is the usual connotation.

It has another literary meaning with which discussions are initiated in the books of Jurisprudence and principles. The previous and the present objections are regarding the first meaning while there is no connection between the first meaning and the second meaning. The explanation of this is usually Taqlid is used for improper actions in everyday life which people usually do by initiation without any proper thought or justification. To imitate foolish people is certainly a greater foolishness.

It is neither sanctioned by reason nor by Islamic law. And no sane person is ready to follow any other person blindly. It is the same Taqlid with which the idolaters used to justify their idolatry. They used to say that their ancestors used to follow that custom and they were not prepared to forgo the customs of their ancestors. The Holy Quran has mentioned their argument in the following verses: Surely we found our fathers on a course, and surely we are followers of their footsteps.

[Surah Zukhruf 43:23] They used to justify their foolish custom (of worshipping wooden and stone idols) by saying that their ancestors also did that. They used to blindly follow their customs. It is that same type of Taqlid that is responsible for the spread of social evils like racing, fashion and sexual perversion. Maulana Rumi has indicated this same type of Taqlid: Their foolish Taqlid has destroyed the people.

As mentioned above most of the objection with regard to Taqlid are there due to considering the first meaning of Taqlid which is used in general sense.