Since it is commonly known that “Imitation [ taqlid ] in...

Since it is commonly known that “Imitation [ taqlid ] in matters connected to the principles of religion is not permissible,” some imagine that because the issue of wilayat al-faqih is, as stated above, among the subjects related to the principles of religion and scholastic theology, it follows that this issue, like the question of proving the existence of God or the prophethood of the Prophet (S), is among the issues which one has to investigate [ tahqiq ] by himself, and in sum, it is not a matter of imitation [ taqlid ].

As a matter of fact, this a notion is not correct, firstly, because it is not correct to assume that it is not permissible for one to practice taqlid in every issue connected to scholastic theology or to the principles of religion, and one has to prove it through solid and convincing arguments. In fact, there are so many theological issues in which people have to practice taqlid and see the view of an authority about them.

For example, the issue of questioning the dead person on the “first night in the grave” is among the subjects related to the Day of Resurrection [ ma‘ad ]. Yet, concerning such questions like what, in essence, is the “first night in the grave”