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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Taqleed & Ijtihad Decision of Tradition Decision of Tradition (Hadith) In our collection of traditions there are about 100 traditions that address the rationale behind taqleed. Some of them declare taqleed mandatory (wajib), such as Sahiha[^1] Ishaq Bin Yaqub.

This authentic tradition by our Current Imam Hujjat Ibnul Hasan (as) is as follows: "اما الحوادث الواقعة فارجعوا فيها إلى رواة حديثنا فإنهم حجتي عليكم وانا حجة الله." “In your lives when you face new problems never heard of before, consult with narrators of our traditions to find out the rules and regulations on how to deal with the new situations.

Following them is mandatory (wajib) on you because I command you to do so and following me is mandatory (wajib) on you because Allah commands you to do so.” [^2] Some intellectuals had difficulty getting to the real message of the Great Imam (as) in this saying. Therefore, they started saying that the Imam had used the word “Ruwat” instead of “Fuqaha” in this saying. However, regarding taqleed and ruju (consultation) it needs to refer to fuqaha.

To explain it further, at the time of this saying, an average man was accustomed to the words riwayat and rawi (tradition and tradition narrator); and hadith and muhadith (saying and saying narrator). That is why these words were typically used.

Then when the light of knowledge started to shine and religious literature began to take shape, use of certain words became common; such as, fiqh (jurisprudence) for getting to the core of a piece of writing, taqleed for obedience with understanding, mujtahid and marja for the individual to be followed in religion with knowledge. You see, this is the nature of evolution that affects different facets of life.

When wisdom and knowledge require them, new words spring up as the vehicles to explain certain ideas and then they gain acceptance in the society. Some people, who are stuck in their scholarly pride, also decree that in this saying the Imam directs us to consult the fuqaha only in cases of calamities; i.e. only if you face certain difficulties, you need to ask an authentic personality of the fiqh world.

Whereas, this saying applies to all issues that affect a person’s individual as well as collective life in the society until doom’s day.