ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Taqleed & Ijtihad Think of It This Way Quran wants that every faithful should lead a life filled with the light of knowledge and wisdom. The holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) and the chaste Imams (as) had the same desire. But at the same time it has been emphasized that of all faculties of knowledge, religious studies should be at the top in priority. Thorough understanding of religion should have preference.

It is important to know that awareness of sharia in day to day transactions is fundamental. Let us also clear this misconception that tafaqqa (expertise in the knowledge of shari’a) is limited to awareness of a few issues of cleanliness, prayers, fasting, etc. Rather in the context of life in this world, it is the competency to know and scrutinize the everyday transactions of individuals and the society at large. You see diin (religion) is a system that guides every move of its believers.

And the purpose of gaining expertise in diin is that an individual has thorough knowledge of all commands related to his and others’ everyday transactions. As stated earlier, tafaqqa is not limited to the rules of worship. Rather it covers ethics, citizenship, politics, government, economics, trade, agriculture, defense, international relations, industry etc.

In regards to this awareness the intellectual of Islam, Imam Ali (as), once declared from the podium: "وان من الحق ان تفقهوا." “It is sensible to be well versed in religious laws.”[^1] It is possible that some people who have trouble getting out of their limited thought process may have the impression that the journals compiled by the marajae seem to be limited to worship related issues. Yes, on the surface it appears that way.

On the other hand since these journals are the means in writing to make general public aware of issues related to their everyday transactions, it just makes sense to cover such issues. However, as far as the larger and classical collections of jurisprudence (fiqh) are concerned, they have the most appropriate solutions for just about every problem related to the individual as well as the society.

There are detailed discussions with proper arguments relevant to the different branches of social sciences. However, this treasure is of use to only those scholars who take the pains to study them and not for the average man.