By: Amin Dagher
Inspired by: Clear Guide to Islamic Rulings by His Eminence, Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlullah (ra)
Man must have in mind that experience is the greatest resource in one’s life. To practice any kind of discipline, you need practice and expertise. While a great part of this knowledge may be easily accessible, a greater part is not generally available. Thus, it requires scientific and specialized skills.
For instance, in the field of public health, when you are exposed to cold weather, you might catch a cold; a fact that everyone knows, yet, only a specialist can help you in the treatment. It is the job of a doctor or a pharmacist to prescribe medication. The same goes for all other fields.
Every human being is aware that he cannot shoulder the responsibility of scientific research in each and every discipline. This is because it is beyond man’s ability and life span. That is why there has been a kind of distribution of work that man adopted by the virtue of the nature of knowledge and its extensive fields.
Islam is not an exception; it has followed this example by devising the principles of Ijtihad. The literal translation of the word Ijtihad is exertion, defined as the process of arriving at judgments on points of religious law using reason and the principles of jurisprudence. Taqleed is defined as the following, by a lay person, of a learned jurist (Mujtahid) in matters of religious practice. Ijtihad is the specialization in the science of Sharia, and Taqleed is the trust of the laity put in the experts in this field.
Every Mukallaf (one who comes of age andwhose deeds become accountable) who needs to know the rules of Sharia law should rely on his religious general knowledge for a start. For those aspects of religious edicts which the mukallaf is ignorant of, he should resort to the Mujtahid.
Allah has not ordained that every man become a Mujtahid. He also did not require that every man must derive edicts from the Quran and the Islamic Tradition. He made it obligatory that they know such rulings from the scholars.
Thus, Taqleed is a religious obligation. Accordingly, Taqleed means the charging with responsibility. It is called so because it entails entrusting the Mujtahid with the responsibility as if placing a necklace around his neck. In a way, it is a symbolic contract between the Mukallaf and the Mujtahid before God.
Some jurists have ruled that it is obligatory that the Mukallaf follows the most erudite among the Mujtahids, where they have expressed different legal opinions. Others have made it clear that the Mukallaf has to follow those jurists who are known for their integrity and uprightness; all of this in order to safeguard the follower’s interest in achieving the correct legal opinion of his religious authority. They have also been unflinching in their opinion of requiring the follower to switch to the jurist who is believed to be more capable and more knowledgeable than the one he follows in Taqleed. This approach has been adopted to steer Taqleed away from fanaticism. This has been the route followed by the believers from the days of the Imams (a.s.) to our present time. The Imams (a.s.) has made it their duty to instruct the faithful in the different regions to resort to the jurists there and did not tolerate any recklessness in this regard.
Since all the sources of the Islamic Law are preserved in the Quran and the numerous hadiths, the need for Ijtihad as a scientific skill has to be continuous. This is to follow these sources, and deduce legal opinion from them. It is quite natural too that the jurists’ expertise become better with time; the fact that equips contemporary ones with the skills necessary to make them more competent in arriving at legal judgments. This is one of the reasons why Mukallafs should not stick to the opinion of any jurist for a long time during the occultation period; it is like adhering to the advice of a doctor despite the advances of medicine made after his departure.
This is why the relationship between the follower and the religious authority is a dynamic one. It is further strengthened by the sanctity bestowed on the religious authority in his capacity as the deputy of the Awaited Imam (a.s.).
Allah has urged believers to acquire knowledge and study disciplines of Islamic Law: “And it does not beseem the believers that they should go forth all together; why should not then a company from every party from among them go forth that they may apply themselves to obtain understanding in religion, and that they may warn their people when they come back to them that they may be cautious?” (9:122)
Believers should hold fast to scholars who are described by the Prophet (p) as “inheritors of the Apostles.”
Comments
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| Name: hasan |
| Subject: ... |
| Comment:
Salam alaikom.there is not one clear verse from quraan or hadiths which says a mukallaf should follow a mujtahid and taqlid.but there is lots of hadiths which are against taqlid and ijtihad. I will give u few hadiths: حدثنا أحمد بن موسى عن الحسن بن موسى الخشاب عن علي بن حسان عن عبد الرحمن بن كثير عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام في قول الله تعالى فسئلوا أهل الذكر ان كنتم لا تعلمون قال الذكر محمد صلى الله عليه وآله ونحن أهله ونحن المسؤولون. بصائر الدرجات ص 60 قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله: من عمل بالمقائيس فقد هلك وأهلك، ومن أفتى الناس بغير علم وهو لا يعلم الناسخ من المنسوخ والمحكم من المتشابه فقد هلك وأهلك. الكافي ج 1 ص 43 قال أبو عبد الله عليه السلام: أنهاك عن خصلتين فيهما هلاك الرجال: أنهاك أن تدين الله بالباطل، وتفتي الناس بما لا تعلم. الكافي ج1 ص 42 قال أبو عبد الله عليه السلام إياك وخصلتين ففيهما هلك من هلك: إياك أن تفتي الناس برأيك أو تدين بما لا تعلم. الكافي ج1 ص 42 ، عن أبي بصير قال: قلت لأبي عبد الله عليه السلام: ترد علينا أشياء ليس نعرفها في كتاب الله ولا سنته فننظر فيها؟ فقال: لا أما أنك إن أصبت لم توجر، وإن أخطأت كذبت على الله. الكافي ج1 ص56 عن أبي عبيدة قال: قال أبو جعفر (عليه السلام): من أفتى الناس بغير علم ولا هدى من الله لعنته ملائكة الرحمة وملائكة العذاب، ولحقه وزر من عمل بفتياه. الكافي ج1 ص42 عن الصادق ع قال: إياكم والتقليد، فإنه من قلد في دينه هلك إن الله تعالى يقول: (اتخذوا أحبارهم ورهبانهم أربابا من دون الله) فلا والله ما صلوا لهم ولا صاموا، ولكنهم أحلوا لهم حراما، وحرموا عليهم - حلالا، فقلدوهم في ذلك، فعبدوهم وهم لا يشعرون حدثنا أحمد بن موسى عن الحسن بن موسى الخشاب عن علي بن حسان عن عبد الرحمن بن كثير عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام في قول الله تعالى فسئلوا أهل الذكر ان كنتم لا تعلمون قال الذكر محمد صلى الله عليه وآله ونحن أهله ونحن المسؤولون. بصائر الدرجات ص 60 قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله: من عمل بالمقائيس فقد هلك وأهلك، ومن أفتى الناس بغير علم وهو لا يعلم الناسخ من المنسوخ والمحكم من المتشابه فقد هلك وأهلك. الكافي ج 1 ص 43 قال أبو عبد الله عليه السلام: أنهاك عن خصلتين فيهما هلاك الرجال: أنهاك أن تدين الله بالباطل، وتفتي الناس بما لا تعلم. الكافي ج1 ص 42 قال أبو عبد الله عليه السلام إياك وخصلتين ففيهما هلك من هلك: إياك أن تفتي الناس برأيك أو تدين بما لا تعلم. الكافي ج1 ص 42 ، عن أبي بصير قال: قلت لأبي عبد الله عليه السلام: ترد علينا أشياء ليس نعرفها في كتاب الله ولا سنته فننظر فيها؟ فقال: لا أما أنك إن أصبت لم توجر، وإن أخطأت كذبت على الله. الكافي ج1 ص56 عن أبي عبيدة قال: قال أبو جعفر (عليه السلام): من أفتى الناس بغير علم ولا هدى من الله لعنته ملائكة الرحمة وملائكة العذاب، ولحقه وزر من عمل بفتياه. الكافي ج1 ص42 عن الصادق ع قال: إياكم والتقليد، فإنه من قلد في دينه هلك إن الله تعالى يقول: (اتخذوا أحبارهم ورهبانهم أربابا من دون الله) فلا والله ما صلوا لهم ولا صاموا، ولكنهم أحلوا لهم حراما، وحرموا عليهم - حلالا، فقلدوهم في ذلك، فعبدوهم وهم لا يشعرون
تصحيح اعتقادات الإمامية - الشيخ المفيد - ص 72 - 73 |
| Answer: It is not acceptable for man to bring some Hadiths and exploit some of them without looking into the other Ayahs and Hadiths. The type of emulation prohibited in the Hadiths you quoted is to follow someone without any argument, for man ought to acquire his doctrine on the basis of knowledge and not mere emulation; whereas, he acquires the Shariah from the Prophet (p.) and his infallible Household Members (a.s.). The Imams (a.s.) used to make people refer to the narrators of Hadiths and their trustworthy companions. And emulation in the generally accepted sense, which is to refer to a just Mujtahid for the unnecessary juristic rulings, is rational just as he who does not possess knowledge in a certain field refers to he who possesses knowledge in that field, because we are obliged to practice our juristic Taklif (religious duty) which we have to rely on arguments to attain, and this should be done by experienced people who can deduce the rulings from their evidences.
الجواب بالعربية: لا يصح للإنسان أن يأتي بأحاديث ويستغل جانباً منها من دون الإحاطة بها والنظر إلى باقي الآيات والأحاديث، فالتقليد المنهي عنه هنا هو الإتباع بغير حجة فعلى الإنسان أن يأخذ عقيدته عن علم لا عن تقليد، وأما الشرع فيأخذه عن النبي(ص)، وأهل بيته المعصومين. والأئمة(ع) أرجعوا الناس إلى رواة أحاديثهم وثقاة أصحابهم ممن عرف حلالهم وحرامهم. والتقليد بالمعنى المصطلح أي الرجوع إلى المجتهد العادل في الأحكام الشرعية غير الضرورية أمر عقلائي في رجوع غير العالم إلى العالم، كما هو الحال في سائر المجالات، وذلك للخروج من عهدة التكليف الشرعي الذي لا يحصل إلا بالاعتماد على الحجة، والحجة أهل الخبرة في استنباط الأحكام من أدلتها. |