TAQLEED (The Following of Imams)

1. After the Holy Prophet
(sallal laahu alaihi
wasallam), the Sahaba-e-
Kiraam and the Taabi'in,
the most excellent are the
four Imams of the Ahle
Sunnat Wa Jamaat. They
are such great Imaams
that they are known as
"Mujtahideen Fi Shara'".
They are Imam-e-Azam
Abu Hanifa, Imam Maalik,
Imam Shafi'i and Imam
Ahmed bin Hambal (radi
Allahu anhum).
2. Taqleed means to follow
one of the four Imaams of
religion concerning the
commandments of Islamic
Law (Shari'ah).
3. Today, Muslims
throughout the world
follow the Taqleed of
these four Imaams. In the
Masa'ile Furoo'iya, there is
no other fourth Madhab.
The difference of opinion
of the four Imaams is only
in the laws of
Furoo' (actions) and not
in beliefs (Aqaa'id).
4. The followers of the four
Madhabs are commonly
known as Hanafi, Maaliki,
Shafi'i and Hambali.
5. It is necessary (Waajib) to
follow one of them, eg. to
perform Salaah, or
perform Saum, Zakaah,
etc. as per what they have
prescribed. This is known
as Taqleed Shakhshi.
6. These Imams have not
made a rule on their own
accord but have explained
the meaning of the Holy
Quran and Hadith, which
a normal person or even
an Alim could not
understand. Therefore, to
follow these Imaams is
really following the Holy
Quran and Hadith.
7. Whoever follows one
Imaam cannot follow
another Imaam, for
example, to follow some
rules of one Imaam and
other rules of another
Imaam is not allowed. It is
necessary to firmly follow
only one Imaam.
8. A person is not allowed to
change from one Imaam
to another, e.g. to become
a Hanafi after following
the Shafi'i way. You have
to follow your Imaam and
continue following him.
9. It is also a joint
agreement by all Ulema
that you cannot follow
another Imaam or a
Mujtahid (religious
director) except for one of
these four Imaams.
10. The following verses are
proofs from the Holy
Quran on Taqleed:
1. The Holy Quran says:
"Guide us on the
Right Path, the Path
of those on whom
you have showered
blessing". (Surah
Fateha: 5) The verse
may be taken as the
argument in favour
of Absolute (Mutlaq)
Taqleed as well as
the Taqleed of
Mujtahids. Those on
the Right Path are
the Mufassirin
(Commentators of
Quran),
Muhaddiseen
(Scholars of the
Ahadith), Jurists,
Awliya Allah, Ghaus,
Qutub, Abdal, etc.
They were all
Muqallids proving
there by that
Taqleed is the Right
Path.
2. The Holy Quran says:
"Allah does not put
burden on a person
which he cannot
bear." (Surah
Baqarah: 286) This
verse shows that
Allah does not cause
hardships to a man
which he cannot
endure. It means
that the man who is
incapable of Ijtihad,
is unable to extract
problems (masail)
from the Qur'an as
it amounts to over-
burdening him if he
is restrained from
Taqleed and to
expect him to derive
problems from the
Qur'an is not
justifiable.
3. The Holy Quran says:
"And the first and
foremost among the
Muhajireen and
Ansar and those
who followed them
with good
intentions these are
those with whom
Allah was pleased
and they were
pleased with
Allah." (Surah Tauba:
100) It means that
Almighty Allah is
pleased with those
who followed the
footstepe of the
Muhajirs and the
Ansar. This is
nothing but
Taqleed.
4. The Holy Quran says:
"Obey Allah the
Almighty and obey
the Holy Prophet
and those who
wield authority in
the land." (Surah
Nisa: 59) In thise
verse there is the
command to obey
Almighty Allah (Holy
Quran) the Holy
Prophet (Hadith),
the person holding
authority to
command the Ulama
versed in Fiqah
(Jurisprudence) and
Istimbat
(Knowledge of
deriving problem
from the Quran and
Hadith).
5. The Holy Quran says:
"Ask (enquire) from
the persons of
learning if you do
not know." (Surah
Nahal: 43) The verse
points to seeking
advice and
knowledge from the
persons of learning
if the common men
do not know the
real meaning or
nature of any
command. The men
of learning explicitly
refer to the
Mujtahids.
6. The Holy Quran says:
"And follow the man
who leads (people)
unto Me." (Surah
Luqman: 15) The
verse indicates that
the following
(Taqleed) should be
done of those
persons who have
devoted themselves
to Almighty Allah.
Here there is no
restriction on the
nature of matters in
which guidance is
needed.
7. The Holy Quran says:
"And those who say:
O our Lord! Provide
us the coolness of
our eyes from our
wives and children
and make us the
leader of the right
ous people." (Surah
al-Furqan: 25) The
verse also demands
that the Taqleed or
following the men
of Almighty Allah is
on obligation.