What is Taqlid?

What is Taqlid?

As servants of God, we have particular duties that He expects of us. But how do we know what to do when we aren’t in the presence of the prophets and the Imams (pbut)? 

We have two essential options: 1. Researching to the point where we become experts capable of deriving scholarly opinions on religious matters; 2. Referring to those who have done such research. 

According to the maraji, any person who is not a mujtahid (jurist of Islamic law) must either practice precaution (ihtiyat) or follow a marja (taqlid) to ensure he/she has correctly performed his deeds, whether worship, business transactions, or anything else. 

What happens if one does not act in accordance with taqlid or ijtihad? In such cases, one’s deeds cannot be considered sufficient so long as it is not known that they are in accordance with what is truly required by God or if they align with the edicts of the most knowledgeable jurist. 

Precaution, meanwhile, is both time-consuming and nearly impossible for non-jurists, as it requires knowing the potential Islamic rulings in every situation and observing the strictest interpretation. And even then, there are some issues where observing precaution is impossible to observe, so in those cases, one must perform taqlid. 

It then follows that taqlid is the most logical option for the vast majority of people. It should be noted that the minimum requirement for taqlid is simply having the resolve to act on a marja’s edicts.

The minimal requirement for taqlid becomes relevant in cases of continuing to perform taqlid to a marja after his death; if one decided to follow a marja’s edicts but did not act upon them or even learn them before the marja’s death, one can still continue to perform taqlid to the marja after his death, so long as that marja is still considered to be the most knowledgeable (a‘lam) jurist.

How do we decide who to perform taqlid to? 

When there are differences of opinion among Islamic jurists, then one must identify the most knowledgeable from among them (a‘lam) and perform taqlid to him specifically. 

Sayyid Sistani explains that the “most knowledgeable” jurist is the one most capable of deriving Islamic legal rulings from their appropriate sources. That means he has the most comprehensive knowledge of the relevant texts and knows how to apply them the best, such that there is a greater chance that his edicts will be in accordance with sharia than will the edicts of other jurists.  

But how do we find the a‘lam?

According to the rulings of His Eminence, Sayyid al-Sistani, one can identify the most knowledgeable mujtahid (Islamic jurist) to whom one must perform taqlid by: 

1. Gaining certainty that someone is the most knowledgeable, though this only applies when the person himself is a mujtahid from among the teachers of advanced studies in the Islamic seminary and is thus able to distinguish between the levels of knowledge of mujtahids. 

2. The confirmation of two of the Ahl al-Khibra, or experts on this matter, who determine that a particular mujtahid is the most learned. Even the testimony of one such expert (from Ahl al-Khibra) who is reliable (thiqa) is sufficient for determining the most knowledgeable, so long as similarly knowledgeable and trustworthy experts do not contradict his statement. If such a contradiction occurs, one should accept the testimony of the one who is more of an expert such that there is a greater chance that he has truly identified the most knowledgeable.

Who are the Ahl al-Khibra? 

They are just (adil) scholars who are mujtahids themselves or close to the level of ijtihad such that they can distinguish between the levels of expertise of mujtahids. 

How can we identify the Ahl al-Khibra here in North America?

 You can come to know of the Ahl al-Khibra who are willing to identify the a‘lam (most knowledgeable jurist) through reliable people of religion who are connected to the hawza, and these reliable people of religion can be found in other countries (like in North America) as well. 

But what if one cannot ask those Ahl al-Khibra him/herself? 

If one does not have access to the Ahl al-Khibra in order to ask them who is the most knowledgeable, then one can rely upon the findings of another person who has asked Ahl al-Khibra so long as one has confidence in his/her ability to determine who are Ahl al-Khibra. 

What goes into the Ahl al-Khibra’s evaluation of the most knowledgeable jurist who is deserving of taqlid? 

The factors that the Ahl al-Khibra consider are: 

• Knowledge of the methods for establishing the authenticity of hadith (narrations), including the science of rijal (evaluating the reliability of hadith narrators) and the science of hadith, with all its branches such as knowledge of hadith books, distinguishing fabricated narrations by understanding the motives behind them, recognizing different manuscript versions, identifying the most accurate ones, and differentiating between the text of the hadith and the comments of the compilers.
• Understanding the meaning of religious texts, which involves recognizing the general rules of discourse and the specific methods used by the Imams (pbut) in explaining laws. It requires expertise in Usul al-Fiqh (principles of jurisprudence), literary sciences, and familiarity with the views of Sunni jurists who were contemporaries of the Imams (pbut).
• Sound judgment in deriving rulings from the appropriate principles, which can be assessed through direct discussions and consultations with the mujtahids who are in the conversation for being the most knowledgeable or by referring to their writings or the notes on their lectures in jurisprudence and the principles of jurisprudence.

3. A person attains confidence (itminan) that a person is the most learned by rational means. For example, a group of scholars that are able to determine who is the most learned confirm that a particular mujtahid is the most learned, and one gains confidence from this.

What if we still can’t determine which of the maraji is the most knowledgeable? 

According to Sayyid Sistani, if it cannot be determined who is the most learned among the maraji (pl. of marja) or if they are equal, then one should follow the marja who is more cautious than the others, meaning, he exercises more caution in giving fatwas.

However, if it is not established which marja is more cautious in giving fatwas, then the follower can choose to act according to the fatwa of whichever mujtahid he wants, except in cases of “non-specific knowledge” (al-ilm al-ijmali) or the arising of “non-specific authority” (al-hujjat al-ijmaliyyah) over responsibility. 

Take the example of performing the shortened (qasr) or complete (tamam) obligatory prayer in a particular situation. Based on obligatory precaution, the muqallid (follower) must observe the fatwa of the two mujtahids who seem to be equally cautious in fatwas. This is because we know that only one of the two duties is our actual duty, but our knowledge is “non-specific”. So to ensure we’ve fulfilled our obligation, we perform both. 

Further questions about choosing a marja 

The information above is a basic guide to selecting a marja. But there may be further questions about the application of these ideas. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us here if you need help identifying scholars in your region who can connect you with Ahl al-Khibra or would like to ask scholars at I.M.A.M. questions about taqlid.