1. What Is Taqlīd in Shīʿī Islam?
Taqlīd does not mean blind worship of scholars.
It means:
Referring to a qualified jurist (mujtahid) in legal rulings when one lacks the ability of ijtihād.
It applies only to fiqh (practical law), not to ʿaqīdah (beliefs).
2. The Qur’ānic Basis for Referring to Scholars
Qur’ān 16:43
Arabic:
فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
Translation:
“So ask the People of Remembrance if you do not know.”
Qur’ān 9:122
Arabic:
فَلَوْلَا نَفَرَ مِن كُلِّ فِرْقَةٍ مِّنْهُمْ طَائِفَةٌ لِّيَتَفَقَّهُوا فِي الدِّينِ وَلِيُنذِرُوا قَوْمَهُمْ
Translation:
“Why should not a group from every community go forth to gain understanding in religion and warn their people when they return?”
➡ These verses establish:
تخصص (specialization)
رجوع الجاهل إلى العالم (the ignorant referring to the knowledgeable)
3. The Imams Ordered Shīʿa to Follow Scholars in the Occultation
3.1 توقيع الإمام المهدي (عج)
Arabic:
وأمّا الحوادث الواقعة فارجعوا فيها إلى رواة حديثنا، فإنّهم حجّتي عليكم وأنا حجّة الله
Source:
al-Ṭūsī, al-Ghaybah, p. 177
al-Ṭabarsī, al-Iḥtijāj, vol. 2, p. 283
Translation:
“As for the newly occurring events, refer to the narrators of our traditions, for they are my proof over you, and I am the proof of Allah.”
➡ The Imām explicitly commands referring to scholars.
3.2 Hadith of Imam al-Askari (ع)
Arabic:
فأمّا من كان من الفقهاء صائناً لنفسه، حافظاً لدينه، مخالفاً لهواه، مطيعاً لأمر مولاه، فللعوام أن يقلّدوه
Source:
al-Ṭabarsī, Tafsīr al-Askari
al-Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, vol. 27, p. 131
Translation:
“As for the jurist who protects himself, safeguards his religion, opposes his desires, and obeys his Lord, then the common people may follow him.”
➡ This is explicit authorization of taqlīd in fiqh.
4. Weakness of the Sanad Does NOT Nullify the Principle
Shīʿī jurisprudence does not rely on a single narration.
Taqlīd is established by:
Qur’ān
عقل (reason)
سيرة العقلاء (practice of rational people)
Numerous narrations
Consensus of scholars
Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, al-Mufīd, al-ʿAllāmah al-Ḥillī, al-Majlisī, and all classical jurists practiced and taught taqlīd.
5. Taqlīd Is NOT in ʿAqīdah
No taqlīd in beliefs (uṣūl al-dīn)
Shīʿī Islam requires:
Personal conviction in:
Tawḥīd
Nubuwwah
Imāmah
Maʿād
But fiqh ≠ ʿaqīdah.
No scholar ever said:
“Taqlīd in fiqh is forbidden.”
6. The Doctor Analogy is Valid in Islamic Law
The Qur’ān itself uses عقل (reasoning):
Qur’ān 39:9
Arabic:
قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
Translation:
“Are those who know equal to those who do not know?”
Just as:
Patients consult doctors
Engineers design buildings
Judges interpret law
Muslims consult mujtahids in fiqh.
This is rational necessity, not innovation.
7. The “Anti-Taqlīd” Hadiths Are Misused
The narrations quoted about:
Not obeying people blindly
Not following false leaders
Not accepting harām/ḥalāl from corrupt figures
Do NOT refer to qualified jurists.
They refer to:
Tyrants
False scholars
Political leaders
Deviant sect founders
Imām al-Ṣādiq (ع) said:
Arabic:
إياك أن تنصب رجلاً دون الحجة فتصدقه في كل ما قال
Source: Maʿānī al-Akhbār
Translation:
“Beware of appointing a man instead of the Divine Proof and believing everything he says.”
➡ Mujtahids do not replace the Imām.
They transmit his law.
8. The Shīʿa Have Always Practiced Taqlīd
During the Minor Occultation:
People followed:
al-Ṣadūq
al-Kulaynī
al-Mufīd
al-Ṭūsī
They were not infallible — yet the Imām allowed reliance on them.
9. Claiming “Only the Infallible Can Be Followed” Leads to Chaos
If taqlīd were forbidden:
Who decides prayer rules?
Marriage laws?
Inheritance?
Transactions?
Every person becomes their own mujtahid — which is impossible.
Islam is not anarchic.
10. Final Conclusion
Twelver Shīʿī Position:
| Issue | Correct View |
|---|---|
| Taqlīd in beliefs | ❌ Not allowed |
| Taqlīd in fiqh | ✅ Obligatory |
| Scholars infallible | ❌ No |
| Scholars replace Imams | ❌ No |
| Referring to jurists | ✅ Commanded |
| Taqlīd = bidʿah | ❌ False |
Final Statement
Taqlīd of qualified jurists is:
Qur’ānic
Rational
Imām-endorsed
Historically practiced
Doctrinally sound
Calling it a bidʿah is itself a deviation from Ithnā ʿAsharī Islam.
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