Is it permissible for Ibn Hazm to declare that following a madhhab (taqlid) is forbidden, and to stipulate that the questioner must say to the mufti: "Is this how Allah has ruled? - or something to that effect -", and what is the ruling on one who adopts this view in our time?

Ibn Hazm holds that taqlid (blindly following a scholar) is forbidden for everyone, whether a scholar or a layperson, and mandates ijtihad (independent reasoning) for every individual. However, the ijtihad of a layperson does not extend beyond asking a mufti (religious jurist) and obligating him to clarify the ruling of Allah and His Messenger. If the mufti answers affirmatively, the layperson adopts his saying. If he answers otherwise, the layperson must seek another scholar. This is not considered an absolute ijtihad that exempts the layperson from taqlid; rather, it is closer to a verbal dispute. The mufti does not assert that his opinion is the ruling of Allah and His Messenger except in definitive matters, because probabilistic rulings are human ijtihad prone to error.