Taqlid
*Taqlid* is accepting a qualified scholar's answer and acting on it without examining the evidence behind it yourself.
What it means for me: The word can sound like an insult, but among scholars it names an ordinary state, not a fault. Their criticism of taqlid targets someone able to examine evidence who chooses not to. It is not aimed at an ordinary person, whose duty is only to ask. You already do this with your doctor's prescription, and no one calls that a weakness.
Example: A man asks a scholar he trusts, gets an answer, and acts on it without asking for the underlying evidence. That is taqlid in the scholars' own sense of the word. It is exactly what someone unable to examine the sources is expected to do. Read Do I have to follow a madhhab?.
Do not confuse with: *Ijtihad*. Taqlid accepts a conclusion on trust; ijtihad reaches a conclusion by examining the evidence directly.
If scholars differ: Scholars differ on whether a person should commit permanently to one madhhab. Some hold that consistency is best; others allow moving between schools for a good reason. The difference is named here as a difference and not decided; the mufti is the reference.
See the term in context
What would be said if taqlid (adherence to a madhhab) were initially permitted, and then the common person in matters of creed imitated a disbeliever, an atheist, or an innovator?
It is permissible to follow (taqlid) in matters of belief for one who is unable to deduce evidence, and this is the view of the majority of scholars. There is no difference in the permissibility of taqlid between…
What is meant by sectarian taqlid and a muqallid?
Linguistically, taqlid means: placing something around the neck, encompassing it, and metaphorically, entrusting a matter to someone else. Technically, it means: accepting a statement without knowing its evidence, or…
Is it permissible to issue a fatwa based on taqlid (adherence to a particular madhab or jurist)?
Scholars hold different opinions regarding the permissibility of issuing fatwas based on taqlid (following a qualified scholar): 1. It is not permissible to issue a fatwa based on taqlid, because it is not knowledge,…
Questions that use it
Did Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen intend by prohibiting taqleed (blind following) to include students of knowledge and the general populace? And how can the common person know the evidence? And what are the ways for a student of knowledge to avoid taqleed? And is acting upon mentioned fiqh issues without knowing their evidence considered prohibited taqleed?
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?
Was there a consensus on the permissibility of complete adherence (taqlid) to one of the four schools of thought (madhahib) in the third century AH, and does the noble verse: (O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger) indicate the imitation (taqlid) of the four schools of thought, and that the second part of it applies only to the people of ijtihad (independent reasoning), and that the common people must adhere to one of these schools?