The Ruling on Taqlid (Following a Scholar Without Knowing His Evidence) Regarding Scholars and Their Categories

Question:
If you return to us. I yield to Abu al-Hajj, who is the one for whom taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence) is not permissible, and do you say that whoever knows a hadith is called a scholar to this extent, and taqlid is not permissible for him?

Answer:
Scholars are of two categories. The first are scholars who have the capability for absolute ijtihad (independent legal reasoning), such as Imam Ahmad, the four Imams, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, and other Imams who possess the capability for absolute ijtihad, deriving rulings from the Book and the Sunnah. For these, taqlid is not permissible; rather, they must exercise ijtihad until they reach what appears stronger to them, because taqlid is only permissible for the ignorant. Allah the Exalted said: The second category of scholars are those who have not reached this level. They have knowledge, but they have not reached the knowledge of the great Imams who are firmly grounded in knowledge. However, they possess scientific principles that enable them to distinguish the stronger position from the weaker position among the scholars' statements. These do not exercise ijtihad in deriving rulings, because they have not reached this level. However, they must exercise ijtihad in the scholars' statements, taking from them what appears to them to have evidence. This is ijtihad in the scholars' statements, not ijtihad in deriving rulings. Therefore, it is not permissible for these to take a scholar's statement without looking at its evidence and its strength over others. Rather, they must take the scholars' statements, weigh them, and take from them what appears stronger to them based on evidence. This is not absolute ijtihad, but rather ijtihad regarding the madhahib (schools of jurisprudence) of the scholars.