Is taking the statements of the scholars of al-jarh wa al-ta'dil (the critique and vindication of narrators) considered taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence) of them?
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The questioner : In the question, may Allah heal you, regarding the sanad (the chain of narration), we face a problem where it is said: you deny blind taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence) of the imams, yet you follow Yahya ibn Ma'in and Ahmad in their statements, for example, saying so-and-so is weak and so-and-so is authentic. After this question, we will address this, if Allah wills, and we want to hear about this.
So, is this, or accepting their statement or the imams' statement regarding a narrator that he is weak or trustworthy, is this pure taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence), or is it based on something scientific that is not called taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence)? And upon this, another question is built, and we hope the brothers will allow it.
The Shaykh : They have the right to allow it, because the turn was theirs, so now the turn is for others.
I say: al-San'ani addressed this issue in his treatise, and he holds that this is not taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence), but I personally am not convinced by that.
The questioner : This is the problem we face.
The Shaykh : Yes, this is what I am not convinced by, but is there anyone who denies taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence)?
As for me, I do not deny taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence); rather, I affirm it, and I even make it obligatory. If someone else disagrees with me, that is their right without a doubt, so we benefit from discussing the issue.
I believe that taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence) is something from which the great imams do not escape, let alone the lesser ones, let alone the scholars, let finally the students of knowledge, let alone the common people. So what is the problem then?
The root of the problem, in my belief:
The root of the problem is not clear to me, because it appears that those who say this statement are either muqallids (those who follow scholars) who want to argue with us, saying: you claim that taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence) is forbidden, so why do you follow?
Or they are from the extremists among our Salafi brothers who forbid taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence) absolutely, and both groups are in error.
The questioner : Two extremes.
The Shaykh : Yes, and on this basis, I can answer if I have an answer from either group.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : No, from either group this criticism comes. If it is from the muqallids (those who follow scholars), it is very clear to say: what business do you have in this field? Meaning, how does the Arabic proverb say: "This is not your nest, so go away", what is the subject of your research?
And if it is from the Salafi brothers who exaggerate in making research and ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) obligatory even for the common people, we say: this has no evidence, and it is contrary to what our righteous Salaf (the earliest generations) were upon. Therefore, I do not believe there is a problem in this, whether it comes from these or from those.
The questioner : So, then, accepting their statement absolutely, what is it based on?
The Shaykh : It is based on His saying, the Exalted:.
So, is this, or accepting their statement or the imams' statement regarding a narrator that he is weak or trustworthy, is this pure taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence), or is it based on something scientific that is not called taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence)? And upon this, another question is built, and we hope the brothers will allow it.
The Shaykh : They have the right to allow it, because the turn was theirs, so now the turn is for others.
I say: al-San'ani addressed this issue in his treatise, and he holds that this is not taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence), but I personally am not convinced by that.
The questioner : This is the problem we face.
The Shaykh : Yes, this is what I am not convinced by, but is there anyone who denies taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence)?
As for me, I do not deny taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence); rather, I affirm it, and I even make it obligatory. If someone else disagrees with me, that is their right without a doubt, so we benefit from discussing the issue.
I believe that taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence) is something from which the great imams do not escape, let alone the lesser ones, let alone the scholars, let finally the students of knowledge, let alone the common people. So what is the problem then?
The root of the problem, in my belief:
The root of the problem is not clear to me, because it appears that those who say this statement are either muqallids (those who follow scholars) who want to argue with us, saying: you claim that taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence) is forbidden, so why do you follow?
Or they are from the extremists among our Salafi brothers who forbid taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence) absolutely, and both groups are in error.
The questioner : Two extremes.
The Shaykh : Yes, and on this basis, I can answer if I have an answer from either group.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : No, from either group this criticism comes. If it is from the muqallids (those who follow scholars), it is very clear to say: what business do you have in this field? Meaning, how does the Arabic proverb say: "This is not your nest, so go away", what is the subject of your research?
And if it is from the Salafi brothers who exaggerate in making research and ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) obligatory even for the common people, we say: this has no evidence, and it is contrary to what our righteous Salaf (the earliest generations) were upon. Therefore, I do not believe there is a problem in this, whether it comes from these or from those.
The questioner : So, then, accepting their statement absolutely, what is it based on?
The Shaykh : It is based on His saying, the Exalted: