Is it permissible to follow the imams?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner: Oh teacher, if you would allow me...
The Shaykh : ... .
The questioner: The one who follows blindly, the meaning of taqlid.
Another questioner: He says: The meaning of taqlid?
The Shaykh: The meaning of taqlid?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh: It is following a scholar blindly, not with insight. We said, for example, a scholar says: This is haram, and the one who follows blindly says: Amen. Do you know why it is haram? I do not know. This is not permissible in Islam except in cases of dire necessity. But the scholar knows that when he forbade this thing, he took it from the Qur'an, or from a hadith, or from ijtihad which is the scholarly consensus of the ummah, or from qiyas and his own ijtihad. So if it is from a verse and a hadith, it is not permissible for this one who follows blindly to contradict his ruling; because this ruling is based on the Book and the Sunnah. And if it is from the scholar's ijtihad, then it is permissible to contradict him; because he will ask another scholar and he will give him another opinion, so he will then follow the opinion that appears stronger to him. For this reason, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:.
So taqlid, which is proceeding in knowledge without insight; this is not permissible in Islam. And for this reason, some scholars said: "There is no difference between a man who follows blindly and a beast that is led." A beast that is led does not know whether this beast is being led to lush pasture or to slaughter. So the one who follows blindly is told: This is haram, and he says: Haram. This is fard, and he says: Fard. But what is the evidence? He does not know the evidence. So he is like the beast that is led.
Yes.
The questioner: Now, oh Shaykh, regarding...
The Shaykh: This person has no knowledge, he has no knowledge; because knowledge says that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting among his Companions, so he drew a straight line, and drew short lines around this straight line, then he recited His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He):[Al-An'am 6:153], and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, explaining: . This is a scholar who says: Such and such a way, and such and such a way! And the Messenger says: One way! This is not a scholar, but people think he is a scholar; they say about him: A scholar.
The Shaykh : ... .
The questioner: The one who follows blindly, the meaning of taqlid.
Another questioner: He says: The meaning of taqlid?
The Shaykh: The meaning of taqlid?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh: It is following a scholar blindly, not with insight. We said, for example, a scholar says: This is haram, and the one who follows blindly says: Amen. Do you know why it is haram? I do not know. This is not permissible in Islam except in cases of dire necessity. But the scholar knows that when he forbade this thing, he took it from the Qur'an, or from a hadith, or from ijtihad which is the scholarly consensus of the ummah, or from qiyas and his own ijtihad. So if it is from a verse and a hadith, it is not permissible for this one who follows blindly to contradict his ruling; because this ruling is based on the Book and the Sunnah. And if it is from the scholar's ijtihad, then it is permissible to contradict him; because he will ask another scholar and he will give him another opinion, so he will then follow the opinion that appears stronger to him. For this reason, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Consult your heart, even if the muftis give you rulings
استفتِ قلبك وإن أفتاك المفتونSo taqlid, which is proceeding in knowledge without insight; this is not permissible in Islam. And for this reason, some scholars said: "There is no difference between a man who follows blindly and a beast that is led." A beast that is led does not know whether this beast is being led to lush pasture or to slaughter. So the one who follows blindly is told: This is haram, and he says: Haram. This is fard, and he says: Fard. But what is the evidence? He does not know the evidence. So he is like the beast that is led.
Yes.
The questioner: Now, oh Shaykh, regarding...
The Shaykh: This person has no knowledge, he has no knowledge; because knowledge says that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting among his Companions, so he drew a straight line, and drew short lines around this straight line, then he recited His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He):
And, [moreover], this is My path, which is straight, so follow it; and do not follow [other] ways, for you will be separated from His way
وَأَنَّ هَذَا صِرَاطِي مُسْتَقِيمًا فَاتَّبِعُوهُ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمْ عَنْ سَبِيلِهِThis is the path of Allah, and these are the ways, and on every one of these ways is a Shaytan calling people to it
هذا صراط الله ، وهذه الطُّرق ، وعلى كلِّ صراط منها شيطان يدعو الناس إليه
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.