Imitation (Personal)
One major back door of shirk is personal imitation. When a group among the Muslims faces difficult times, they abandon the golden and luminous rays of the original principles (the Quran and Sunnah) and become afflicted with the incurable disease of imitation of their ancestors. Then they descend into the unfathomable depths of darkness and obscurity from which all paths of return become blocked, because imitation is against the “legal principles” and indeed the opposite of the “legal principles.” The fundamental principle of Islamic Shariah is the belief in Tawheed (Oneness of Allah). Whereas imitation is completely contrary to the belief in Tawheed, and any act that contradicts the belief in Tawheed will be counted as shirk. The details of this statement will be explained in the following discussion:
See, in the Holy Quran, Allah Almighty has strongly negated two types of partnership. Firstly, the partnership in worship, about which the command of the Almighty is:
(وَّ لَا یُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهٖۤ اَحَدًا)
“And do not associate anyone in the worship of your Lord.”
And secondly: partnership in command, system, and order, about which the statement of the Exalted is:
((وَّ لَا یُشْرِكُ فِیْ حُكْمِهٖۤ اَحَدًا ))
“And He does not share His command with anyone.”
And in Surah Al-Baqarah it is said:
(( یٰۤاَیُّهَا النَّاسُ اعْبُدُوْا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِیْ خَلَقَكُمْ وَ الَّذِیْنَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُوْنَ ))
“O people! Worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, so that you may become righteous.”
And in Surah Az-Zumar it is said:
((فَاعْبُدِ اللّٰهَ مُخْلِصًا لَّهُ الدِّیْنَ))
“So worship Allah, being sincere to Him in religion.”
These verses state that worship is only for Allah, who has no partner or rival; therefore, worshiping anyone other than Him is a great sin. It should be noted that worship, in its broad sense, means obedience and submission. Whoever follows the commands or laws of anyone other than Allah Almighty, abandoning His commands and decrees, considers that person as their god and lord. Islam is the religion ordained by Allah Almighty, and those who establish religion according to their own desires place themselves in the position of Allah Almighty. Allah Almighty says about them:
(اَمْ لَهُمْ شُرَكٰٓؤُا شَرَعُوْا لَهُمْ مِّنَ الدِّیْنِ مَا لَمْ یَاْذَنْۢ بِهِ اللّٰهُؕ)
“Have they taken partners who legislate for them a religion without Allah’s permission?”
Imam Shafi’i (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
(( مَنِ اسْتَحْسَنَ فَقَدْ شَرَّع . ))
“Whoever considers any act good on their own has legislated a Sharia.”
Similarly, in the collection of Hadith, it is mentioned that Adi bin Hatim رضي الله عنه came to the Prophet ﷺ, and he had a silver cross hanging around his neck (he had accepted Christianity during the time of ignorance). The Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited this verse:
(اِتَّخَذُوْۤا اَحْبَارَهُمْ وَ رُهْبَانَهُمْ اَرْبَابًا مِّنْ دُوْنِ اللّٰهِ)
“Indeed, the Jews and the Christians have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah.”
(Adi bin Hatim رضي الله عنه narrates) I said, “The Christians did not worship their scholars.” The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Is it not the case that whatever the rabbis forbid, you also forbid, and whatever they permit, you also permit?” Adi رضي الله عنه replied:
“Yes, O Messenger of Allah ﷺ! That is so.” He said:
“That is their worship.”
From this noble hadith, it is understood that worship means obedience, submission, and following commands. So, a person who obeys and submits to someone accepts that one as their Lord and God, and there are similar examples in the Holy Quran. Ibrahim (peace be upon him) addresses his father:
(یٰۤاَبَتِ لِمَ تَعْبُدُ مَا لَا یَسْمَعُ وَ لَا یُبْصِرُ وَ لَا یُغْنِیْ عَنْكَ شَیْــٴًـا)
“O my father! Why do you worship that which neither hears nor sees nor can benefit you in any way?”
This noble verse clearly indicates that Ibrahim’s (peace be upon him) father Azar used to worship idols. That is why he forbade him from idol worship. A little later, Ibrahim (peace be upon him) again addresses his father as follows:
(يابَتِ لَا تَعْبُدِ الشَّيْطَنَ)
“O my father! Do not worship Satan.”
And in
, it is stated:
(اَلَمْ اَعْهَدْ اِلَیْكُمْ یٰبَنِیْۤ اٰدَمَ اَنْ لَّا تَعْبُدُوا الشَّیْطٰنَۚ-اِنَّهٗ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِیْنٌ)
“O children of Adam! Did I not take a covenant from you that you should not worship Satan?”
Now no one worships or performs austerities for Satan, rather Satan is followed and obeyed; for this reason, obedience has been described as worship.
Its parallels can be seen in the issue of Taqlid (imitation), where the mindset of the followers is exactly the same: the sayings or understanding of the Imam are accepted without question, presenting the permissible as forbidden and the forbidden as permissible, whereas the criterion for permissibility and prohibition is only the Book and Sunnah. If this is ignored, the law of permissibility and prohibition becomes a child’s play.
Now consider the meaning and concept of Taqlid; the most accepted definition of Taqlid is:
(( هُوَ الْعَمَلُ بِقَوْلٍ مَنْ لَيْسَ قَوْلُهُ إِحْدَى الْحِجَجِ بِلَا حُجَّةٍ مِنْهَا .))
“To act upon (i.e., obey) the statement of someone whose statement is not based on a Shariah proof, without any proof.”
Now, since obedience is worship, and worship is solely for Allah, the Lord of Glory, then taking someone else’s word and imitating them is considered shirk (associating partners with Allah). Because the beloved Prophet ﷺ clearly stated that calling something halal halal, and something haram haram, and accepting someone’s fatwa without evidence is his worship. The scholars of the Ummah were aware of the ugliness of blind imitation, and they were aware of its evil and dangerous consequences, so they kept rejecting it and emphasized obedience to the Messenger ﷺ. Accordingly, Imam Abu Hanifa said:
((لَا أُفَلِدُ التَّابِعِيَّ لِأَنَّهُمْ رِجَالٌ وَنَحْنُ رِجَالٌ وَلَا يَصِحُ تَقَلِيْدُهُ .))
“I do not imitate any Tabi’i (successor of the companions), because he is also a human like us; his imitation is not permissible.”
And Imam Shafi’i (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
(( إِذَا صَحٌ الْحَدِيثُ فَهُوَ مَذْهَبِى وَإِذَا رَأَيْتُمُ كَلَامِي يُخَالِفُ الْحَدِيثَ فَاعْمَلُوا بِالْحَدِيثِ وَاضْرِبُوا بِكَلَامِي الْحَائِط لَا تُقَلِدْنِي ))
“When an authentic hadith is found, that is my creed, and when my speech contradicts the hadith, act upon the hadith and throw my speech against the wall; do not imitate me.”
Thus Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
(( لَا تُقَلِدْنِي، وَلَا تُقَلِدُ مَالِكًا، وَلَا الشَّافِعِيُّ وَلَا الْأَوَزَاعِيُّ وَالتَّورِيُّ وَخُذُ مِنْ حَيْثُ أَخَذُوا ))
“Do not imitate me, nor Malik, Shafi’i, Awza’i, and Thawri (may Allah have mercy on them), but rather derive issues from where they used to derive (i.e., the Quran and Sunnah).”
Examples of Imitation:
In the following lines, we also present some examples of imitation, from which the ugliness, disgrace, and fearfulness of imitation will become clear, and the decision is left to the readers whether they consider it a major sin or shirk. In any case, the decision must be made by themselves.
Mulla Ali al-Qari, while explaining a hadith in Mirqat Sharh Mishkat (282/3), writes:
((وَلَا إِشَكَالَ فِي ظَاهِرِ الْحَدِيثِ عَلَى مُقْتَضَى مَذْهَبِ الشَّافِعِي فَإِنَّهُ مَعْمُولٌ عَلَى حَالَةِ الْقَصْرِ ، وَقَدْ صَلَّى بِالطَّائِفَةِ الثَّانِيَةِ تَقُلًا وَعَلَى قَوَاعِدِ مَذْهَبِنَا مُشْكِلٌ جِدًّا.))
“The hadith is completely clear and apparent in its meaning, and it is also an explicit support for the Shafi’i madhhab (i.e., there is clear evidence in its support) that it should be applied in the case of shortening (prayer), and you have led the other group in voluntary prayer, but (according to our madhhab) it is very difficult to act upon this hadith.”
And also read about Sheikh al-Hind Maulvi Mahmood al-Hasan that when his own Imam’s statement is challenged, he ruthlessly wields the sword of taqlid (imitation) to cut off the hadith. نعوذ باللہ Thus, in the issue of Khiyar al-Majlis, they have written in the speech
:
((الْحَقُّ وَالْإِنصَافُ أَنَّ التَّرْجِيع لِلشَّافِعِي فِي هَذِهِ المَسْئَلَةِ ، وَنَحْنُ الْمُقَلِدُونَ يَجِبُ عَلَيْنَا تَقْلِيدُ إِمَامِنَا أَبِي حَنِيفَةَ .))
“The truth and justice is that in this issue, the preference is for Imam Shafi’i (because the evidences and hadiths support him), but since we are followers, and it is obligatory for us to follow Imam Abu Hanifa (may Allah be pleased with him).”
And regarding Al-Dhimmi (that is, a non-Muslim living under Muslim rule; if he insults the status of the Messenger ﷺ, then his responsibility is broken, this is the opinion of the majority of scholars and muhaddithin), Ibn Najim in Al-Bahr al-Ra’iq Sharh Kanz al-Daqa’iq (5/115) has written:
((نَفْسُ الْمُؤْمِنُ يَمِيلُ إِلَى قَوْلِ الْمُخَالِفِ فِي مَسْئَلَةِ السَّيْ لَكِن اتَّبَاعُنَا لِلْمَذْهَبِ وَاجِبٌ .))
“(The just thing is that) in this issue, the heart of a believer inclines towards the opinion of the opponent, but (what to do?) following the religion is also obligatory.”
(لا حَوْلَ وَلا قُوَّةَ إِلا باللَّهِ)
The rule is that if a Quranic verse contradicts the opinion of our companions, it will be interpreted according to the Sheikh or preference, and preferably it should be interpreted allegorically so that harmony becomes apparent.
Similarly, if a hadith contradicts the opinion of our companions (Imams), it will be interpreted according to the Sheikh or it will be understood that it conflicts with a hadith of equal status.
The extreme of bias reached the point that they also wrote in their books:
(( فَلَعْنَةُ رَبَّنَا أَعْدَادَ رَمُلٍ عَلى مَنْ رَدَّ قَوْلَ أَبِى حَنِيفَةَ .))
“May dust particles curse the person who rejects the opinion of Imam Abu Hanifa (RA).”
We have presented these few statements as examples; otherwise, those familiar with the secrets and mysteries know well that the reality is far more than this. Is this denial of faith and belief and deviation from the Salafi methodology not the result of blind personal imitation?
Fruits of Imitation:
Moreover, it is this personal imitation that has torn the unity of the Muslim Ummah into pieces, and it has become a victim of factionalism. Thus, some became Hanafi, some Shafi’i, some Maliki, and some Hanbali, and then the plague of declaring each other misguided broke out. Fatwas were issued:
“A Hanafi Muslim’s prayer behind a Shafi’i Imam is not valid, or vice versa!”
Thus, the accursed Satan succeeded in making Muslims fight and dividing them into sects, causing disunity. إِنَّا لِلهِ .
“The harm caused to Islam due to imitation of the schools of thought is exemplified as follows. As Sheikh Muhammad Sultan Al-Mas’umi Al-Hujandi Al-Makki mentioned in his book
, which is a matter of reflection for the Muslim Ummah. He states:
“A letter was received from the city of Tokyo in Japan, the summary of which is that when some enlightened individuals in Japan inclined towards Islam, they expressed their intention before the Jamiat-ul-Muslimeen Tokyo. The Hanafi scholars of India there said, ‘You should accept the religion of Abu Hanifa because he is the lamp of the Ummah.’ But the Shafi’i scholars of Java (Indonesia) advised them to accept the Shafi’i school of thought. Due to this tug of war between the two, they could not accept Islam.”
These are the blessings of Taqlid (imitation), in view of which the true scholars have always prohibited personal Taqlid. Because Taqlid of different schools of thought has been the biggest cause of sectarianism and religious prejudice in the Muslim Ummah. It even became an obstacle in the path of those accepting Islam. Therefore, it can be said that Taqlid of schools of thought has no connection whatsoever with the religion of Islam.
The true teachings of Islam were that Muslims should always remain united and in agreement, and by observing the pure and simple teachings of the true religion, Allah’s creation would enter Islam without hesitation. However, some people declared imitation (taqlid) as obligatory and tried to tarnish the bright teachings of Islam, causing great harm to the upright religion.
ونعوذ بالله من هذه الخزعبلات
