Refutation of Taqlid from the sayings of the Companions رضي الله عنهم اجمعين:
1: Imam Bayhaqi, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
اخبرنا ابو عبد الله الحافظ ثنا ابو العباس محمد بن يعقوب ثنا محمد بن خالد ثنا احمد بن خالد الوهبي ثنا اسرائيل عن ابي حصين عن يحيى بن وثاب عن مسروق عن عبد الله يعني ابن مسعود رضى الله عنه انه قال: لا تقلدوا دينكم الرجال فان ابيتم فبالاموات لا بالاحياء
Meaning: Our master Abdullah bin Mas’ud رضي الله عنه said: Do not imitate people in religion, so if you deny my statement, that is, if you are a disbeliever, then follow the dead men, not the living.
Warning:
In this translation, the word Iqtidha (following) is written in light of the narration of Tabarani.
2: Imam Waki’ bin al-Jarrah
says:
حدثنا شعبة عن عمرو بن مرة عن عبد الله بن سلمة عن معاذ قال: كيف انتم عند ثلاث دنيا تقطع رقابكم وزلة عالم وجدال منافق بالقرآن فسكتوا، فقال معاذ بن جبل رضي الله عنه: اما دنيا تقطع رقابكم فمن جعل الله غناه فى قلبه فقد هدى ومن لا فليس بنافعته دنياه واما زلة عالم فان اهتدى فلا تقلدوه دينكم وان فتن فلا تقطعوا منه امالكم فان المؤمن يفتن ثم يتوب الخ
Our master Mu’adh bin Jabal رضي الله عنه said: When three things occur, what will be your condition? When the world is breaking your necks, and the scholar errs, and the hypocrite disputes and debates with the Qur’an? If people remain silent, then Mu’adh bin Jabal رضي الله عنه said: Listen about the world that breaks the neck, meaning the abundance of wealth and riches. Whoever Allah makes his heart free from need, he is guided, and whoever is not free from need, the world will not benefit him. As for the scholar’s error, listen: if he is going on the straight path, then do not imitate him in your religion, and if he falls into tribulation, do not despair of him because the believer repeatedly falls into tribulation and then repents in the end. Al-Khal
Shu’bah: He is trustworthy, a memorizer, and precise
. The mention of Amr bin Murrah has passed. Abdullah bin Salamah (al-Muradi): صدوق تغير حفظه is
. From the statement of Amr bin Murrah, it appears that this narration was narrated by Abdullah bin Salamah before alteration; see Musnad al-Humaydi research
.
The chain of Amr bin Murrah from Abdullah bin Salamah has been declared authentic and good by the following scholars:
Hafiz Ibn Hajar says about this chain:
والحق انه من قبيل الحسن يصلح للحجة
And the truth is that it is among the category of Hasan (good) and is worthy of being used as proof in argumentation.
Researcher:
The saying of Muadh bin Jabal رضي الله عنه is also recorded in the following books:
Kitab al-Zuhd by Abi Dawood
Hilyat al-Awliya by Abi Nu’aym
, Jami’ Bayan al-‘Ilm wa Fadlih by Ibn Abd al-Barr
Al-Ahkam by Ibn Hazm
Ithaf al-Sadah al-Muttaqin
, Kanz al-Ummal
, Al-‘Ilal by Al-Daraqutni
. It has been authenticated by Al-Daraqutni and Abu Nu’aym Al-Asbahani. Hafiz Ibn al-Qayyim said:
وقد صح عن معاذ
And this is authentically proven from Muadh.
Strong Warning:
None of the Companions oppose Sayyiduna Ibn Mas’ud رضي الله عنه and Sayyiduna Muadh bin Jabal رضي الله عنه on this issue, therefore there is consensus among the Companions that imitation (taqlid) should not be done. And all praise is due to Allah.
Rejection of Taqlid from the Pious Predecessors:
1: Imam Amir bin Sharahil Al-Sha’bi
says:
ما حدثوك هؤلاء عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فخذ به وما قالوه برأيهم فالقه فى الحش
Hold firmly to whatever hadith of the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم is narrated to you, and discard whatever contradicts the Book and Sunnah even if it is said by personal opinion.
2: Imam Hukm bin Utaybah, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
ليس احد من الناس الا وانت اخذ من قوله او تارك الا النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم
You may accept or reject the speech of any person among the people except the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم; accepting every word of his is obligatory.
3: When someone presented the statement of Saeed bin Jubair (a Tabi’i, may Allah have mercy on him) before Ibrahim Al-Nakha’i, may Allah have mercy on him, he said:
ما تصنع بحديث سعيد بن جبير مع قول رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
What will you do with the statement of Saeed bin Jubair in comparison to the hadith of the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم?
4: Imam Al-Muzani, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
اختصرت هذا الكتاب من علم محمد بن ادريس الشافعي رحمة الله ومن معنى قوله لا قربه على من اراده مع اعلاميه نهيه عن تقليده وتقليد غيره لينظر فيه الحديث ويحتاط فيه لنفسه
I have summarized this book from the knowledge of Imam Muhammad bin Idris Al-Shafi’i, may Allah have mercy on him, so that whoever wishes to understand it may do so easily. Along with this, I declare that Imam Shafi’i forbade both following him blindly and following others blindly so that everyone keeps their religion in view and takes precaution for themselves.
Imam Shafi’i, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
كل ما قلت وكان عن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم خلاف قولي مما يصح فحديث النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم اولى ولا تقلدوني
Leave every statement of mine that contradicts the authentic hadith of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, for the hadith of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is the best, and do not follow me blindly.
5: Imam Abu Dawood Al-Sijistani, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
I asked Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, may Allah have mercy on him: Is Imam Awza’i more adherent to the Sunnah than Imam Malik? He replied:
لا تقلد دينك احدا من هؤلاء الخ
Do not follow blindly any one of them in your religion. Etc.
6: Imam Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him, once said to Qadi Abu Yusuf:
ويحك يا يعقوب لا تكتب كل ما تسمع مني فاني قد ارى الر أى اليوم واتركه غدا وارى الر أى غدا واتركه بعد غد
O Ya’qub Abu Yusuf, may you be ruined, do not write down everything I say. Today I have one opinion and tomorrow it changes. Tomorrow I have another opinion and the day after it also changes.
7: Imam Abu Muhammad Al-Qasim bin Muhammad bin Al-Qasim Al-Qurtubi Al-Bayani, may Allah have mercy on him
, wrote on the rejection of blind following:
كتاب الايضاح فى الرد على المقلدين
8: Imam Ibn Hazm said:
والتقليد حرام
And blind following is forbidden.
And he said:
والعامي والعالم فى ذلك سواء وعلى كل احد حظه الذى يقدر عليه من الاجتهاد
Both the common people and scholars are equal in this prohibition of blind following; everyone should perform ijtihad according to their ability and capacity.
Hafiz Ibn Hazm Al-Zahiri wrote in his book of creed:
ولا يحل لاحد ان يقلد احدا لا حيا ولا ميتا
It is not permissible for anyone to follow blindly, whether the person is alive or dead; one should not follow anyone blindly.
It is understood that the issue of not following blindly is a matter of creed. And all praise is due to Allah.
9: It is narrated from Imam Abu Ja’far Al-Tahawi (Hanafi?) that:
وهل يقلد الا عصبي او غبي
Only the fanatic and the ignorant follow blindly.
10: Ayni Hanafi said:
فالمقلد ذهل والمقلد جهل وافة كل شيء من التقليد
Therefore, the follower makes mistakes and commits ignorance, and every calamity is due to blind following.
11: Zaili Hanafi said:
فالمقلد ذهل والمقلد جهل
Therefore, the follower makes mistakes and commits ignorance.
After a strong discussion against blind following, Imam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
واما ان يقول قائل انه يجب على العامة تقليد فلان او فلان فهذا لا يقوله مسلم
And if anyone says that it is obligatory to follow so-and-so among the common people, then this statement is not from any Muslim.
Imam Ibn Taymiyyah himself did not follow blindly; see A’lam Al-Muwaqqi’in
. Hafiz Ibn Taymiyyah says:
ولا يجب على احد من المسلمين تقليد شخص بعينه من العلماء فى كل ما يقول ولا يجب على احد من المسلمين التزام مذهب شخص معين غير الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم فى كل ما يوجبه ويخبر به
It is not obligatory on any Muslim to follow every statement of any one particular scholar among the scholars; except the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم, it is not obligatory on any Muslim to adhere to the madhhab of any particular person in every matter and follow him in everything.
12: Sheikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah further says:
من نصب اماما فاوجب طاعته مطلقا اعتقادا او حالا فقد ضل فى ذلك كائمة الضلال الرافضة الامامية
Whoever appoints an imam and makes absolute obedience to him obligatory, whether in creed or practice, such a person is misguided like the leaders of the misguided Rafidah and Imamis.
13: Allama Al-Suyuti
wrote a book كتاب الرد على من اخلد الى الارض وجهل ان الاجتهاد فى كل عصر فرض published by Abbas Ahmad Al-Baz Dar Al-Baz Makkah Al-Mukarramah, in which he dedicated a chapter to the corruption of blind following.
and rejected blind following.
Allama Al-Suyuti says:
والذي يجب ان يقال كل من انتسب الى امام غير رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فيوالي على ذلك ويعادي عليه فهو مبتدع خارج عن السنة والجماعة سواء كان فى الاصول او الفروع
It is obligatory and necessary to say that whoever affiliates himself to any imam other than the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم, and holds friendship or enmity on that affiliation, such a person is an innovator and outside the fold of Ahl al-Sunnah wal Jama’ah, whether the affiliation is in principles or branches.
14: The great scholar and hadith master Muhammad Fakhr bin Muhammad Yahya bin Muhammad Amin Al-Abbasi Al-Salafi Al-Hindi Al-Abadi
did not follow blindly but acted upon the evidences of the Book and Sunnah and performed ijtihad himself.
Imam Muhammad Fakhr Al-Hindi Al-Abadi says:
Blind following means acting upon someone’s statement without knowing the evidence. Accepting a narration and acting accordingly is not called blind following. The consensus of the scholars is that blind following in the fundamentals of religion is forbidden. According to the majority, it is not permissible to follow any particular madhhab blindly; rather, ijtihad is obligatory. The innovation of blind following arose in the fourth century AH.
The Muhaddith Fakhr, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
It is necessary for the seeker of salvation to first correct his beliefs according to the Book and Sunnah and not pay any attention whatsoever to anyone’s statement or action in this regard.
He also says:
There is truth in all the madhhabs of Ahl al-Sunnah, and every founder of a madhhab has received some portion of the truth, but the madhhab of Ahl al-Hadith is more upon the truth than all other madhhabs.
Warning:
A long time after the death of Allama Muhammad Fakhr (may Allah have mercy on him)
, the founder of Darul Uloom Deoband, Muhammad Qasim Nanotvi (born 1248 AH)
15: Sheikh Imam Saleh bin Muhammad Al-Omari Al-Filani (may Allah have mercy on him)
wrote a powerful book against Taqlid (imitation).
ايقاظ همم اولى الابصار للاقتداء بسيد المهاجرين والانصار وتحذيرهم عن الابتداع الشائع فى القرى والامصار من تقليد المذاهب مع الحمية والعصبية بين فقهاء الاعصار
This entire phrase is the name of a book which is famous as “Iyqaz Humum Awli Al-Absar.”
16: Sheikh Hussain bin Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab and Sheikh Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on them) said:
عقيدة الشيخ محمد رحمة الله اتباع ما دل عليه الدليل من كتاب الله وسنة رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وعرض اقوال العلماء على ذلك فما وافق كتاب الله وسنة رسوله قبلناه وافتينا به وما خالف ذلك رددناه على قائله
The belief of Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on him) is that one should follow whoever has evidence from the Book and Sunnah, and the statements of scholars should be presented in light of the Book and Sunnah. Those opinions which are in accordance with the Book and Sunnah we accept and issue fatwas upon, and those opinions which contradict the Book and Sunnah we reject.
17: Abdul Aziz bin Muhammad bin Saud (may Allah have mercy on him), the King of Saudi Arabia, was asked whether a person who does not follow the well-known madhhabs will be saved. Sultan Abdul Aziz said:
من عبد الله وحده لا شريك له فلم يستغث الا الله ولم يدع الا الله وحده ولم يذبح الا لله وحده ولم ينذر الا لله وحده ولم يتوكل الا عليه ويذب عن دين الله وعمل بما عرف من ذلك بقدر استطاعته فهو ناج بلاشك وان لم يعرف هذه المذاهب المشهورة
Whoever worships Allah alone without any partner, seeks help only from Him, prays only to Allah, sacrifices only for Allah, accepts vows only for Him, relies solely on Him, defends the religion of Allah, and acts upon what is known from it according to his ability, then this person will undoubtedly be saved even if he does not know about these well-known madhhabs.
18: The Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Baz (may Allah have mercy on him), said:
وانا الحمد لله لست بمتعصب ولكني احكم الكتاب والسنة وابني فتاواي على ما قاله الله ورسوله لا على تقليد الحنابلة ولا غيرهم
By the grace of Allah, I am not biased but I judge according to the Book and Sunnah. The basis of my fatwas is “Qala Allah” and “Qala al-Rasul,” not the imitation of Hanbalis or others.
19: The famous Salafi scholar of Yemen, Sheikh Muqbil bin Hadi Al-Wadi’i (may Allah have mercy on him), says:
التقليد حرام لا يجوز لمسلم ان يقلد فى دين الله
Taqlid (imitation) is forbidden; it is not permissible for any Muslim to imitate anyone in the religion of Allah.
Sheikh Muqbil (may Allah have mercy on him) further says:
«فالتقليد لا يجوز والذين يبيحون تقليد العامي للعالم نقول لهم اين الدليل»
Therefore, Taqlid is not permissible, and those who say that Taqlid is permissible for the common ignorant person, we ask them: where is the evidence for this?
Sheikh Muqbil bin Hadi (may Allah have mercy on him) advises students:
نصيحتي لطلبة العلم الابتعاد عن التقليد قال الله سبحانه وتعالى
My advice to students is to stay away from Taqlid. Allah Almighty said: “And do not follow that of which you have no knowledge.”
The pure Arabic Salafi Sheikh of Madinah Tayyibah, Muhammad bin Hadi bin Ali al-Madkhali (may Allah preserve him), wrote a book against Taqlid:
الاقناع بما جاء عن ائمة الدعوة من الاقوال فى الاتباع
When I went to the Sheikh’s house, he personally gave me this book. Alhamdulillah, there are many such references proving that there was consensus on the rejection of Taqlid in the best of generations, and later the majority’s school of thought, religion, and research is that Taqlid is not permissible.
﴿وَلَا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ﴾»
Warning:
Imam Khateeb Baghdadi, may Allah have mercy on him
, wrote:
واما من يسوغ له التقليد فهو العامي الذى لا يعرف طرق الاحكام الشرعية فيجوز له ان يقلد عالما ويعمل بقوله قال الله تعالى ﴿فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ﴾
Imitation (taqlid) is permissible for one who is a common ignorant person who does not know the evidences of Shariah rulings; for such a person it is permissible to imitate a scholar. Allah Almighty said: If you do not know, then ask those who possess knowledge.
Hafiz Ibn Abdul Barr says:
وهذا كله لغير العامة فان العامة لابد لها من تقليد علمائها عند النازلة تنزل بها لانها لا تتبين موقع الحجة ولا تصل بعدم الفهم الى علم ذلك
All this negation of imitation is except for the common people, that is, it is for the scholars. As for the common people, it is necessary for them to imitate their scholars when a matter arises because they do not know the evidence and due to lack of knowledge they cannot reach its understanding.
Similar statements have been made by some other scholars whose summary is that a common ignorant person asks a scholar about a matter and acts upon it, and this is imitation (taqlid).
It is stated that it is absolutely correct for a common (ignorant) person to ask a scholar about a matter, but it has been mentioned with references on previous pages that this is not imitation (taqlid) but rather following and adherence (ittiba’ wa iqtida’), for example see p. 8 etc. Calling it imitation is incorrect.
The common person performs two types of ijtihad:
He selects a scholar of the correct creed of Ahl as-Sunnah; if unfortunately he selects a scholar of a deviant sect, then according to the authentic hadith of Bukhari: فيضلون ويضلون he himself will be misguided and will misguide others
.
He goes to a scholar of the correct creed of Ahl as-Sunnah and asks about a matter, requesting an answer with evidence; this is the ijtihad of the common person.
By common person is meant: الصرف الجاهل الذى لايعرف معنى النصوص والأحاديث وتأويلاتها
A mere ignorant person who does not know the meaning and interpretation of texts and hadiths.
If a common person is in a jungle and does not know the direction of the Qiblah, he will perform ijtihad to pray. If a common person (for example, a Deobandi) asks his cleric, for example Yunus Na’mani (Deobandi), about a matter and acts upon it, no one says that this common person has become an imitator of Yunus Na’mani, and this is not negation but rather Yunusi.
Warning (2): Khateeb Baghdadi, Ibn Abdul Barr, and others have declared imitation (taqlid) unlawful for scholars. On the contrary, Deobandi and Barelvi groups claim that imitation of scholars is obligatory. For this reason, their so-called scholars are also called imitators.
Warning (3): Some scholars have the titles Hanafi, Shafi’i, Maliki, or Hanbali attached to their names, from which some people infer that these scholars were among the imitators. To refute this inference and to invalidate the issue of imitation, some evidences are as follows:
1: Hanafi and Shafi’i scholars themselves have strongly rejected imitation. See
etc.
2: It is narrated from these scholars that they denied imitation.
From Shafi’i scholars: It is narrated from Abu Bakr al-Qaffal, Abu Ali, and Qadi Husayn that they said: لسنا مقلدين للشافعي بل وافق رأينا رأيه “We are not imitators of Imam Shafi’i; rather our opinion (due to ijtihad) coincided with his opinion.”
The scholars themselves declare that we are not imitators, while the imitators create a fuss claiming that these scholars are certainly imitators, ﴿سُبْحَانَكَ هَذَا بُهْتَانٌ عَظِيمٌ﴾
3: There is no authentic statement from any reliable scholar saying أنا مقلد “I am an imitator.”
Warning (4): Some scholars are mentioned in Tabaqat ash-Shafi’iyyah, Tabaqat al-Hanafiyyah, Tabaqat al-Malikiyyah, and Tabaqat al-Hanabilah. This is not proof that these scholars were imitators. Imam Ahmad ibn Salih, may Allah have mercy on him, is mentioned in Tabaqat al-Hanabilah
and Tabaqat al-Malikiyyah
. Imam Shafi’i, may Allah have mercy on him, is mentioned in Tabaqat al-Malikiyyah and Tabaqat al-Hanabilah. Were these two Imams also among the imitators? The real reason is that for the sake of teacher-student relationship or to increase their numbers, these scholars were mentioned in these Tabaqat books; this is not evidence of their imitation.
