20 Questions and Answers About Taqlid (Blind Following) ❖
Excerpted from: The Issue of Taqlid in Religion by Shaykh Zubair Ali Zai رحمه الله
Answer:
According to linguistic and legal (Usūl al-Fiqh) definitions, Taqlid means blindly accepting the opinion of any non-Prophet individual without evidence or reasoning. According to the practice of modern-day Muqallidīn, Taqlid refers to accepting statements that contradict the Qur’an and Sunnah. For Muqallidīn, the statements of their Imams are considered binding, not the Qur’an and Hadith. For example, Mufti Muhammad of Dār al-Iftāʾ wa al-Irshād (Nazimabad, Karachi) writes:
“For a Muqallid, the statement of his Imam is the greatest evidence.”
(Zarb-e-Momin, Vol. 3, Issue 15, Pg. 6, Dated 9–15 April 1999)
Answer:
No, accepting Hadith is not Taqlid but Ittibāʿ (following). Accepting the Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ is turning to his guidance. Many scholars have written that turning to the Prophet ﷺ is not Taqlid.
(See pp. 8–12, etc.)
Answer:
No, this is not Taqlid; it is Ittibāʿ. There are two types of Ittibāʿ:
① Ittibāʿ based on evidence
② Ittibāʿ without evidence, which is Taqlid
Islamic Shariah demands Ittibāʿ based on evidence, and forbids following without evidence. Belief in and action upon the Ahadith in the Sihāḥ Sittah is Ittibāʿ based on evidence.
Answer:
No, asking a scholar is not Taqlid. Even Deobandi and Barelvi laymen ask their scholars. For example, Rashid Ahmad, an illiterate person, asks his scholar Mujib al-Rahman about a matter. Will Deobandi scholars say that Rashid Ahmad has now become a Muqallid of Mujib al-Rahman? When a Ḥanafī person remains a Ḥanafī after asking his scholar, this clearly proves that asking is not Taqlid.
Answer:
Absolutely not. Allah has commanded us to obey Him and His Messenger ﷺ.
(See Āl ʿImrān: 32)
Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī al-Ḥanafī (d. 1014 AH) states:
“It is known that Allah has not obligated anyone to be a Ḥanafī, Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, or Ḥanbalī. Rather, He obligated that if one is a scholar, he should act upon the Book and Sunnah; if ignorant, he should follow the scholars.”
(Sharḥ ʿAyn al-ʿIlm wa Zīn al-Ḥilm, Vol. 1, Pg. 446)
This shows that Allah never ordered anyone to adopt any Madhhab. Laypeople should ask scholars and act upon their guidance, which is called Ittibāʿ, not Taqlid.
Answer:
First, seek a scholar who has knowledge of the Qur’an and Sunnah. Then, approach him with respect and ask: “Tell me what Allah and His Messenger ﷺ have said about this issue,” or, “Give me a response based on Qur’an and Hadith.”
Answer:
No, there were thousands of scholars and Imams. For example: Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib, Qāsim ibn Muhammad, ʿUbaydullāh ibn ʿUtbah, Sālim ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar, Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, al-Awzāʿī, Layth ibn Saʿd, al-Bukhārī, Muslim, Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn Ḥibbān, Ibn al-Jārūd, etc. رحمهم الله أجمعين
Answer:
They followed the Qur’an and Sunnah and did not practice any form of Taqlid.
Answer:
No, they commanded people to follow the Qur’an and Sunnah, not themselves.
Answer:
Yes, it is narrated from all four Imams that they prohibited people from following them blindly.
Answer:
They were not followers (Muqallidīn) of anyone. They followed the Qur’an and Sunnah.
Answer:
The Four Rightly Guided Caliphs رضي الله عنهم are unanimously superior to the four Imams. Even their Taqlid is not obligatory. The Hadith instructs us to follow their Sunnah, which is Ittibāʿ based on evidence. Declaring Taqlid of the Imams as obligatory is false and baseless.
Answer:
No. The Seven Qirāʾāt are proven by authentic transmission from the Prophet ﷺ. The Four Madhāhib are based significantly on scholarly opinions, analogies, and ijtihād. The difference between narration and opinion is vast. Rejecting any authentic Qirāʾah is disbelief; rejecting any scholar’s opinion is neither disbelief nor misguidance. Many rulings of Ṣaḥābah and Tābiʿīn are rejected by Ḥanafīs themselves.
Examples:
① Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما used to raise hands at every Takbīr in Janāzah prayer.
(Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah 3/296, Ḥadīth 1380)
② Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī and Saʿīd ibn Jubayr wiped over socks.
③ Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه used twelve Takbīrs in ʿĪd prayer.
④ Ṭāwūs would not sit between the Witr rakʿahs—only sat in the final one.
Hence, even Barelvīs and Deobandīs reject opinions of other Imams.
Answer:
No. The narrators were trustworthy scholars. There is no evidence from Qur’an, Sunnah, Ijmāʿ, or Salaf that scholars practiced Taqlid. Ibn Ḥazm listed many narrators of Bukhārī and Muslim who did not practice Taqlid.
(See al-Radd ʿalā man Akhlada ilā al-Arḍ by al-Suyūṭī, pp. 136–137)
Answer:
Two types of people:
① The Hadith scholars (Muḥaddithīn)
② Those who follow Hadith
(Majmūʿ Fatāwā Ibn Taymiyyah 4/95)
Muḥaddithīn did not practice Taqlid.
(Majmūʿ Fatāwā 20/40; al-Radd ʿalā man Akhlada ilā al-Arḍ pp. 136–137)
Imām al-Suyūṭī said:
“Ahl al-Ḥadīth have no Imām other than the Prophet ﷺ.”
(Tadrīb al-Rāwī 2/126)
﴿فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾
(16:43, 21:7)
Answer:
Translation: “If you do not know, ask the people of knowledge.”
This divides people into:
① The knowledgeable (Ahl al-Dhikr)
② The ignorant (Lā yaʿlamūn)
Laymen should ask scholars who fulfill two conditions:
① Must be followers of Qur’an and Hadith, not blind followers
② Must be asked for answers based on Qur’an and Sunnah
This is not Taqlid—it is Ittibāʿ.
Answer:
No. Studying under a teacher is not Taqlid. For example, no one says that students of Ghulāmullah Khān Deobandi became his Muqallidīn.
﴿وَاتَّبِعْ سَبِيلَ مَنْ أَنَابَ إِلَيَّ﴾
(31:15)
Answer:
Translation: “Follow the path of the one who turns to Me.”
Meaning: This refers to following based on evidence, not blind imitation. Imām Ibn Kathīr said this refers to believers. Thus, the verse supports the proof-based consensus (Ijmāʿ), not Taqlid.
﴿اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ﴾
(1:6–7)
Answer:
Translation: (O Allah) Guide us to the straight path, the path of those whom You have blessed.
This verse refers to all rightly guided ones (Prophets, Ṣiddīqīn, Martyrs, Righteous), not some specific group. Their path is obeying Allah and His Messenger—not blind following of a non-Prophet. Hence, this verse refutes Taqlid.
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ ۖ...﴾
(4:59)
Answer:
Translation: O you who believe! Obey Allah, obey the Messenger, and those in authority among you. But if you differ in anything, refer it back to Allah and His Messenger…
Interpretation: Ulū al-Amr refers to both rulers and scholars. Obeying scholars with evidence supports Ijmāʿ. But the latter part of the verse clearly shows that disputes must be referred only to Allah (Qur’an) and His Messenger (Hadith)—not to any scholar’s personal opinion. Hence, this verse proves Taqlid is impermissible.
Excerpted from: The Issue of Taqlid in Religion by Shaykh Zubair Ali Zai رحمه الله
❖ Questions and Answers on Taqlid and the Followers of Taqlid:
① What is Taqlid?
Answer:
According to linguistic and legal (Usūl al-Fiqh) definitions, Taqlid means blindly accepting the opinion of any non-Prophet individual without evidence or reasoning. According to the practice of modern-day Muqallidīn, Taqlid refers to accepting statements that contradict the Qur’an and Sunnah. For Muqallidīn, the statements of their Imams are considered binding, not the Qur’an and Hadith. For example, Mufti Muhammad of Dār al-Iftāʾ wa al-Irshād (Nazimabad, Karachi) writes:
“For a Muqallid, the statement of his Imam is the greatest evidence.”
(Zarb-e-Momin, Vol. 3, Issue 15, Pg. 6, Dated 9–15 April 1999)
② Is accepting Hadith considered Taqlid?
Answer:
No, accepting Hadith is not Taqlid but Ittibāʿ (following). Accepting the Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ is turning to his guidance. Many scholars have written that turning to the Prophet ﷺ is not Taqlid.
(See pp. 8–12, etc.)
③ Is believing and acting upon the books of Sihāḥ Sittah (Bukhārī, Muslim, Tirmidhī, Abū Dāwūd, Nasāʾī, Ibn Mājah) considered Taqlid?
Answer:
No, this is not Taqlid; it is Ittibāʿ. There are two types of Ittibāʿ:
① Ittibāʿ based on evidence
② Ittibāʿ without evidence, which is Taqlid
Islamic Shariah demands Ittibāʿ based on evidence, and forbids following without evidence. Belief in and action upon the Ahadith in the Sihāḥ Sittah is Ittibāʿ based on evidence.
④ Is asking a scholar about an issue considered Taqlid?
Answer:
No, asking a scholar is not Taqlid. Even Deobandi and Barelvi laymen ask their scholars. For example, Rashid Ahmad, an illiterate person, asks his scholar Mujib al-Rahman about a matter. Will Deobandi scholars say that Rashid Ahmad has now become a Muqallid of Mujib al-Rahman? When a Ḥanafī person remains a Ḥanafī after asking his scholar, this clearly proves that asking is not Taqlid.
⑤ Has Allah commanded us to be Hanafī or Shāfiʿī?
Answer:
Absolutely not. Allah has commanded us to obey Him and His Messenger ﷺ.
(See Āl ʿImrān: 32)
Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī al-Ḥanafī (d. 1014 AH) states:
“It is known that Allah has not obligated anyone to be a Ḥanafī, Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, or Ḥanbalī. Rather, He obligated that if one is a scholar, he should act upon the Book and Sunnah; if ignorant, he should follow the scholars.”
(Sharḥ ʿAyn al-ʿIlm wa Zīn al-Ḥilm, Vol. 1, Pg. 446)
This shows that Allah never ordered anyone to adopt any Madhhab. Laypeople should ask scholars and act upon their guidance, which is called Ittibāʿ, not Taqlid.
⑥ How should one ask a scholar about a religious issue?
Answer:
First, seek a scholar who has knowledge of the Qur’an and Sunnah. Then, approach him with respect and ask: “Tell me what Allah and His Messenger ﷺ have said about this issue,” or, “Give me a response based on Qur’an and Hadith.”
⑦ Were there only four Imams in the Ummah (Abū Ḥanīfah, Mālik, Shāfiʿī, Aḥmad), or were there others?
Answer:
No, there were thousands of scholars and Imams. For example: Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib, Qāsim ibn Muhammad, ʿUbaydullāh ibn ʿUtbah, Sālim ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar, Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, al-Awzāʿī, Layth ibn Saʿd, al-Bukhārī, Muslim, Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn Ḥibbān, Ibn al-Jārūd, etc. رحمهم الله أجمعين
⑧ Before these four Imams, whom did people follow?
Answer:
They followed the Qur’an and Sunnah and did not practice any form of Taqlid.
⑨ Did the four Imams command people to follow them (do Taqlid of them)?
Answer:
No, they commanded people to follow the Qur’an and Sunnah, not themselves.
⑩ Did the four Imams prohibit people from doing their Taqlid?
Answer:
Yes, it is narrated from all four Imams that they prohibited people from following them blindly.
⑪ Whose followers were the four Imams themselves?
Answer:
They were not followers (Muqallidīn) of anyone. They followed the Qur’an and Sunnah.
⑫ Are the four Imams superior or the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs? If Taqlid of the four Imams is obligatory, why isn’t it for the Caliphs?
Answer:
The Four Rightly Guided Caliphs رضي الله عنهم are unanimously superior to the four Imams. Even their Taqlid is not obligatory. The Hadith instructs us to follow their Sunnah, which is Ittibāʿ based on evidence. Declaring Taqlid of the Imams as obligatory is false and baseless.
⑬ Do the Seven Qirāʾāt of the Qur’an and the Four Legal Schools hold the same status?
Answer:
No. The Seven Qirāʾāt are proven by authentic transmission from the Prophet ﷺ. The Four Madhāhib are based significantly on scholarly opinions, analogies, and ijtihād. The difference between narration and opinion is vast. Rejecting any authentic Qirāʾah is disbelief; rejecting any scholar’s opinion is neither disbelief nor misguidance. Many rulings of Ṣaḥābah and Tābiʿīn are rejected by Ḥanafīs themselves.
Examples:
① Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما used to raise hands at every Takbīr in Janāzah prayer.
(Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah 3/296, Ḥadīth 1380)
② Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī and Saʿīd ibn Jubayr wiped over socks.
③ Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه used twelve Takbīrs in ʿĪd prayer.
④ Ṭāwūs would not sit between the Witr rakʿahs—only sat in the final one.
Hence, even Barelvīs and Deobandīs reject opinions of other Imams.
⑭ Were narrators of Bukhārī and Muslim Muqallidīn?
Answer:
No. The narrators were trustworthy scholars. There is no evidence from Qur’an, Sunnah, Ijmāʿ, or Salaf that scholars practiced Taqlid. Ibn Ḥazm listed many narrators of Bukhārī and Muslim who did not practice Taqlid.
(See al-Radd ʿalā man Akhlada ilā al-Arḍ by al-Suyūṭī, pp. 136–137)
⑮ Who are Ahl al-Ḥadīth?
Answer:
Two types of people:
① The Hadith scholars (Muḥaddithīn)
② Those who follow Hadith
(Majmūʿ Fatāwā Ibn Taymiyyah 4/95)
Muḥaddithīn did not practice Taqlid.
(Majmūʿ Fatāwā 20/40; al-Radd ʿalā man Akhlada ilā al-Arḍ pp. 136–137)
Imām al-Suyūṭī said:
“Ahl al-Ḥadīth have no Imām other than the Prophet ﷺ.”
(Tadrīb al-Rāwī 2/126)
⑯ What is the meaning and translation of the verse:
﴿فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾
(16:43, 21:7)
Answer:
Translation: “If you do not know, ask the people of knowledge.”
This divides people into:
① The knowledgeable (Ahl al-Dhikr)
② The ignorant (Lā yaʿlamūn)
Laymen should ask scholars who fulfill two conditions:
① Must be followers of Qur’an and Hadith, not blind followers
② Must be asked for answers based on Qur’an and Sunnah
This is not Taqlid—it is Ittibāʿ.
⑰ Is learning from a teacher considered Taqlid?
Answer:
No. Studying under a teacher is not Taqlid. For example, no one says that students of Ghulāmullah Khān Deobandi became his Muqallidīn.
⑱ What is the meaning and interpretation of the verse:
﴿وَاتَّبِعْ سَبِيلَ مَنْ أَنَابَ إِلَيَّ﴾
(31:15)
Answer:
Translation: “Follow the path of the one who turns to Me.”
Meaning: This refers to following based on evidence, not blind imitation. Imām Ibn Kathīr said this refers to believers. Thus, the verse supports the proof-based consensus (Ijmāʿ), not Taqlid.
⑲ What is the meaning and interpretation of the verse:
﴿اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ﴾
(1:6–7)
Answer:
Translation: (O Allah) Guide us to the straight path, the path of those whom You have blessed.
This verse refers to all rightly guided ones (Prophets, Ṣiddīqīn, Martyrs, Righteous), not some specific group. Their path is obeying Allah and His Messenger—not blind following of a non-Prophet. Hence, this verse refutes Taqlid.
⑳ What is the meaning and interpretation of the verse:
﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ ۖ...﴾
(4:59)
Answer:
Translation: O you who believe! Obey Allah, obey the Messenger, and those in authority among you. But if you differ in anything, refer it back to Allah and His Messenger…
Interpretation: Ulū al-Amr refers to both rulers and scholars. Obeying scholars with evidence supports Ijmāʿ. But the latter part of the verse clearly shows that disputes must be referred only to Allah (Qur’an) and His Messenger (Hadith)—not to any scholar’s personal opinion. Hence, this verse proves Taqlid is impermissible.
