The Concept of Taqleed in Qurʾān and Ḥadīth and the Ahl al-Ḥadīth Position
Source: Aḥkām wa Masāʾil in the Light of Qurʾān and Ḥadīth, Vol. 1, p. 574
❖ Question
Mawlānā Sarfarāz Ṣafdar (رحمه الله) in his book al-Kalām al-Mufīd fī Ithbāt al-Taqleed (p. 23) writes that the root word of taqlīd is qalādah (a necklace or collar). He argues that the word is found in Qurʾān and Ḥadīth, citing verses and narrations that use qalādah in the sense of necklace or collar, and asserts that denying its presence is ignorance.
How should this matter be clarified?
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
- The words qalādah and its usages in Qurʾān and Ḥadīth are not denied by any scholar of Ahl al-Ḥadīth.
- The real point of contention is different:
Some insist that following the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ or following a mujtahid should be termed taqlīd.
But the Ahl al-Ḥadīth ask:
Show us a verse of the Qurʾān or a ṣaḥīḥ/ḥasan ḥadīth where the following of the Prophet ﷺ or a mujtahid has been called taqlīd.❖ Key Clarification
- The words cited from Qurʾān and Ḥadīth (about necklaces, collars, or garlands) do not refer to following the Prophet ﷺ or a mujtahid as taqlīd.
- Therefore, the matter is simple:
- Yes, the word qalādah exists in Qurʾān and Sunnah.
- No, nowhere is following the Prophet ﷺ or a mujtahid described as taqlīd.
Conclusion
The debate is not about the presence of the word qalādah in Qurʾān or Ḥadīth—this is accepted.
The issue is whether following the Prophet ﷺ or jurists is ever termed taqlīd in Qurʾān or Sunnah.
To this, the answer is clear: it is not.
Hādhā mā ʿindī wa-Allāhu aʿlam biṣ-ṣawāb.
