Fundamental Difference Between a Mujtahid and a Muqallid
✍ Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
◈ Definition of a Mujtahid
A Mujtahid is defined as:
من قامت فيه ملكة الاجتهاد أى القدرة على استنباط الأحكام الشرعية العمليه من أدلتها التفصيلية
“A Mujtahid is one who possesses the faculty of ijtihad, i.e., the ability to derive practical rulings of Shari‘ah from its detailed evidences.”
[al-Wajiz: p.401; al-Muwafaqat by al-Shatibi: 4/57; al-Mustasfa by al-Ghazali: 2/103]
Some scholars said a Mujtahid must possess knowledge of five branches:
① Knowledge of the Book of Allah
② Knowledge of the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ
③ Knowledge of the sayings of the Salaf, and of consensus and disagreement
④ Knowledge of the Arabic language
⑤ Knowledge of Qiyas (analogy)
[Irshad al-Naqqad ila Tayseer al-Ijtihad by al-Amir al-San‘ani; Sabil al-Salam: 4/1911]
◈ Definition of a Muqallid
A Muqallid is one who follows another’s statement without knowing the evidence.
Some scholars defined it: To accept a statement without proof is taqlid, and the one who does so is a muqallid.
[See for detail: Irshad al-Fuhul: p.378; al-Ihkam by al-Amidi: 4/192]
◈ The Argument That a Judge Need Not Be a Mujtahid
When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ wanted to appoint ‘Ali (RA) as a judge in Yemen, he said:
بعثتني بينهم وأنا شاب لا أدرى ما القضاء
“You are sending me among them while I am still a young man, and I do not fully know (the laws of) judiciary.”
Then the Prophet ﷺ placed his hand on his chest and supplicated:
اللهم اهده و ثبت لسانه
“O Allah, guide him and make his tongue firm.”
‘Ali (RA) said:
فوالذي فلق الحبة ما شككت فى قضاء بين اثنين
“By the One Who split the seed, after that I never doubted in judgment between two people.”
[Sahih: Sahih Ibn Majah: 1869, Kitab al-Ahkam: Bab Dhikr al-Qudah; Irwa’ al-Ghalil: 2500; Ibn Majah: 2310; Abu Dawud: 3582; Tirmidhi: 1331; Tabaqat Ibn Sa‘d: 2/337; Hakim: 3/135; Ahmad: 1/84; Bayhaqi: 10/86; Akhbar al-Qudat by Waki‘: 1/84; Tiyalisi: 98]
◈ Response to the Argument
This Hadith has been used to argue that a judge does not need to be a Mujtahid, since ‘Ali (RA) admitted lack of knowledge of judiciary, yet he was still appointed.
But the response is:
① Nowhere in the Hadith does it state that ‘Ali (RA) was not a Mujtahid.
② Any deficiency in knowledge he had was removed through the supplication of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
③ No judge in the world, even with knowledge, can claim what ‘Ali (RA) claimed — that he never doubted in any judgment thereafter. To think he was not a Mujtahid is irrational.
◈ Statement of Scholars
✔ Imam Shawkani (رحمه الله):
To appoint a Muqallid as judge is as if one permits judgment by Taghut, because a Muqallid does not recognize the truth, and everything besides truth is Taghut.
[al-Sayl al-Jarrar: 4/275]
