❖ Taqleed is Ignorance, Not Knowledge — The Muqallid is Ignorant ❖
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
Question:
What is said about the muqallid (blind follower)?
Answer:
Taqleed is ignorance; it cannot be called knowledge. Likewise, a muqallid is ignorant and cannot be considered a scholar. Taqleed means giving the words of someone precedence over the Qur’an and Sunnah and treating them as religion.
✿ Statements of the Scholars
❀ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr رحمه الله (d. 463H) said:
المقلد لا علم له، ولم يختلفوا فى ذلك.
“The muqallid has no knowledge, and there is no difference of opinion among the scholars regarding this.”
(Jāmiʿ Bayān al-ʿIlm wa Faḍlih: 2/992)
❀ ʿAllāmah Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله (d. 751H) said:
التقليد ليس بعلم باتفاق أهل العلم.
“Taqleed is not knowledge, by the consensus of the scholars.”
(Iʿlām al-Muwaqqiʿīn: 2/169)
He also said:
إنه ليس علما باتفاق الناس.
“It is not knowledge, by the consensus of people.”
(Iʿlām al-Muwaqqiʿīn: 2/215)
And further:
المقلد ليس من العلماء باتفاق العلماء.
“The muqallid is not considered among the scholars, by the consensus of the scholars.”
(Iʿlām al-Muwaqqiʿīn: 2/139)
Conclusion:It is not the way of the believers to adopt human opinions as proof in matters of creed and practice against revelation and religion. There is consensus among the people of knowledge and intellect that taqleed is prohibited and forbidden. The Qur’an and Hadith prove its condemnation. Indeed, taqleed is another name for misguidance and ignorance.
