❀ The 6 Major Harms of Personal Taqlīd – A Detailed Analysis ❀
Compiled by: Tauheed.com
– When a person confines themselves to the sayings of a single Imām or scholar,
they lose the opportunity to directly benefit from the vast wealth of Qur’anic and Prophetic knowledge.
– The Muqallid (blind follower) is limited to their own Imām’s understanding and misses out on the insights of other major scholars of the Ummah.
– Due to blind adherence, some people defend weak or even fabricated narrations to support their school’s viewpoint.
– Authentic ḥadīths are rejected, deemed weak, or reinterpreted beyond recognition, simply because they contradict the preferred opinion.
– Example: In Bukhārī and Muslim, the Prophet ﷺ forbade taking back a gift and likened it to a dog licking its vomit.
Yet some Ḥanafīs twisted the meaning, saying:
“If the dog does it, then it is permissible for humans too!”
→ This is a clear distortion of the Prophet’s ﷺ intent.
(Reference: Al-Lumaʿāt, ḥāshiyah of Mishkāt, Vol. 1, p. 260)
– Personal taqlīd, as a compulsory and rigid system, was not practiced by the Sahābah or during the best generations (khayr al-qurūn).
– Hence, scholars have called it a blameworthy innovation (bidʿah qabīḥah).
– Shāh Ismāʿīl Shahīd (رحمه الله) declared taqlīd as true innovation in his book Īḍāḥ al-Ḥaqq aṣ-Ṣarīḥ (p. 81).
– History shows that wherever blind taqlīd prevailed, the clear commands of Sharīʿah were overshadowed.
– Some so-called followers of taqlīd attribute false claims to Allah, the Prophet ﷺ, and the Sahābah to support their views.
– They falsely claim:
“The Qur’an commands taqlīd,” which is a blatant lie.
– They manipulate ḥadīths to make them support taqlīd.
– They claim Sahābah were also muqallid, even though their practice clearly contradicted personal taqlīd.
→ Example from Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī:
ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما) once narrated a hadith from the Prophet ﷺ regarding ḥajj tamattuʿ.
When people responded by citing Abū Bakr and ʿUmar instead, he said:
"يوشك أن تنزل عليكم حجارة من السماء، أقول: قال رسول الله ﷺ، وتقولون: قال أبو بكر وعمر؟"
“It is likely that stones from the sky will fall on you! I say: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said this, and you say: Abū Bakr and ʿUmar?”
→ This proves that Sahābah never gave precedence to anyone over the Prophet ﷺ.
Claiming them as muqallidīn is absolutely baseless.
– In taqlīd, sometimes the status of a scholar is elevated to such an extent that his opinions are treated like prophetic legislation.
– The sayings of the Prophet ﷺ are ignored, while the Imām’s view is treated as final.
– If someone says:
“The Imām erred in this matter,”
people get offended.
But if one says:
“This ḥadīth contradicts our madhhab,”
no concern is shown!
– Imām Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) lamented this attitude in his verses:
If you present a ḥadīth against the Imām, you're called innovator and misguided,
But if you prioritize the Imām over the ḥadīth, you're honored as a man of insight and scholarship.
– The underlying goal of rigid taqlīd seems to be to block people from directly accessing the Sunnah,
and to confine them to the opinions of one jurist.
– Know that:
Whoever invites to Allah and His Messenger ﷺ is on the truth.
But whoever calls to scholars or saints,
is either calling to shirk or is caught in the stagnation of taqlīd.
– Scholars and elders hold a high rank,
but they are not infallible.
Taking every word of theirs as divine law is a transgression against the Prophetic Sharīʿah.
✔ Taqlīd is a harmful disease that endangers both faith and religion.
✔ It is a clear innovation (bidʿah), with no praiseworthy form.
✔ Those who promote taqlīd either:
– Lack a correct understanding of Islam,
– Are unaware of the destructive consequences of taqlīd,
– Or knowingly do so due to sectarian prejudice.
May Allah guide us all to hold firmly to the Qur’an and Sunnah, and to follow the clear teachings of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, free from blind prejudice and innovation. Āmīn.
Compiled by: Tauheed.com
✿ ① Deprivation from the Treasures of the Qur’an and Sunnah
– When a person confines themselves to the sayings of a single Imām or scholar,
they lose the opportunity to directly benefit from the vast wealth of Qur’anic and Prophetic knowledge.
– The Muqallid (blind follower) is limited to their own Imām’s understanding and misses out on the insights of other major scholars of the Ummah.
✿ ② Defense of Weak and Fabricated Narrations
– Due to blind adherence, some people defend weak or even fabricated narrations to support their school’s viewpoint.
– Authentic ḥadīths are rejected, deemed weak, or reinterpreted beyond recognition, simply because they contradict the preferred opinion.
– Example: In Bukhārī and Muslim, the Prophet ﷺ forbade taking back a gift and likened it to a dog licking its vomit.
Yet some Ḥanafīs twisted the meaning, saying:
“If the dog does it, then it is permissible for humans too!”
→ This is a clear distortion of the Prophet’s ﷺ intent.
(Reference: Al-Lumaʿāt, ḥāshiyah of Mishkāt, Vol. 1, p. 260)
✿ ③ Inclination Towards Innovation (Bidʿah)
– Personal taqlīd, as a compulsory and rigid system, was not practiced by the Sahābah or during the best generations (khayr al-qurūn).
– Hence, scholars have called it a blameworthy innovation (bidʿah qabīḥah).
– Shāh Ismāʿīl Shahīd (رحمه الله) declared taqlīd as true innovation in his book Īḍāḥ al-Ḥaqq aṣ-Ṣarīḥ (p. 81).
– History shows that wherever blind taqlīd prevailed, the clear commands of Sharīʿah were overshadowed.
✿ ④ Tendency Towards Falsehood
– Some so-called followers of taqlīd attribute false claims to Allah, the Prophet ﷺ, and the Sahābah to support their views.
– They falsely claim:
“The Qur’an commands taqlīd,” which is a blatant lie.
– They manipulate ḥadīths to make them support taqlīd.
– They claim Sahābah were also muqallid, even though their practice clearly contradicted personal taqlīd.
→ Example from Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī:
ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما) once narrated a hadith from the Prophet ﷺ regarding ḥajj tamattuʿ.
When people responded by citing Abū Bakr and ʿUmar instead, he said:
"يوشك أن تنزل عليكم حجارة من السماء، أقول: قال رسول الله ﷺ، وتقولون: قال أبو بكر وعمر؟"
“It is likely that stones from the sky will fall on you! I say: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said this, and you say: Abū Bakr and ʿUmar?”
→ This proves that Sahābah never gave precedence to anyone over the Prophet ﷺ.
Claiming them as muqallidīn is absolutely baseless.
✿ ⑤ Confusing the Rank of Prophets and Scholars
– In taqlīd, sometimes the status of a scholar is elevated to such an extent that his opinions are treated like prophetic legislation.
– The sayings of the Prophet ﷺ are ignored, while the Imām’s view is treated as final.
– If someone says:
“The Imām erred in this matter,”
people get offended.
But if one says:
“This ḥadīth contradicts our madhhab,”
no concern is shown!
– Imām Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) lamented this attitude in his verses:
If you present a ḥadīth against the Imām, you're called innovator and misguided,
But if you prioritize the Imām over the ḥadīth, you're honored as a man of insight and scholarship.
✿ ⑥ Transgression Beyond the Prophetic Sharīʿah
– The underlying goal of rigid taqlīd seems to be to block people from directly accessing the Sunnah,
and to confine them to the opinions of one jurist.
– Know that:
Whoever invites to Allah and His Messenger ﷺ is on the truth.
But whoever calls to scholars or saints,
is either calling to shirk or is caught in the stagnation of taqlīd.
– Scholars and elders hold a high rank,
but they are not infallible.
Taking every word of theirs as divine law is a transgression against the Prophetic Sharīʿah.
❖ Summary
✔ Taqlīd is a harmful disease that endangers both faith and religion.
✔ It is a clear innovation (bidʿah), with no praiseworthy form.
✔ Those who promote taqlīd either:
– Lack a correct understanding of Islam,
– Are unaware of the destructive consequences of taqlīd,
– Or knowingly do so due to sectarian prejudice.
May Allah guide us all to hold firmly to the Qur’an and Sunnah, and to follow the clear teachings of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, free from blind prejudice and innovation. Āmīn.
