Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
What do you say about Taqlid (blind following)?
Taqlid is prohibited and against Shariah. Setting human opinions as a standard in matters of belief and practice in opposition to revelation and religion is not the way of the believers. The consensus of people of knowledge and intellect is that Taqlid is unlawful and forbidden.
The Qur’an and Hadith condemn Taqlid, and it is nothing but another name for misguidance and ignorance. Taqlid is the evil that continually breeds further evils. Because of it, Prophets (عليهم السلام) were killed, their prophethood was denied, and their message was rejected.
It is Taqlid that made people rebels against the divine religion, encouraged them to invent religions in opposition to Allah’s Deen, oppose the consensus of the Ummah, become enemies of the truth, and estranged them from the Salaf al-Salihīn and Imams of religion.
Taqlid stripped humanity of the jewel of knowledge and intellect, shattered the unity of the Ummah, and sowed seeds of division, hatred, and discord everywhere. On the basis of Taqlid, the doors of metaphorical interpretation and distortion regarding the Tawhid of Allah ﷻ and His attributes were opened.
✔ Imam Hakam ibn ʿUtaybah رحمه الله (113 AH):
“Other than the Prophet ﷺ, the statement of every person can be accepted or rejected.”
(جامع بيان العلم وفضله لابن عبد البر: 1761, with authentic chain)
✔ Hafiz al-Dhahabi رحمه الله (748 AH):
“The statement of every Imam can be taken or left, except the Imam of the God-fearing, the truthful, trustworthy, and infallible Prophet ﷺ. How astonishing it is that a scholar, while being aware of the Prophetic texts that contradict the opinion of his Imam, still blindly imitates every statement of that Imam in matters of religion. La ḥawla wa la quwwata illa billah.”
(تذكرة الحفاظ: 1/17)
He further said:
“In this (post-Khayr al-Qurūn) era, there existed many Imams among Ahl al-Ra’y and jurisprudence, as well as pillars of the Muʿtazilah, Shia, and theologians who followed reasoning and turned away from the methodology of the Salaf in adhering to Prophetic traditions. Among the jurists, Taqlid appeared and Ijtihad diminished.”
(تذكرة الحفاظ: 2/159)
✔ Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlawi رحمه الله (1176 AH):
“There is an established consensus of all the Companions from beginning to end, and all the Tabiʿeen from beginning to end, that it is prohibited for anyone to adopt all the sayings of any one person from among them or before them. Know that whoever adopts all the statements of Abu Hanifa, Malik, Shafiʿi, or Ahmad رضي الله عنهم without leaving a single one, without referring to others, and without relying on the Qur’an and Sunnah—which reject referring exclusively to any single human—such a person has opposed the consensus of the entire Ummah from beginning to end. This is certain with no doubt. He will not find for himself any precedent among the Salaf or any supporter in the three praiseworthy generations. He has followed a path other than that of the believers. We seek refuge in Allah from such a state. Moreover, all of these Fuqaha themselves prohibited others from making Taqlid of them. Hence, those who imitate them in fact oppose them.”
(حجۃ الله البالغة: 1/263)
Conclusion:
Taqlid—blindly following a specific Imam or scholar in all matters without evidence from Qur’an and Sunnah—is condemned and prohibited in Islam. The righteous predecessors, including the companions, Tabiʿeen, and leading Imams, all rejected blind following and emphasized adherence to revelation.
◈ Question:
What do you say about Taqlid (blind following)?
◈ Answer:
Taqlid is prohibited and against Shariah. Setting human opinions as a standard in matters of belief and practice in opposition to revelation and religion is not the way of the believers. The consensus of people of knowledge and intellect is that Taqlid is unlawful and forbidden.
The Qur’an and Hadith condemn Taqlid, and it is nothing but another name for misguidance and ignorance. Taqlid is the evil that continually breeds further evils. Because of it, Prophets (عليهم السلام) were killed, their prophethood was denied, and their message was rejected.
It is Taqlid that made people rebels against the divine religion, encouraged them to invent religions in opposition to Allah’s Deen, oppose the consensus of the Ummah, become enemies of the truth, and estranged them from the Salaf al-Salihīn and Imams of religion.
Taqlid stripped humanity of the jewel of knowledge and intellect, shattered the unity of the Ummah, and sowed seeds of division, hatred, and discord everywhere. On the basis of Taqlid, the doors of metaphorical interpretation and distortion regarding the Tawhid of Allah ﷻ and His attributes were opened.
❀ Sayings of the Scholars
✔ Imam Hakam ibn ʿUtaybah رحمه الله (113 AH):
“Other than the Prophet ﷺ, the statement of every person can be accepted or rejected.”
(جامع بيان العلم وفضله لابن عبد البر: 1761, with authentic chain)
✔ Hafiz al-Dhahabi رحمه الله (748 AH):
“The statement of every Imam can be taken or left, except the Imam of the God-fearing, the truthful, trustworthy, and infallible Prophet ﷺ. How astonishing it is that a scholar, while being aware of the Prophetic texts that contradict the opinion of his Imam, still blindly imitates every statement of that Imam in matters of religion. La ḥawla wa la quwwata illa billah.”
(تذكرة الحفاظ: 1/17)
He further said:
“In this (post-Khayr al-Qurūn) era, there existed many Imams among Ahl al-Ra’y and jurisprudence, as well as pillars of the Muʿtazilah, Shia, and theologians who followed reasoning and turned away from the methodology of the Salaf in adhering to Prophetic traditions. Among the jurists, Taqlid appeared and Ijtihad diminished.”
(تذكرة الحفاظ: 2/159)
✔ Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlawi رحمه الله (1176 AH):
“There is an established consensus of all the Companions from beginning to end, and all the Tabiʿeen from beginning to end, that it is prohibited for anyone to adopt all the sayings of any one person from among them or before them. Know that whoever adopts all the statements of Abu Hanifa, Malik, Shafiʿi, or Ahmad رضي الله عنهم without leaving a single one, without referring to others, and without relying on the Qur’an and Sunnah—which reject referring exclusively to any single human—such a person has opposed the consensus of the entire Ummah from beginning to end. This is certain with no doubt. He will not find for himself any precedent among the Salaf or any supporter in the three praiseworthy generations. He has followed a path other than that of the believers. We seek refuge in Allah from such a state. Moreover, all of these Fuqaha themselves prohibited others from making Taqlid of them. Hence, those who imitate them in fact oppose them.”
(حجۃ الله البالغة: 1/263)
Conclusion:Taqlid—blindly following a specific Imam or scholar in all matters without evidence from Qur’an and Sunnah—is condemned and prohibited in Islam. The righteous predecessors, including the companions, Tabiʿeen, and leading Imams, all rejected blind following and emphasized adherence to revelation.
