VICIOUS CIRCLE

You do not believe Taqleed because according to you it is not permissible to practice Taqleed. However, do you realise that it is due to practicing Taqleed of a person that you say that it is not allowed to practice Taqleed! This is because the little knowledge that you have, does not allow you to say that it is not permissible to practice Taqleed without making Taqleed of someone. Finally, you could not hold yourself from making Taqleed of a person by saying that it is not permissible to practice Taqleed. So, you are back to square one because you have prohibited making Taqleed by practicing Taqleed!

Is it not permissible to practice Taqleed?

"It is not permissible to practice Taqleed." This is neither a verse from Qur’an nor a Hadith. It is something that people have said on their own.

Is it permissible to practice Taqleed?

However, in actual fact, it is permissible to practice Taqleed. And this corresponds and is in conjunction with the teaching of Qur’an and Hadith. It is not only allowed. It is obligatory on a person who cannot do his own research. It is prohibited to follow a person who is not in Deen. However, it has never been prohibited in the Qur’an and Hadith to follow a person who has knowledge and is serious in Deen.

[English version of "Cercle vicieux" – Al Jamiat – Vol.2 No.11]