The
Arabic word taqlīd is derived from the
three-letter Arabic verbal root of
Q-L-D , which means to imitate. The term is believed to have originated from the idea of allowing oneself to be led "by the collar". One who performs
taqlid is called a
muqallid, whereas one who rejects
taqlid is called a
ghair-muqallid.
Sunni Islam Traditionally,
taqlid is lawful and obligatory when one is not qualified as a
mujtahid. According to
Rudolph Peters, this is by the
consensus of all Sunni Muslims.
Salafi and
Wahhabis reject
taqlid of the four schools,
Hanafi,
Maliki,
Shafi'i and
Hanbali, and instead encourage
ijtihad (independent reasoning) Salafi Wahhabi scholars regarded
taqlid as a form of
shirk (polytheism). Salafis like
Sanaullah Amritsari went to the extent of declaring
taqlid as
kufr (disbelief).
Shia Islam In Shia Islam,
taqlid "denotes the following or "imitating" of the dictates of a
mujtahid". Following the
greater occultation (''al-ghaybatu 'l-kubra
) in 941 CE (329 AH), the Twelver Shia are obliged to observe taqlid
in their religious jurisprudential affairs by following the teachings of a thinker (mujtahid
) or jurist (faqih). As of the 19th century the Shia ulama taught believers to turn to "a source of taqlid
" (marja' at-taqlid
) "for advice and guidance and as a model to be imitated." Thus Shia who are not experts in Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) are "legally required to follow the instructions of the expert, i.e., the mujtahid
" in matters of sharia'', but are forbidden to do so in "matters of belief" (
usul al-din). ==See also==