Reflections The Scope of Taqlid Ti& J. a1 'Alwdni It is generally agreed that taqlid is not allowed in the case of fundamental beliefs, such as the existence of God and His attributes. The teason for this is that such questions ate to be answered by the individual on the basis of his/her own knowledge and conviction, while taqlid repments reliance on the knowl- edge of others. Another teason for this is that there is only one truth in such mattm, and all who call themselves Muslims must recognize, know, and be lieve in these articles of faith. Anything else would be heresy and disbelief. The scope of taqlid is thus limited to the interpretation of particular aspects of Shan''ah rulings. Rulings on essential knowledge (ma'lcm bi a1 danirah) about Islam' (i.e., testifying aloud; believing in the heart that God is One and has no partneG that there is no being like or similar to Him; that He neither gives birth nor was given birth to; that He has no equal; that He is the Creator of all and the One to which all creation will d u r n ; that He, the Eternal, gives and takes away life; that He and His attributes and person have no beginning and no end; and that He is the possessor of (sits upon) all (the b e of) power, m thus beyond the Teach of taqlid. Each Muslim is required to acquire a knowledge of these and other similar matters. It was for this reason that the Prophet said "Seeking knowledge is the duty of every Muslim"' Nonetheless, certain scholars ate of the opinion that taqlid is allowed even in such fundamental mattes. This opinion, however, is without substance, for taqlid, as discussed above, is essentially an allowance granted to those without access to the relevant texts of the Qur'an or Sunnah. These mattes cannot be categorized as such, for they are both available and totally clear to each Mus- lim, meaning that they are not in need of any interpretation through ijtihad. Ti&& J. al ' A l W is a member of the F4h Academy of the Organization of the Islamic confer- ence, chainmu of the Fiqh council of Noah America, and p d d e n t of the Lntemational WitUte of Islamic Thought in Hemdon, Virginia. 'Rulings on the nature of essential Islamic howledge (i.e., the basics of Islam, the tion of wine and usu?y) are not subject to interpretation and taqlid. But, details as to. w g % and does not compme a usurious transaction are subject to interpretation and taqlid. 'Related by al-DayIamZ in M u d al Firohys and by al T a m - in M u ) m a1 Awsat, both on the authonty of Ibn 'A%. Another vemon QS related on the authonty of Anas by Ibn 'A& in al KrSnril. and bv al Bavhaai in Shu 'ab a1 I m a . Still another version was related * ' on the authori in Taikh B a g L . S e e al Suyiiti, a1 Fath al Kah?, vol. II, 213. of d Husajk ibn 'Aliby al TabarM in Mu bm a1 SaghP and by al Khatib 384 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 9:3 A closely related issue is what mighi be called the mle of the non-Shan"ah Specialist (d ' h m i ) vis-g-vis ijtihad The next section will deal with this matter in some detail. The Role of the Nonspecialist? In our discussim of taqlid and ijtihad, one of the most important issues is the role of the nonspecialist in Elation to ijtihad. This issue has been neglected far too long, with the result that the general unde-ding among Muslims is that the tmmpecialist plays no role at all. In addition, a certain "taqlid mentality," bom of what I will call the general "slave mentality" now prevalent in the ummah, is now one of the dominant ele- ments in the contempomy Muslim mind This mental shackling has robbed that mind of its effectiveness and limited its ability to undelfake the role of khikifuh In order for the ummah to extract itself fmm this deplorable situation, it must acquire knowledge. God said "Pursue not that of which you have no knowl- edge; for every act of heating, or of seeing, or of the heatt will be inquid into" (17:36). Pursuing knowledge which is not of direct and immediate rele- vance to a pmcticing Muslim's life, or fail- to overcome one's shortcomings in mattes of fiqh, is clearly contrary to the dictates of faith, taqwti, and the pmxmditians of istikhkif (i.e., thought and action). This slave mentality gradually led to the cessation of ijtihad, a development that facilitated the s p m d of taqlid Over time, and with the increasing decline of the ummah, Muslims began to believe that the door to ijtihad had been shut. Even worn, it became an article of faith among Muslims that this mistaken be- lief was a religious necessity. Certain scholas claimed that nonspecialists have no muse other than taqlid, that taqlid is a natural and legitimate state that will last forever, that non- specialists are not required to seek altematives to it, and that they have no role to play in the p m e s of ijtihad As a tesult, people chose to relax rather than undertake the ngots assoCiated with leaming about the tulings of Islam. How- ever, the truth of the matter is otherwise, for the nonspecialist has a definite role to play here, some of which will now be discussed. 1. The nonspecialist may Fequest a formal ruling (fatwa). It should be noted that this is not a request for taqlid in the sense of blind imitation, but rather one for a learned opinion, along with the relevant proof, on a question of fiqh Such a request lifts the nonspecialist from a state of blameworthy 'The nonspecialist referred to here is the same non-Sh-'ah specialist referred to in the p m x $ i i ~ p h . For the sake of utility,. however, the tern has been trimmed and will be used tll ab revlated fonn thughout t h article. al ' A l e The Scope of Tqlid 385 2. 3. 4. 5. taqlid to an informed position from which he/& may undemtand the p m cess by which a SharT'ah ruling is applied to a certain situation. The nonspecialist may patticipate thr~~gh hiqher explanation of the issue in question. Of come, the pteciiiion with which the maspecialist describes and p m t s the situation or issue in question to the mufti or m u j W plays an important mle in how the specialist a p p m h e s and analyzes it. Thus the tole of the nonspecialist in these matters is crucial, it may be con- sided an essential source for framing the question and putting the matter into the proper perspective. I n d d , in many situations the m u j M or f q i h would be at a loss without such assistance and would consequently be unable to give a comct ruling. Another way in which the nonspecialist may umtribute is through his/her discriminating selection, by means of comparison and aueful deliberation of each one's qualifications, of a f i z i or mufti to consider his/her pmb- lem. This certainly is an area in which the nonspecialist performs an act of i j W . God said "So ask the people of remembrance if you, youtself, do not know ..." (1643). Thus, among the meanings of this v e m in relation to the "people of remembmce" (ahl d dhikr), is an i n d i d o n that such people must be identified. Furthermore, it must be detetmined who among those claiming knowledge of a given subject really is qualified to be known as one of the "people of remembmce" on that piuticular subject By com- paring and then carefully choosing a f q z i , the mnspecialist is perfoming an important function in the overall pmess of ijtihad. It is ~ecommended that the nonspecialist question the f i z i as to how his ijtihad was performed. The questioner must then weigh the evidence ad- duced in favor of the eventual decision. A mujtahid may not deny a non- specialist access to this information. As this questioning and answering may be seen as an educational or i n s t r u c t i d aspect of ijtihad, it is therefore of enduring significance to the overall pmess. The nonspedalist, as a legally respansible Muslim, is not excused ftom the duty to propagate and invite ohem to Islam to the best of hk&er knowl- edge and ability. Among the ways he/& may do this is to explain to othem the evidence used to reach the d i n g in question and how the p m cess of ijtihad was performed. The exchange of such knowledge will go a long way towards encouraging and reinforcing the whole pmcess of ijtihad. Making Muslims aware of their obligation to obtain knowledge of SlmT'ah rulings and of the p m f s and evidence that may be adduced in their support 386 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 9:3 will encourage many to seek knowledge for themselves. This positive develop ment will soon allow them to rid themselves of the need to rely, often blindly, on the opinions of othm. Ignorance of the Shari’ah cannot be accepted as an excuse for a Muslim’s neglecting to perform his/her duty, nor can it be allowed to continue as an excuse for the ummah‘s lethargy in such mattes. From what has been presented above, it should be clear that the non- specialist, as a matwe, undemtanding, and tesponsible Muslim, is cettainly capable of discerning the relevance of the evidence cited to support an opinion and of passing it on to &a. Likewise, the nanspecialist umstim ane of the most important elements in the process of ijtihad--the locus of respansibility (al rnaiuSrn ‘uZuyhi)-and it is hisher condition that determines what constitutes the g e n e d y accepted concepts of detriment (&rut-), custom (‘urj), difficulty (?zurujJ and so on. Fmm this perspective, the noflspecialist is an important sou~ce of knowledge for the fqzX Moreover, any increase in his/her awareness and und-ding of Islam should be considered an important part of the mission to rebuild the ummah‘s mentality. It s h d d be clearly u n d e d that calling attention to the mle of the non- specialist in the process of ijtihad is not the same as calling upon the non- specialist to undertake ijtihad on hifier own. On the conhuy, the call being made is directed towards education. Each Muslim s h d d either be a scholar or a student of Islam, for there is no room for ignorance of Islam among Muslims. A Muslim who is ignorant of his/het religion is a danger to himselffieself and to other Muslims. The ignorance of nonspecialists and the ease with which they may be influenced by heretical or innovationist ideas ate among the main con- tributots to the present pervasive malaise in the ummah. We should remember the case of Fir‘awn and his people, of whom the Qur’an says: “So he made fools of his people, and they obeyed him” (4354). In other wofds, an ignorant Muslim is in constant danger of falling behind anyone who shouts loud enough or of following the cteated in disobedience to the Creator. Thus, our call is designed to fight ignorance in those 8 ~ e a s of expertise as- sociated with the Shari’ah and the social sciences. Undoubtedly, were this un- derstanding of our situation and its remedy to become prevalent, our youth would no longer be subject to extremism, supecstition, and blind imitation. In addition, our hearts would be free to consider the message of the Qur’an and to emulate the sublime example of the Prophet.