A Disease Called Taqleed

Written by: Sheila Quinn

Introduction

Quran: "Turn ye in repentance to Him, and fear Him: establish regular prayers, and be not ye among those who join gods with Allah- those who split up their religion and become sects-each party rejoicing in that which is with itself." Sura Rum (The Romans); ayat 31-32

“This day I have perfected your religion for you completed My Favour upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your religion".
Qur'an: (5:3)

“No kind of calamity can occur, except by the leave of Allah: and if anyone believes in Allah, (Allah) guides his heart (aright); for Allah knows all things.”
Sura Tagaabun (Mutual Loss or Gain) # 64, ayah #11

“Such is Allah, your true Lord: apart from the Truth what (remains) but error? How then are ye turned away? (10: 32)

“…If you differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if ye do believe in Allah and the Last Day; that is best, and most suitable for final determination” (4:59)

“Verily, this is My Way leading straight: follow it: follow not (other) paths: they will scatter you about from His Path: thus doth He command you, that ye may be righteous.”(6:153)

“…for verily Allah is the Guide of those who believe, to the Straight Way (Surah Al – Hajj (The Pilgrimage) # 22, ayah#54

“So whencesoever thou startest forth, turn thy face in the direction of the Sacred Mosque...and ye may (consent to) be guided.” (Surah Baqara #2, ayah # 150)

“Be sure We shall test you, with… but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere,-
“Who say, when afflicted with calamity:’ To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return:-
“They are those on whom (Descend) blessings from their Lord, and Mercy, And they are the ones that receive guidance.” (Surah Baqara #2, ayat# 155-157)

Ramadan is the month in which was sent down the Qur’an as a guide to mankind… (He wants you) to complete the prescribed period and to glorify Him in that He has guided you; and perchance ye shall be grateful. (Surah Baqara #2, ayah # 185)








Hadeeth:
“Verily, I have left you the Book of Allah and the Sunneh (Traditions) of His Messenger which if you hold fast you shall never go astray”


“Hazrat Ayesha (R.A.A.) relates that the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) said: ‘“ If somebody tries to introduce into this faith of ours (Islam) something which is not a part of it, it is to be rejected… (Bukhari and Muslim)

“Hazrat Ibn Abbas (R.A.A.) relates: The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) once stood up to sermonise us and said: ‘O’ people! You will be resurrected and gathered before Allah barefooted, naked and uncircumcised’
Allah the Almighty says:
‘As We began the first creation, so shall We resurrect them, We have charged ourselves with it, and so shall We do’. (21: 104)
Beware! First of all, it will be Prophet Abraham (A.S.) who will be dressed. And that some persons from amongst my followers will be brought who will be held on the left side near the Hell. I shall say, ‘O’ Lord, these are my companions’. Then I will be told: ‘You do not know what innovations they perpetrated after you.’ Then I will repeat what a pious servant Prophet Christ submitted to Allah:
I was a witness of them while I dwelt among them, and when thou tookest me thou was the Watcher over them. Thou art witness over all things. If Thou punish them, Lo, they are Thy slaves, and if Thou forgive them (Lo! They are Thy slaves.) Lo! Thou, only Thu art the Mighty, the Wise. (5:117-118)
I shall further be told that after I left them (my demise) they continued to turn renegades’ (Agreed upon) (from “Riyadh Us-Saliheen” chapter 16 “ Injunctions for Regular Observation of The Holy Prophet’s (S.A.W.) Practice and it Conditions”



Taqleed is contrary to The Qur’an and The Sunneh of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). It is Shirk. The Creator, Himself, says that it is Shirk in Sura “Rum” (The Romans). aya in 31-32 :
"Turn ye in repentance to Him, and fear Him: establish regular prayers, and be not ye among those who join gods with Allah- those who split up their religion and become sects-each party rejoicing in that which is with itself."



In these two ayain The Creator clearly and precisely describes Taqleed and calls it Shirk. He commands in this Sura that anyone who makes Taqleed should ask for forgiveness from Him.
Taqleed is a disease of the heart which is an epidemic in The Islamic Nation. It is a major cause of disunity amongst Muslims. A major symptom of this disease is arrogance. It is following anyone in the Deen other than Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
To follow anyone other than Prophet Muhammad is ignoring Allah’s words in The Qur’an in Sura Maida (#5); ayah #3 in which an English translation is: “This day I have perfected your religion for you completed My Favour upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your religion"

To follow anyone other than Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is ignoring the words of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in which an English translation is: “Verily, I have left you the Book of Allah and the Sunneh (Traditions) of His Messenger which if you hold fast you shall never go astray”

Those scholars who advocated Taqleed in the past were concerned about the possibility that Non-Arabic Muslims would include their own cultural values into their understanding of Islam. But an English translation of Sura Maida, ayah # 3 says:
“This day I have perfected your religion for you completed My Favour upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your religion”.

Allah has knowledge of all things in the present and in the future. He has knowledge of the needs of The Islamic Nation, both in the present and in the future. In this ayah He says that He has completed The Deen. What does completed mean? It means that nothing more is needed. Yet some scholars say that Taqleed is needed. Their saying is obviously ignoring the words of Allah.

It is one thing to seek advice about something that you do not know about from individuals that you trust; it is a totally different thing to follow someone. One seeks advice from: doctors, plumbers, teachers, etc. But, does one follow a doctor, a plumber or a teacher. Of course not! To get advice is one thing; to follow someone is a completely different thing.

Of course, there is ignorance amongst Muslims- including Non-Arab Muslims. But the only remedy is knowledge; the only remedy is education in the religion- not Taqleed! (I seek refuge in The God from the accused shaitan).




Some Harmful Results of Taqleed



*Arrogance

*Fitna- divisiveness amongst Muslims

*Confusion amongst Muslims as to what is lawful and what is forbidden.

*The abuse and overuse of fatwa

*The use of criteria- for making decisions in Fiqh – which are totally irrelevant/ invalid to The Sharia and to The Islamic Faith.

*The making of fatwa when there is clear evidence from The Qur’an and/or Sunneh concerning the issue.

*Encouraging and promoting the disunity of The Islamic Nation.

*Causing significant damage to the unity of The Islamic Nation.

* Destruction of The Islamic Nation from within.

* Taqleed is spreading throughout The Islamic Nation as a cancer.

*Encouraging personality cults (the adoration and worshipping of individual human beings).

These are some of the results of Taqleed. Taqleed is not just an act of shirk which is between an individual human and his creator. It is a cancer which is spreading throughout The Islamic Nation. It is in the process of destroying The Islamic Nation. Therefore, it is not just an individual matter between The God and His slave- but a serious concern for all Muslims.

Just as a doctor knows that a person has cancer by seeing cancer cells under a microscope that have come from a human body; I know that Taqleed is a cancer that is spreading through out The Islamic Nation through interacting with some “cancer cells” through The Internet. I would like to share a few of the experiences that I have had on The Internet. I am involved in a number of different forums and social networks through out The Internet.
On one forum a Muslim brother asked about the celebration of Prophet Muhammad’s birthday. I told him that it wasn’t a part of The Islamic Faith, and therefore it wasn’t acceptable to celebrate it. His response was to reject what I said. Why did he reject it.?.. because of Taqleed. He said that what I said was wrong because he assumed that I was a Wahabi, and of course everyone knows that Wahabis support the state terrorism of The U.S. Therefore, he rejected what I said, because it was in agreement with those who supported the foreign policy of The U.S. Because of Taqleed, he had assumed that I was Wahabi and therefore a supporter of The U.S. Because of Taqleed, he rejected what I said not on the basis of The Qur’an and The Sunneh, but on the basis of politics… pure and simple. He is, indeed, one of the cancer cells of Taqleed in the Islamic Nation.
On another forum another Muslim brother was making excellent statements about Islam. Then he started talking about numerology, and that numerology is part of The Islamic Faith. I gently asked him for some evidence from The Qur’an and Sunneh about this. His response was to give me a link to a website. He is, indeed, one of the cancer cells of Taqleed in The Islamic Nation.
On a social network I discussed the issue of Taqleed with a number of friends that I got through that network. One friend sent me a post about Taqleed to my profile; I read it and then ignored it. Another friend posted an article from a scholar about Taqleed in her notes; I read it and starting commenting on it. I disagreed with the post by saying that Taqleed wasn’t part of Islam. I asked for evidence from The Qur’an or Sunneh which supports Taqleed. The only response that I got was that I was going after my own nafs. I continued to ask for evidence from The Qur’an or Sunneh, but my request was totally ignored. I continued to interact with friends on this social network. Some of them were Sufi and some of them were Salafee. They disagreed with each other on many things but apparently all of them agreed about Taqleed. They would, and did, verbally attack each other… They are, indeed, some of the cancer cells of Taqleed in The Islamic Nation.
I have seen papers on The Internet that were written by some scholars. Some of them concerned the issues of hijab and music. In these papers fatwas was made. On the issue of hijab a scholar said that it was obligatory for women to completely cover ourselves in public (including the face and hands). In Sharia fatwa is made only when there is no evidence from either The Qur’an or Sunneh, yet there is clear evidence from The Sunneh about hijab. Therefore, a fatwa on this issue is totally unacceptable. In this particular case the scholar was misusing/abusing his status as a scholar to promote his own opinion. (What is the evidence? There is a Sahih (sound) hadeeth in which Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that everything should be covered except this and this and he pointed to the hands and face.) In another paper a scholar was taking the position that music is haram (forbidden). I read this paper and studied it as to what it was saying and why it was saying what it was saying. In this paper the scholar was basing his fatwa on the opinion of one of the companions of Prophet Muhammad as to the meaning of a particular ayah in The Qur’an. What is the criterion for what is lawful and forbidden? There is a Hadeeth of Prophet Muhammad which says:
“Verily, I have left you the Book of Allah and the Sunneh (Traditions) of His Messenger which if you hold fast you shall never go astray”
In this hadeeth what is the criterion? “…I have left you the Book of Allah and the Sunneh…if you hold fast you shall never go astray” According to this hadeeth the criterion for what is lawful and forbidden is The Qur’an and The Sunneh of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Yet, in this paper the scholar uses the opinion of a companion. In this hadeeth does Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) mention his companions? Of course he doesn’t! The criterion for what is lawful and forbidden is clear. The criteria that the scholar uses for saying that music is forbidden has absolutely no validity whatsoever in The Sharia. It is through Taqleed that he is encouraged to use whatever criterion he wishes.
It is through Taqleed that Muslims are encouraged to take whatever the scholars say as the truth-no matter what is said! If someone is a scholar than he shouldn’t be questioned; he is a scholar and therefore beyond any criticism. Such is the teaching of Taqleed. Such a teaching encourages blind adherence to whatever a scholar says. Such a teaching encourages the adoration and worship of individual human beings. Such a teaching promotes disunity amongst Muslims. Such a teaching encourages and promotes confusion amongst Muslims as to what is lawful and what is forbidden.
Arrogance is a major symptom of Taqleed. Taqleed, by its nature encourages arrogance and therefore encourages disunity amongst Muslims.







Allah is my Lord, and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is my one and only leader. The scholars are teachers, only! Teachers are fallible human beings who sometimes make mistakes. Therefore, the scholars sometimes make mistakes because they are fallible human beings. Therefore, please…please! Do not speak to me about the opinion of such and such scholar and such and such a scholar. Their opinions are of no use to me. I am a slave of Allah and a follower of His Messenger, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Speak to me about the words of my Lord and the words of His Messenger.

“…If you differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if ye do believe in Allah and the Last Day; that is best, and most suitable for final determination” (4:59)






Qur’an and Salat: Guidance Comes From The God



“No kind of calamity can occur, except by the leave of Allah: and if anyone believes in Allah, (Allah) guides his heart (aright); for Allah knows all things.”
Qur’an, Sura Tagaabun (Mutual Loss or Gain) # 64, ayah #11

“…for verily Allah is the Guide of those who believe, to the Straight Way (Surah Al – Hajj (The Pilgrimage)# 22, ayah#54


“So whencesoever thou startest forth, turn thy face in the direction of the Sacred Mosque...and ye may (consent to) be guided.” (Surah Baqara #2, ayah # 150)

“Be sure We shall test you, with… but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere,-
“Who say, when afflicted with calamity:’ To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return:-
“They are those on whom (Descend) blessings from their Lord, and Mercy, And they are the ones that receive guidance.” (Surah Baqara #2, ayat# 155-157)

Ramadan is the month in which was sent down the Qur’an as a guide to mankind… (He wants you) to complete the prescribed period and to glorify Him in that He has guided you; and perchance ye shall be grateful. (Surah Baqara #2, ayah # 185)


Guidance comes from The God both outside of Islam and within Islam. The Christians make others Christian. But, it is The God, Himself, who guides individuals to Islam. We, Muslims, do not make others Muslim. We only share knowledge about Islam with others. It is The God, Himself, who make individuals Muslims.
Just as The God guides individuals to Islam. It is He who gives guidance to individuals within Islam. Just as we do not guide others to Islam, but only give them knowledge about Islam; the same thing occurs for the scholars- they give knowledge about Islam to others, but it is The God, Himself, who gives guidance.
It is through The Qur’an and Salat (prayer) that The God gives guidance to those who are in Islam.

“So whencesoever thou startest forth, turn thy face in the direction of the Sacred Mosque...and ye may (consent to) be guided.” (Surah Baqara #2, ayah # 150)

In this ayah Salat is being mentioned “…, turn thy face in the direction of the Sacred Mosque” Then it says, “and ye may (consent to) be guided.” This ayah combines Salat with guidance.


Be sure We shall test you, with… but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere,-
“Who say, when afflicted with calamity:’ To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return:-
“They are those on whom (Descend) blessings from their Lord, and Mercy, And the ones that receive guidance.” (Surah Baqara #2, ayat# 155-157)

These three ayah are mentioning those: “who patiently persevere,-
Who say, when afflicted with calamity:’ To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return:-
It says that those who behave in this way are: “They are those on whom (Descend) blessings from their Lord, and Mercy, And the ones that receive guidance.

These three ayat are some of the proof in The Qur’an that guidance is from Allah. Another ayah in the Qur’an that proves that guidance is from Allah is: “Ramadan is the month in which was sent down the Qur’an, as a guide to mankind… (He wants you) to complete the prescribed period and to glorify Him in that He has guided you; and perchance ye shall be grateful.”

Ramadan is what? It is: “the month in which was sent down the Qur’an,” Why was the Qur’an sent down? “as a guide to mankind.”


Allah says in the Qur’an:
“…If you differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if ye do believe in Allah and the Last Day; that is best, and most suitable for final determination” (4:59)

Well, I differ with some Muslims about Taqleed… and in this article I have referred it to Allah and His Messenger.



“[Dr. Sawi comments : It is not apparent to me on what basis the two dignified shaykhs - Albani and `Abbasi - regard the study of fiqh according to the madhhabi method for students of knowledge, in the starting stages, and without fanaticism, as one of those things which are permissible as an exception, by way of necessity!

[In fact], has acquisition of initial knowledge, throughout history, ever been in any manner other than this? In fact, are most students of hadith today not confined to the choices of our Shaykh Albani - may Allah preserve him and bring benefit by his knowledge - and his scholarly preferences, to the extent that they almost have a fifth madhhab? However, they are not to be censured for that, as long as they [merely] follow, without being fanatical.]

Shaykh Dahlawi says, "The ummah - or [at least] those who are worthy of reckoning [among them] has unanimously accepted, upto this day, the permissibility of making taqleed to these four established madhahib. This [taqleed] contains benefits which are not hidden, especially in these days, wherein energies have dwindled severely, souls have been drenched in caprice, and each revels in his own opinion." [Ibid., vol. II, p. 112.]

…

[Also among the constants is:] that mention of the evidences to the lay person does not remove him from the sphere of taqleed from the jurisprudential point of view . . . . We have already mentioned the words of Shatibi, "The fatwas of the mujtahids are to the laymen what the Shar`i evidences are to the mujtahids." . . . .

As for that which has appeared from amongst the sayings of the Imams regarding prohibition of making taqleed of them . . . it is true, but it must be put in its proper place [which is as follows].
- It prohibits people from following them in those things to which the evidence is established to the contrary.
-It prohibits [the Imams`] counterparts, mujtahids, from making taqleed of them, for [mujtahids] must take from [the sources] from which [the Imams] took. “

. .

This is taken from the super wall of a profile of mine on a social network on the Internet. A friend of mine who is a British Muslim sister put this on my wall. Obviously she is pro-taqleed.
In this post it says, and I quote:

“[Also among the constants is:] that mention of the evidences to the lay person does not remove him from the sphere of taqleed from the jurisprudential point of view . . . . We have already mentioned the words of Shatibi, "The fatwas of the mujtahids are to the laymen what the Shar`i evidences are to the mujtahids." . . .”

The words of Shabti are ‘ The fatwas of the mujtahids are to the laymen what the Shar’i evidence are to the mujtihads.”

Don’t get me wrong ,but isn’t this priesthood? In priesthood there is an intercessor between The Creator and His creatures. Yet, a vital part of the enormous beauty of The Islamic Faith is the direct- I repeat- direct relationship that The Creator has with His creatures through the means of The Qur’an and Salat. It is through Salat that we have direct connection to The Creator. It is through reading The Qur’an from the beginning to the end time after time that we get lessons in Islam from The Creator, Himself. It is a well known fact amongst Muslims that if a Muslim has a problem he can randomly open up The Qur’an and read what is in front of him that he will find the answer to his problem. I, personally, have done this a number of times and I did find the answer to my problem.

“No kind of calamity can occur, except by the leave of Allah:
and if anyone believes in Allah, (Allah) guides his heart (aright); for Allah knows all things.” Qur’an, Sura Tagaabun (Mutual Loss or Gain) # 64, ayah #11

One example of Salat, is Istikhara. This is where a Muslim needs to make a personal decision that is important. He goes to The Creator and asks that whatever is best for him should happen- if something (such as marriage) is good to allow it to be easy, and if it isn’t to keep it from occuring.

In a preface to a English Translation of The Qur’an , the translator Abdullah Yusuf Ali says: “It is the duty of every Muslim, man, woman, or child, to read the Qur’an and to understand it according to his own capacity…..
….
“How much greater is the joy and sense of wonder and miracle when the Qur’an opens our spiritual eyes! The meaning which we thought we had grasped expands. New words are opened out. As we progress, still newer, and again newer worlds ‘swim into our ken’. The miracle deepens and deepens, and almost completely absorbs us. And yet we know that the ‘face of God’- our final goal- has not yet been reached. We are in the mulk of Sulaiman (Q.ii. 102), which the evil ones denied, belied, and even turned into blasphemy. But we can ignore blasphemy, ridicule and contempt, for we are in the threshold of Realities and a little perfume from the garden of the Holy One has already gladdened our nostrils …

“One final word to my readers. Read, study and digest the Holy Book. Read slowly, and let it sink into your heart and soul. Such study will, like virtue, be its own reward. “


“…and if anyone believes in Allah, (Allah) guides his heart (aright); for Allah knows all things.” Qur’an, Sura Tagaabun (Mutual Loss or Gain) # 64, ayah #11

It is Allah, Himself, who gives guidance- not the scholars.

The words of Shabti are ‘ The fatwas of the mujtahids are to the laymen what the Shar’i evidence are to the mujtihads.”

By comparing the words of Shabti to the words of Allah it is clear that not only are some of the scholars ignoring the words of Allah- they are in fact in opposition to those very words. Some scholars are saying that guidance comes from them, where as, in The Qur’an Allah says that guidance comes from Him. Indeed, in this some of the scholars are making themselves partners with the one God.


‘The fatwas of the mujtahids …what the Shar’i evidence…” What is this? This is obviously… what?…it is obviously personality cult. What is personality cult ? It is the adoration and worship of an individual human being. In Islam, adoration and worship belong only to the one God. Yet, some scholars are encouraging Muslims to adore and worship human beings…

Guidance comes from The God – not from the scholars! In insisting that it comes from them, some scholars are encouraging others to adore and worship them… in doing this they are making themselves partners with the one God.

Do I respect the scholars? Well, I do not respect any Muslim who ignores the words of Allah… and some scholars are ignoring the words of Allah!

Allah says in the Qur’an:
“…If you differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if ye do believe in Allah and the Last Day; that is best, and most suitable for final determination” (4:59)

Well, I differ with some Muslims about Taqleed… and in this article I have referred it to Allah and His Messenger.