Understanding Taqleed: Origins, History, and Islamic Perspective
Shah Waliullah writes in Hujjatullah Al-Balagha, published by Siddiqi, Bareilly, page 157:
“It should be known that before the fourth century Hijri, people were not unanimously following one exclusive school of thought.”
Allama Al-Muwaqqi’in, in Matbu’ Ashraf Al-Matabi Dehli, Volume 1, page 222, states:
“This innovation of taqleed started in the fourth century Hijri. It is a period that has been condemned by the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).”
Allama Sanad bin Annan Al-Maliki explains:
“At that time, there was no exclusive school of thought that was formally studied or followed. Rather, people referred to the Quran and Hadith directly, and in cases where they did not find a solution, they used their understanding and reasoning. The Tabi’un (the generation after the Companions) also followed this approach. They referred to the Quran and Hadith first; if they didn’t find an answer there, they referred to the consensus of the Companions. If consensus was also unavailable, they exercised their independent reasoning (ijtihad) and sometimes adopted the opinions of individual Companions, considering them strong evidence. This tradition continued in the time of the Tabi’ al-Tabi’in.
In this era, prominent scholars like Imam Abu Hanifa (d. 150 AH), Imam Malik (d. 179 AH), Imam Shafi’i (born 150 AH), and Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (born 164 AH) emerged. All four adhered to the earlier methodology, and even during their time, there was no formal establishment of any specific school of thought. Their practice was also based on following the Sunnah (ittiba al-Sunnah). Therefore, taqleed did not exist in their era either. Allah fulfilled the prophecy of His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that the best generations would be those of the Prophet’s time, followed by those after them, and then the generation after that.” (Sahih Bukhari)
It is regrettable that proponents of taqleed claim Islam to be a religion of blind following, even though the figures they reference for taqleed lived around 200 AH. The best generations as prophesied by the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) were prior to this time.
Development of Taqleed
Shah Waliullah writes in Hujjatullah Al-Balagha, page 151:
“Among the disciples of Imam Abu Hanifa, the most renowned was Imam Abu Yusuf. During the reign of Harun al-Rashid, he was appointed as a judge (Qadi), which led to the spread of the Hanafi school of thought. Its fame extended to neighboring regions such as Iraq and Khorasan, thus proliferating this school of thought.”
Condemnation of Taqleed
From the Quran:
Allah says:
“They have taken their rabbis and monks as lords besides Allah, and also the Messiah, son of Mary. And they were not commanded except to worship one God. There is no deity except Him. Exalted is He above whatever they associate with Him.” (Surah At-Tawbah 9:31)
Imam Fakhruddin Razi explains in his Tafsir Kabir, Volume 1, page 623:
“Most scholars explain that the term ‘lords’ in this verse does not mean that the Jews and Christians worshipped their rabbis and monks as deities. Rather, they obeyed them in matters of religion, considering what they declared lawful (halal) as lawful and what they declared unlawful (haram) as unlawful.”
Regarding this verse, when Adi bin Hatim (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him):
“O Messenger of Allah, we do not worship them (our scholars and monks).”
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) replied:
“Do they not make lawful what Allah has declared unlawful, and you consider it lawful? And do they not make unlawful what Allah has declared lawful, and you consider it unlawful?”
Adi replied: “Yes, indeed.”
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “That is their worship.”
From the Hadith:
Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates:
“Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) brought a copy of the Torah to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, this is a copy of the Torah.’ He began reading it, and the face of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) changed color (out of anger). Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: ‘May your mother lose you, O Umar! Do you not see what is on the face of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)?’ Umar looked at the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: ‘I seek refuge in Allah from His wrath and the wrath of His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). We are content with Allah as our Lord, Islam as our religion, and Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as our Prophet.’ Then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘By Him in Whose hand is Muhammad’s soul, if Moses were alive and you followed him instead of me, you would surely go astray. If Moses were alive and witnessed my Prophethood, he would have no option but to follow me.’” (Mishkat)
From the Companions, Tabi’un, and Tabi’ al-Tabi’in:
In Mizan Al-Sha’arani, Volume 1, page 47:
Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
“By Him in Whose hand is Umar’s soul, Allah did not lift the soul of His Prophet until He made the Ummah self-sufficient with divine revelation and absolved them from reliance on human opinion.”
Shah Waliullah writes in Hujjatullah Al-Balagha, page 154:
Sharih (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to me, saying: ‘If a matter arises and it is found in the Quran, judge according to it. If it is not found in the Quran, then refer to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). If it is not found in the Quran or Sunnah but people have agreed upon it, follow their consensus. If none of these is available, then you have the choice to exercise ijtihad (independent reasoning) or remain silent. In my opinion, silence is better for you.’”
In Hujjatullah Al-Balagha, page 153:
Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Jabir bin Zaid (may Allah have mercy on him):
“You are among the jurists of Basra. Always issue fatwas in accordance with the Quran and Hadith. If you do otherwise, you will destroy yourself and others.”
In Mizan Al-Sha’arani, Volume 1, page 47:
Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
“No one should blindly follow another in religion. If he believes, then he believes; and if he disbelieves, then he disbelieves.”
These statements highlight that taqleed is not rooted in the methodology of the early generations of Islam. Instead, they emphasized following the Quran, Sunnah, and using reasoned judgment when necessary.