Blind Following (Taqleed) !!!

From the moment Allah's Messenger (pbuh) left this duniya the Muslim Ummah faced a decline in the level of understanding. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) praised the first three generations after which he said there would be many liars, and indeed we find that over the generations there have been many innovations and deviations introduced into the Ummah. 

Today we live in a situation whereby the average person barely knows his/her belief as a Muslim or those matters that are known as a necessity in Islam. We find that ignorance about the Sharee'ah is widespread, the vast majority of people are blindly imitating others, scholarship has become a rarity, and the 'Ulamaa ul-Haq (i.e. scholars who carry and fight for the truth) are extremely difficult to come by. In the current climate with the Muslim world being throttled by the Taghout regimes and the kuffaar occupying our lands, the ignorance of the Muslims has become even more apparent. In this present crusade against Islam where Muslims are arrested and detained for speaking the truth and are liable to being tortured and killed, we find that those who speak and stand up for Islam are in the extreme minority. 

The 'Ulamaa who truly enact the 'ilm (knowledge) that they have spent years acquiring are few and far between, whilst the general masses accept the status and try to work around it. The vast majority of scholars in this time have failed the Ummah in standing for the truth and fighting for it in return for maintaining their positions of comfort and security. Synonymous to the time of Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Ibn Taymiyyah the scholars of today are busying themselves with secondary issues. Fearing the losses they may incur if they speak out, some have gone as far as associating themselves with the Taghout regimes by becoming their muftis, justifying their stance or acting as their mouthpiece whilst others remain silent and do nothing for fear of the consequences. As a result of our decline we face a common problem today of people disputing the sayings of one scholar against another regarding those areas that are clear and apparent. The blind imitation of the scholars has led to people arguing and debating areas that they have little or no knowledge of in order to justify their blind following of a particular scholar. As Muslims we are obliged to follow all that Allah has legislated whether in the Qur'aan or in the Sunnah.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “I have left you two things if you hold onto them you will never be misguided after me, the book of Allah and my Sunnah, bite them with your teeth.” (Sahih by al-Hakim) 

Hence the obedience is to Allah exclusively based upon the wahi (revelation) that He has given to us. This means that we do not follow people or groups or any source for guidance other than what has been given to us by the Messenger Muhammad (pbuh). Ahl ul-Sunnah wal-Jamaa'ah are people who believe in al-Ittibaa' which is the opposite of al-Ibtidaa'. Ahl ul-Ittibaa' are those who follow the wahi, al-Haq and as-Salaf i.e. they follow the revelation: the Qur'aan and Sunnah. Whereas the people of innovation are known as Ahl ul-Ibtidaa' which include the people of hawa (desires), people of ration and people of bid'ah (innovation). 

 

Allah commands us to make Ittibaa' to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and the Sahaabah in the Qur'aan: 

"And the first to embrace Islam of the Muhajiroun (those who migrated from Makkah to Al-Madeenah) and the Ansaar (the citizens of Al-Madeenah who helped and gave aid to the Muhajiroun) and also those who followed them exactly (in Faith). Allah is well-pleased with them as they are well-pleased with Him. He has prepared for them Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise), to dwell therein forever. That is the supreme success." [9: 100] 

 

When it comes to the 'Ulamaa, the Qur'aan does not mention ittibaa' to them, rather Allah commands us to ask the people of knowledge if you do not know, which is different to having ittibaa'. Our reason for asking and referring to the 'Ulamaa is in order to know the wahi so that we can follow it, hence if an 'Aalim says something that is not based upon the Qur'aan and Sunnah it is rejected and we cannot follow it, and any understanding that he derives which is not based upon the understanding of the Companions cannot be hujjah (juristic reference for understanding the wahi) for us to follow. 

 

Imaam Abu Haneefah would say that whatever the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said is above our heads, we listen and obey (ittibaa); whatever the Sahaabah said we will choose from their sayings (based upon the ranking of the sahaabi) but we will never go out from what they said. If it comes from the Taabi'een then they are men and we are men (i.e. we can debate it). [Kitaab ul-I’tisaam Ibn Hazm] We know the truth by the revelation and not by the person who said it, the wahi will be carried by the 'Ulamaa and this is the reason that we are commanded to refer to them if we do not know, hence there is a big difference between following the scholar and following the wahi. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) stated that seeking knowledge (about the deen) is an obligation upon every Muslim. This is a command that we all must fulfil in order to understand the divine rules and the wahi that they are based upon, therefore there is no room for anyone to say, "I am a (blind) follower", as this is something dispraised by Allah. 

 

Allah in the Qur'aan condemns those who said that they were (blindly) following their forefathers. Blind following (taqleed) is merely a permit for those who are new to learning about the Deen, for example, the child who is learning in his infancy will do so blindly accepting what he is taught, likewise the new Muslim has this permit in order to learn the areas of necessity ('Ilm ud-Daroorah) obligated upon him. The process of learning continues until death and once the child has become mature he becomes responsible for himself and is then obliged to learn about and follow the wahi in order to move away from blind following, this is where he will become muttabi'.

 

Allah commands the Muslims to refer to the 'Ulamaa if we are in doubt or if we do not know, as they are the people of 'ilm and are the inheritors of the Prophets. Yet, referring to the 'Aalim is not to make taqleed (blind following) to him, rather we follow him because of his 'ilm regarding the wahi. This means that we refer to the 'Ulamaa to know the hukm of Allah on those issues that we are ignorant about in order for us to learn our Deen. The 'Aalim will explain the wahi and the rules derived from it in order for us to accept it from him and if an 'Aalim gives a verdict that is not based upon the wahi then it is rejected and we are not obliged to follow it; likewise if an 'Aalim contravenes those issues that are known by necessity, or commits an act of clear kufr then we do not follow him regardless of who he may be (e.g. the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia). The Taalib ul-'Ilm is the student of knowledge who studies the Deen of Islam in order to increase his awareness and understanding of the wahi whilst referring to the 'Ulamaa in order to comprehend and become acquainted with the wahi. 

 

Therefore such a person does not blindly follow the 'Aalim or 'Ulamaa that he refers to, rather he exerts effort in order to understand the wahi for which the hukm is based upon. 

 

The Taalib ul-'Ilm is of varying degrees and based upon his level will ask the 'Aalim either for the hukm shar'ie (the divine rule) or he may ask for the daleel shar'ie (the divine evidence) or he may ask for al-Istidlaal ush-Shar'ie (ask for the opinions of the four Imaams and make his own deductions) for a particular issue. Today we find that there are some people who although claim to be Taalib ul-'Ilm and from Ahl ul-Ittibaa' are in fact staunch blind followers of certain 'Ulamaa. They have little understanding of the Deen and therefore follow certain 'Ulamaa blindly whilst attacking those Taalib ul-Ilm who try to seek knowledge in order to follow the wahi if they disagree with their shuyookh. This is the disease of hizbiyyah (partisanship) coupled with taqleed (blind following) and is becoming common among certain people. This type of taqleed not only exemplifies the ignorance of the person carrying it out but also creates hatred and divisions between Muslims as a result of it, creating a situation whereby if my sheikh says it is haraam then anyone else who disagrees is wrong and must be condemned. This blind following of personalities, whilst not being able to follow or understand the evidence results in further ignorance and deviation from the path of Ittibaa'. 

 

Likewise, there are some people who follow certain 'Ulamaa and are stubborn in their following of them, they follow these personalities due to their reputation, status or the level of knowledge they attained without care for what is said. This blinds them into accepting all that these people say whether with evidence or without, even if it clearly contradicts the divine texts. We must understand that the name, status or qualification of a person means nothing unless what he says is based upon the text (Qur'aan and Sunnah) in accordance with the understanding of the Sahaabah, only then is it hujjah (binding) for us to follow. 

 

There may be some 'Ulamaa who were great in the past and did much good for the Deen yet they erred and deviated from this path, our obedience cannot be blind to such people as we always assess what they say on the basis of the Qur'aan and Sunnah. We follow an 'Aalim due to what he says based upon daleel so long as it is in accordance with the understanding of the Sahaabah; and if he were to retreat or change his opinion based upon his desires, ijtihaad or understanding without hujjah from the Sahaabah, then we do not accept this from him as our obedience is to Allah and nobody else. Likewise if an 'Aalim was to change his opinions due to some difficulties or afflictions (e.g. arrest and imprisonment) we do not accept these changes from him unless they are based upon firm established evidence because our following was not to him, rather it was to the wahi that he carried and conveyed. We therefore call upon all students of 'Ilm and du'aat (da'wah carriers) to reflect upon these few words and to remember that we are commanded to follow the Qur'aan and Sunnah in accordance to the understanding of the Sahaabah, and if anyone was to go against this then there is no obedience to this person whoever it may be. Argumentation and polemics based upon ignorance and blind following is futile and a waste of ones energy. 

 

The common enemy that we face is attacking our Ummah and fighting against our Deen with full force, the Tawaagheet are dominant in our lands and are causing destruction day by day. How then can we sit back and debate areas of ijtihaad or issues of difference among the 'Ulamaa when we all know that the enemy is advancing. How can we continue to attack one another simply because we may disagree with certain opinions when there are much greater things to be dealt with? Gear all your efforts towards attacking and fighting the kuffaar and the Tawaagheet that have waged war against us and our Deen, preserve your energy to strike the kufr and shirk whenever and wherever you come across it, educate your Muslim brothers by calling them to the path of Ahl ut-Tawheed and leave your differences aside for Allah to account us for. "And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah (i.e. this Qur'aan), and be not divided among yourselves…" [3: 103]