01.13.07
Taqleed 1 - Some Sayings
 
 Ibn Abd Al-Bar said: “It has been proven that the Prophet said (what translated means):‘Scholars will pass away. Afterwards, people will take leaders (or scholars) from among the ignorant. They (the ignorant) will be asked, and they will issue Fatwas without knowledge, and therefore they will fall and lead others into misguidance.’ All thiscontains rejecting and refuting Taqleed. It is plain for whoever understands and is rightly guided. There is no division between Imams of the world that Taqleed is invalid. Therefore, to speak more about this subject is not needed.†Also ibn Al-Qayyim narrated the above saying by ibn Abd Al-Bar, in his book, I’lam AI-Muwaqqi’in. Ibn Al-Qayyimsaid: “It is impermissible to issue Fatwas based on Taqleed. Taqleed is not knowledge,and issuing Fatwas without knowledge is impermissible. There is no division between people of knowledge that Taqleed is not knowledge. Therefore, A Muqallid cannot be called a scholar.†[I’lam Al-Muwaqqi’in].
And be not as those who divided and differed among themselves after the clear proofs had come to them. [3:105], and, But they (men) have broken their religion among them into Zubar (books, sects, groups), each group rejoicing in its belief. [23:53]
“O you who believe. Obey Allah, and obey His Messenger, and those in command among you. If you dispute any matter, then bring it back to Allah and His Messenger if you believe in Allah and the Day of Judgement.” [Qur'an Al-Nisa:59]
“No, by your Lord, they will not become believers until they place you as a judge among themselves, and they find no hardship in their hearts from that which you judged by and submit completely.” [Qur'an Al-Nisa:65]
Muhammad bin Hazm expressed this position beautifully is his book Al-Ihkaam fi Usoolil Ahkam, p. 18: Abu Muhammad said, “The one who says that nothing is to be accepted unless taken from a Khabar (report or divine text), we ask, ‘Tell us, are all reports correct or are they all false? Or is it that some reports are correct and some false?’ If he says all reports are false, then he will have nullified what he had just said, for he recognizes nothing but by that report. [Such a statement] nullifies his saying as well as all types of knowledge. If he said ‘[All reports] are valid,’ then opposing reports to the one he accepted would be brought up. He would be obligated to abandon his opinion and embrace the opposing one or would have to believe in his opinion and its opposite at the same time, which is impossible. Every opinion that leads to the impossible or to falsehood is necessarily invalid. The only answer that would remain is that a report maybe true and it may be false. If this is the case, then it is impossible to know the validity of a report from the report itself, because no truth or falsehood can be detected in it.Therefore, there must exist a Daleel that would differentiate between them. This cannot be done but by the intellectual Daleel that would differentiate between the Haqq and the Batil.”
He then continued on the same page by saying: Abu Muhammad ‘Ali said, “All of them should be asked, ‘How did you know the validity of what you call for, the authenticity of Tawheed and Prophethood and the Deen you follow? Did you use the intellect to know its validity or not?’”
Then, on p. 28, he says regarding the two parties (those who rejected the mind totally and those who gave it absolute power), “We do not know anybody who is further from the intellectual way than these two groups: The first nullifies the intellectual evidences completely, and the second is that who places itself as the Creator, claiming that Allah did not give things rules…. Both have lied to Allah horribly, and said things that give goose bumps to those who have intellect. We have explained that the reality of the mind is that it distinguishes the things that are sensed by the senses and understood. It only knows the attributes of things as of what they are, such as this world must have a Creator,the Creator is an ever-lasting one, the authenticity of the prophethood of the one whom the signs point to his prophethood… As for the mind making pork Haram or Halal, or the male goat Haram or Halal, or the Dhuhr Salat being four and the Maghrib being three,there is no room for the mind in it, not to mandate it or prevent it. The mind is only to understand the commands of Allah (swt).”
Narrated ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin Al’ As: I heard Allah’s Apostle saying, “Allah does not take away the knowledge, by taking it away from (the hearts of) the people, but takes it away by the death of the religious learned men till when none of the (religious learned men) remains, people will take as their leaders ignorant persons who when consulted will give their verdict without knowledge. So they will go astray and will lead the people astray.” Sahih Bukhari: Volume 1, Book 3, Number 100.
