Taqlid Quotes

“One wonders what the classical Sunni scholars such as Imām Ibn Rajab would have said if they could see our state today, where we nd the Four Schools being actively targeted and made to seem deviant, and where Muslims who are not Sharī‘a experts, and thus choose to rely on one of the four great imāms, are maligned for doing so; and where people who do not accept the central role of the four schools, dishonestly portray classical scholars like Imam Ibn Rajab as being against taqlīd and, like them, not adherents of any of them, although in the case of Ibn Rajab, his name is never mentioned except with the open declaration that he was a Hanbali???”
― Muhammad Sajaad, Understanding Taqlid: Following One of the Four Great Imams

“Imam Ibn Taymiyya has also stated clearly that a person who does not have the tools of ijtihād, that is, has not spent the many years learning Arabic, mastering Usul-al-Fiqh and Uloom al-Hadith, encompassing the Quranic and Hadithic texts, has no
right to assert an opinion and that rather, he must do taqlīd.”
― Muhammad Sajaad, Understanding Taqlid: Following One of the Four Great Imams

“Imam Shatibi, amongst other jurists, has explained extensively the dangers in leaving Fiqh unregulated, saying ; ultimately, the very purpose of the Shariah - which is Takleef, (that is charging people with duties and responsibilities) would become defunct as lay people, through caprice and moral corruption, created their own desirable opinions.”
― Muhammad Sajaad, Understanding Taqlid: Following One of the Four Great Imams

“In many discussions al-Attas stresses that taqlīd is a proper attitude and practice to follow by anyone who is not knowledgeable in a particular subject. Taqlīd, according to al-Attas, is not blind following as commonly understood in some circles, but following an authority, which itself implies some knowledge and considerable judgement in choosing who is most authoritative in a particular subject. This position is supported by Makdisi's treatment of the layman's right to taqlīd in Islam. In the same manner, a scholar must exercise his utmost effort to form his own opinion, even if it agrees with others. In fact, a scholar is regarded as abdicating his authority and his freedom, and violating his sacred mission if he were to merely follow the opinion of others.”
― Wan Mohd Nor Wan Daud, Educational Philosophy and Practice of Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas: An Exposition of the Original Concept of Islamization