Taqleed And Ijtehad

When a man does not know something he wants to enquire about it. Children ask their elders. The grown-ups seek assistance from others with more knowledge than themselves. This is the norm of the society; especially, in religious affairs people tend to be more sensitive and also majority is generally ignorant of true facts. Therefore, all of these people consult trustworthy people knowledgeable in religious affairs to solve their problems. It is the nature of humans. It is the ruling of the Islamic constitution. And this modus operandi is called Taqleed in the language of Sharia. However, there are people who raise a variety of objections such as: 1. Some call it innovation in religion (bidaat). 2. Others call it saint-follower relationship. 3. Another segment of the society terms it oppression by the religious scholars. 4. There are others who label this action as mental slavery. They claim that Islam has actually condemned this way of life. They think that Qur’an is a very easy book a …