Library Islam Islam: Faith, Practice & History Part II: Laws & Ethics Lesson 23-IjtihÄd, Taqlid & IhtiyÄt 3. TaqlÄ«d
3. Taqlīd
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3. Taqlīd
Although we have mentioned ijtihÄd as the first of the possible ways of following the sharÄ«‘a, it is not something which every person can do. To become a mujtahid means spending the major part of your life in studying the Islamic sciences in general and the Islamic legal system in particular. A person must, first of all, study the Arabic language (especially classical Arabic) since all the sources of the sharÄ«‘a are in classical Arabic. Then he must study and gain expertise in UsÅ«lu ’l-Fiqh (the Principles of Jurisprudence) which involves the methodology of defining and using the sources of the sharÄ«‘a. One also has to study the Qur’Änic verses on laws, the hadÄ«th literature, and also the conclusions reached by the past mujtahids. In studying the hadÄ«th literature, one has to also study ‘ilmu ’r-rijÄl which deals with the narrators of hadÄ«th—otherwise he will not be able to distinguish the authentic hadÄ«th from the inauthentic ones. In short, ijtihÄd is not everyone’s cup of tea.
The social life of human beings is based on mutual co-operation: each one of us takes the duty of fulfilling one of the needs of the society, and, in return, each one of us expects to benefit from the expertise of the others. Just as not everyone can become his or her own doctor, in an Islamic society, not everyone can become a mujtahid. Those who are not mujtahid will follow the sharÄ«‘a by doing taqlÄ«d—following the opinions of a high-ranking and pious mujtahid.
