God's religion is not difficult
One of the excuses given to justify taqlid is that understanding Islam, the Qur'an, and hadiths, and determining one's duty, is very difficult — and some even believe it is impossible for certain people. Then, citing that there is no hardship or difficulty in Islam and verses such as "Allah does not charge a soul except with its capacity" (Qur'an 2:286), they say that if one's capacity does not extend to ijtihad, then the duty of tafaqquh is removed from them and they may imitate. But it has been explained that taqlid is clearly and repeatedly rejected in the Qur'an and hadiths. And God and the Infallibles (peace be upon them), who have so strongly recommended tafaqquh, were aware of its difficulty[1]. So the correct path is that everyone should strive to the extent of their ability, refer to experts and seek help from them, but to whatever extent they attain knowledge, they are obligated to that extent, and whatever they fail to acquire knowledge of, it is in such cases that "Allah does not charge a soul except with its capacity" applies. The remainder of this section explains this in more detail.
Verses on duty according to capacity
"Allah does not charge a soul except with its capacity" appears several times in the Qur'an, but its meaning is not that we should delegate our duty to others; rather, we must perform it to the extent of our own ability.
"Allah does not charge a soul except [according to] what He has given it. Allah will bring about, after hardship, ease." (Qur'an 65:7)
"And do not approach the property of an orphan, except in the way that is best, until he reaches maturity. And give full measure and weight in justice. We do not charge any soul except [with that within] its capacity. And when you speak, be just, even if it concerns a relative. And fulfill the covenant of Allah. He has instructed you thus that you may remember." (Qur'an 6:152)
"But those who believe and do righteous deeds — We charge no soul except within its capacity — those are the companions of Paradise; they will abide therein eternally." (Qur'an 7:42)
This verse appears in the context of verse 28 of Surah al-A'raf, which was about condemning taqlid, as explained in the section "The Verse of Surah al-A'raf 28."
"And We do not charge any soul except [with that within] its capacity, and with Us is a record which speaks with truth; and they will not be wronged." (Qur'an 23:62)
"Mothers may breastfeed their children two complete years for whoever wishes to complete the nursing [period]. Upon the father is their provision and clothing according to what is acceptable. No person is charged with more than his capacity..." (Qur'an 2:233)
So overall, if the Shari'a is easy, then understanding the Shari'a must also be easy, because tafaqquh and knowledge of religion are among the commands of the Shari'a and are not exempt from it.
Verses on the ease of the Qur'an
The two verses above state that although the concepts of the Qur'an are very sublime and high-level, "We have brought them down, a bringing down" so that they may be usable. Similarly, scholars have no right to raise the concepts of the Qur'an inappropriately in such a way that people feel they are beyond their understanding. Yes, the more one reflects, the more sublime, precise, and complex meanings one reaches — but these higher levels of understanding should not be used as a pretext to cut people off from the Qur'an and, God forbid, to create a special status and position for those who are precise. The peak of a religious scholar's art is to express complex concepts they have understood in simple language for others and to enlighten them — not to drag them along behind themselves. The following verses express God's style and method, and we must demand the same method from scholars. If they do otherwise, we should leave them and go to another scholar:
- "Allah wants to make clear to you [the lawful from the unlawful] and guide you to the [good] practices of those before you and to accept your repentance. And Allah is Knowing and Wise. (4:26) Allah wants to accept your repentance, but those who follow [their] passions want you to digress [into] a great deviation. (27) Allah wants to lighten for you [your difficulty]; and mankind was created weak." (28)
When God desires this, how can a scholar answer a questioner by saying, "You cannot understand. There is no need to seek evidence. Act as I tell you and don't worry about its correctness (don't have taqwa). If it's not correct, the responsibility is with me"!
- "And strive for Allah with the striving due to Him. He has chosen you and has not placed upon you in the religion any difficulty. [It is] the religion of your father, Abraham. He named you Muslims before [in former scriptures] and in this [revelation] that the Messenger may be a witness over you and you may be witnesses over the people. So establish prayer and give zakah and hold fast to Allah. He is your protector; and excellent is the protector, and excellent is the helper." (Qur'an 22:78)
Arabic: an excuse for difficulty or evidence of ease?!
Sometimes the Arabic language is presented as an obstacle to understanding religion, while the Qur'an itself has a different perspective. God has deemed the Arabic language suitable for reasoning and deep understanding, and for this reason has revealed the Qur'an in this language:
"Indeed, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur'an that you might understand." (Qur'an 12:2)
"Indeed, We have made it an Arabic Qur'an that you might understand." (Qur'an 43:3)
Also in Surah al-Qamar, by repeating the following verse four times, God emphasizes the ease of the Qur'an for remembrance and understanding:
"And We have certainly made the Qur'an easy for remembrance, so is there any who will remember?" (Qur'an 54:17, 22, 32, 40)
The following verses also describe the Arabic language of the Qur'an as clear and manifest:
"And We certainly know that they say, 'Only a human being teaches him.' The tongue of the one they refer to is foreign, and this is [in] a clear Arabic language." (Qur'an 16:103)
"In a clear Arabic language." (Qur'an 26:195)
"[It is] an Arabic Qur'an, without any deviance, that they might become righteous." (Qur'an 39:28)
"A Book whose verses have been detailed, an Arabic Qur'an for a people who know." (Qur'an 41:3)
A notable point is that the people of 1,400 years ago, with much more limited resources, were tasked with tafaqquh and understanding religion. When they were obligated to think and understand, we who today have access to far more tools — translations, commentaries, and easy access to religious scholars both in person and remotely — have an even greater responsibility. In this path, trust in the Imams and their scholarly heritage plays a fundamental role.
The solution is clear: if an Arabic text is read and its understanding is difficult, one can ask for a translation. If a matter is sensitive or fateful, one can inquire from several knowledgeable people. Thus, Arabic is not an excuse for making things difficult and distancing from religion, but rather evidence for the possibility of understanding, reasoning, and the path of knowledge being made easy.
A sermon from Nahj al-Balaghah
Imam Ali (peace be upon him) in Sermon 106 of Nahj al-Balaghah refers to the ease and clarity of religion with several expressions:
"Praise be to Allah who established Islam and made its laws easy for those who approach it, and strengthened its pillars against those who contend with it. He made it a refuge for those who cling to it, peace for those who enter it, proof for those who speak by it, witness for those who plead by it, light for those who seek illumination from it, understanding for those who reason, intellect for those who ponder, sign for those who discern, insight for those who resolve, lesson for those who learn, salvation for those who believe, trust for those who rely, comfort for those who entrust, and shield for those who persevere. It is the most luminous of paths and the clearest of ways. Its landmarks are elevated, its roads are bright, its lamps radiate, its arena is noble, its goal is high, its contestants gather, its prize is competed for, its horsemen are honorable. Acceptance is its path, good deeds are its landmarks, death is its goal, this world is its arena, the Resurrection is its gathering, and Paradise is its prize." [2]
Let us not make religion difficult ourselves
Another important point is that when God has willed and planned that religion should not be difficult, we too should not make religion difficult for ourselves and others without cause. There is no need for everyone to derive all rulings and evidence anew and independently — just as in other sciences, no one rediscovers previously proven formulas and knowledge. It is sufficient to refer to religious scholars and experts. But just as in other sciences, no one accepts a proposition merely because such-and-such a scientist or group of scientists has said it — and if necessary, they examine their evidence — so too in religion, referral must be accompanied by demanding evidence and understanding, not imitation.
On the other hand, one of the main duties of a religious scholar is to find a way to explain God's verses and teachings more simply. This takes priority over immersing oneself in unnecessary details of some rulings. Whoever, on any pretext, makes understanding God's religion appear difficult and, intentionally or unintentionally, leads people to believe that they must set aside their intellect and follow others without asking for evidence and without learning — such a person is a taghut (tyrant), whether they do so knowingly or unknowingly. Of course, the truth is finer than a hair and has many subtleties, but everyone should be allowed to delve into the ocean of knowledge to the extent of their ability, rather than frightening most people away from it and keeping them at a distance, telling them to stop at a certain level and go no further — leaving the scholars to do tafaqquh and bring back results, while others suffice with what they bring without learning.
Although the truth is subtle, we must also distinguish between effective and ineffective subtleties and set aside the latter. In matters where details have not been explicitly stated, if those details are not essential, we should not overinvestigate them and cause religion to become difficult. The naming of the greatest surah of the Qur'an as "al-Baqarah" (The Cow) is for this very reason — the Children of Israel made the simple command of slaughtering a cow difficult for themselves with unnecessary questions. Amir al-Mu'minin Ali (peace be upon him) also refers to this point in Sermons 17 and 18 of Nahj al-Balaghah — that some scholars have collected things whose little is better than their much; that is, excess in details and affectation is not only unhelpful but sometimes hinders proper understanding of religion. Certainly, people can, with the help of scholars, reach the discernment that, for example, delving into why the number of rak'ahs in prayer is what it is has no effect — any other number would also raise similar questions — but in rulings that involve people's rights, one must be more precise.
No pain, no gain
Although God's religion is not difficult, nothing valuable is attained without effort — let alone knowledge of the truth, the most valuable quest of humanity. It is enough to have faith and trust in God's kindness and generosity and to strive to the extent of our ability. Consider and accept the saying of Imam Ali (peace be upon him): "Hardship in the path of truth is better than ease in the illusion of falsehood[3]." And this point is also important: the effort itself leads to ease, just as the noble verse says:
"And those who strive for Us — We will surely guide them to Our ways. And indeed, Allah is with the doers of good." (Qur'an 29:69)
Also, be assured that if we plan and prioritize and spend time on being precise about the correctness of our actions, even our economic situation — which at first glance seems an obstacle — will improve. In confirmation of this, we have verses and hadiths that link better economic conditions to taqwa. Taqwa means precisely this concern for finding the right action and investing time and effort in it. Lack of taqwa means indifference to what is right and wrong, taking rulings and religion lightly, and delegating them to others with the excuse that we have more important things to do. For example:
"And if only the people of the cities had believed and feared Allah, We would have opened upon them blessings from the heaven and the earth; but they denied [the messengers], so We seized them for what they were earning." (Qur'an 7:96)
For further reading on the relationship between not imitating and taqwa, see the section "Loss of Taqwa." The above verse, while making faith and taqwa a condition for opening heavenly and earthly blessings, also declares that earning contrary to this leads to hardship. Similarly, another verse from the same surah says:
"Those who took their religion as distraction and amusement and were deluded by the life of this world — so today We will forget them just as they forgot the meeting of this Day of theirs and for having rejected Our verses." (Qur'an 7:51)
Parent page: Taqlid from the Perspective of Reason
Return to: Table of Contents
See the chapter "Taqlid in the Qur'an and Narrations." ↩︎
I first heard this hadith from Mr. Soleimani Ardestani in response to an objection I had raised about the difficulty of tafaqquh for people. ↩︎