Since for many years taqlid has been prevalent among most people as an unquestionably correct practice, when we propose that taqlid is wrong, the natural and instinctive question arises: "What else can we do? We don't know everything! So what should we do?!" The very brief answer can be given in one word: research, tafaqquh (deep understanding), or investigation — each person to the extent of their ability. In what follows, we will elaborate on this answer from several angles.

Research, in Both Principles and Practices

Although from a general and simplistic perspective it seems entirely rational to say "we don't know all religious matters, so we refer to the most knowledgeable and imitate him," in reality this is not the case. "Religion differs from other specialized sciences," and this is precisely why the same experts do not permit this seemingly rational practice in the faith fundamentals. Another reality is that "Religion cannot be divided into fundamentals and derivations," and the same approach that the maraji' have prescribed for the faith fundamentals should also be applied to the faith derivations. That is, every person should, to the extent of their ability, come to know the correctness of beliefs and rulings through evidence, and act accordingly. If after effort they do not arrive at the correctness of a particular belief or ruling, God judges each person according to the capacity of their intellect and understanding^[1]. As discussed in the section "God's Religion Is Not Difficult," numerous verses address this point.

The Seven Alternative Steps

As stated, the intention of this writing is not to prescribe a new formula for religious people; rather, the desirable formula has already been given. In this section, we take a closer look at this formula and divide it into seven smaller steps, each explained below.

Prioritization

It is evident that the process of determining one's religious duty in a particular matter — especially in its details — is not simple. It involves many aspects: what God and the Infallibles have said about it, how those instructions have reached us, examining present-day conditions, identifying instances, and adapting to the situation we face at any given moment. All of this makes the process time- and energy-consuming. Given the many limitations we have in these matters, there is no choice but to prioritize issues and attend to each according to its importance and impact on our life in this world and the hereafter.

The importance of prioritization becomes even greater when we consider that no one is meant to make tafaqquh their primary occupation and source of income. We all need to devote most of our time to earning a livelihood. Naturally, significant time will also be spent on family, leisure, managing affairs, and the various preoccupations that each of us faces due to the nature of this world. This is why the hadiths of the Infallibles (peace be upon them) emphasize planning and time management for tafaqquh. For example, the Prophet's (pbuh) hadith referring to dedicating one day a week to tafaqquh in religion, another hadith stating that whoever engages in tafaqquh, God will relieve their worries and provide for them from where they least expect, and the hadith of Imam Baqir (pbuh): "All perfection lies in deep understanding of religion, patience in adversities, and moderation in livelihood" — as reviewed in the section "The Command of the Infallibles for Universal Tafaqquh."

The key point is to remember that all these daily activities and others should also be performed for the sake of God and as part of constant worship and servitude to Him. Therefore, while doing them, we must be mindful of the rightness or wrongness of every action we take and every word we speak. Perhaps this is why tafaqquh in worship has been made incumbent upon everyone — so that all people may practice and become accustomed to this precision in their devotional acts, and then extend the same attitude to other aspects of life that are not apparently acts of worship, always and everywhere thinking, weighing options, and choosing and performing the right action. We know that "Those who are constant in their prayer" (Qur'an 70:23) does not mean abandoning work and life to pray constantly, but rather being mindful of God and performing all tasks correctly and systematically, just as in prayer.

Referral

After prioritizing and selecting the issues that most affect our ultimate fate, the next step is to try to base what we have been doing imitatively on evidence — initially to find the evidence, and in later stages to seek the wisdom behind them. It is clear that no individual can have all the answers alone, and there is a need to refer to others. The primary source for all Muslims is the Qur'an, followed by the hadiths of the Infallibles (peace be upon them), scholars who explain the Qur'an and hadith, other religious books including commentaries, translations, jurisprudential works, and also others who may have experience or expertise, those around us who have thought about, investigated, and researched the issue, and so on.

What is important is never to idolize just one person, book, or source, accepting whatever they say as the truth. Rather, always seek evidence, wisdom, learning, and the increase of your own knowledge. And never consider yourself independent of referring to others, hearing their words, and studying their writings — because the moment you think you have found the truth and no longer need to search, at that very moment you have gone astray. In this regard, we can refer to the Qur'anic expression: "So give good news to My servants who listen to the word and follow the best of it" (39:17) (18) and the hadith "Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim, male and female" — which exempt no one, not even scholars and scientists, from these commands. All are commanded, at whatever level of knowledge they may be, as long as they are among Muslims and servants of God, to seek to hear the words of others, pursue knowledge, and follow the best of it.

Reflection, Thought, and Reasoning

The final decision and choice between different thoughts and opinions rests with the individual, just as the ultimate responsibility rests with the individual — no one can bear the burden of another.

Action (Commitment and Continuity)

When we have chosen the best course of action, we must strive to perform it in the best possible manner. The nature of the action may also require long-term continuity and commitment.

Monitoring and Evaluating Results

We should never feel that what we have done is one hundred percent correct and requires no further examination. Rather, we must constantly monitor its effects and outcomes.

Constant Monitoring and Searching for Better Answers

Even if a good result is achieved, we must still remain open-eyed and attentive, ready for every opportunity to learn more. One of the hadiths that points to this is from Imam Hadi (pbuh):

"One who is pleased with himself will have many displeased with him."
(Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 72, p. 316)

Correction and Improvement

Whenever a truth becomes clear to us and it is established that a more correct course of action exists, we must choose it, improve our practice, and if possible, correct or compensate for previous actions.

"Indeed, those who fear God — when an impulse touches them from Satan, they remember [Him] and at once they have insight." (Qur'an 7:201)

Summary

The reality is that in answer to the question "If we do not imitate, then what should we do?" there is no need to invent something new or replace it with a novel mechanism. The answer to this question has been given from the very beginning of Islam and is present in our religious sources. We need only to strip away the accretions and deviations from the original teachings of Islam, and then we will see that the answer was clear from the start: whatever we must do for the faith fundamentals, the same applies to the faith derivations. In this respect, the fundamentals and derivations of faith are no different from each other — perhaps this is why we find no such division in the early sources of Islam. God and the Infallibles (peace be upon them) presented religion as a unified whole, recognized no distinction between fundamentals and derivations, and provided a single method for determining our duty in both. In the chapter "Taqlid in the Qur'an and Narrations," this was examined in detail by reviewing the Qur'an and hadiths.

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