Literal and Technical Definition

Throughout this text, the word taqlid (imitation) is used in both a literal and a conventional sense.

Literally, taqlid means "following without attaining knowledge" — where by "knowledge" we mean the person's awareness of the why and the wisdom behind performing an action. A simple practical method to determine whether our action is imitative is to ask ourselves: "Why am I doing this?" If our answer is "I don't know, just because someone has said so," then this action is taqlid of that "someone", because we have not attained knowledge ourselves and it is not clear to us why that action should be done. Note that "someone" could be anyone or anything — parents, other family members, a friend, teacher, manager, local cleric, scholar, television and media, books, and even religious figures, prophets, or even God Himself. Thus, if someone in answer to "Why?" says "I don't know, just because God said so," we consider their action as imitation of God, and the summarized message of this text is that imitation of any being, even God, is wrong and harmful^[1].

Conventionally, taqlid refers to a common method of practicing religion in Iran and probably other parts of the world, in which a religious person selects a marjaʿ (source of emulation) and acts upon his instructions as religious duties without knowing how God has required or recommended that action.
Most Shia in Iran have come to believe that their marja' is more knowledgeable than other maraji', and they declare themselves his followers (muqallid). In various personal and social matters, they either refer directly to his risalah (manual of practical rulings) and istifta'at (collected queries and answers), or indirectly ask his representative or someone familiar with his opinions. In any case, most of the time if they are asked why they perform a particular action in a particular way, the common answer is: "I don't know, I'm not an expert, I follow my marja', and his opinion is that God has willed it this way." Also, if someone's beliefs or practices are challenged and they are told what they are doing is wrong, the common response is usually: "It's none of my business, I follow my marja' and he said so; right or wrong is his responsibility, and I neither need to nor can think or study about it. On Judgment Day, he will answer to God." The fair reader will surely attest that the majority of Shia society in Iran holds such beliefs — just as I myself until recently had accepted this mechanism and more or less acted accordingly.

To see how closely this conventional and empirical definition matches the written and formulated definitions, we next look at the definition provided by the maraji' themselves. As a first example, the website of Ayatollah Sistani states:

"Taqlid means acting according to the fatwa of a fully qualified jurist, even if at the time of action one does not attribute it to his fatwa. Thus, if one acts according to what has been arrived at and refrains from what must be refrained from, without investigation, then taqlid has been realized. It is as if he hangs the mujtahid's fatwa like a collar around his neck and transfers the responsibility of the ruling to him before God." (Source)

In his risalah, he defines taqlid more simply as "acting according to the statement of a scholar merely because he has said it":

"A Muslim must have belief in the faith fundamentals with insight, and he cannot imitate in the faith fundamentals, i.e., accept the statement of someone who knows them merely because he has said it..." (Source)

An interesting point in this definition is the use of the word "insight" (basirah) as the opposite of taqlid. In other words, he acknowledges that an imitative action is an action without insight. And we know how much our religious texts recommend acting with insight and prohibit acting without it.

In the same source, quoting Ayatollah Safi Golpaygani:

"A Muslim's belief in the faith fundamentals must be based on evidence, and he cannot imitate in the faith fundamentals, i.e., accept someone's statement without evidence."

Ayatollah Khoei Tabrizi writes in his risalah:

"A Muslim must believe in the faith fundamentals based on evidence and cannot imitate in the faith fundamentals, i.e., accept someone's statement without asking for evidence."

And Ayatollah Zanjani:

"A Muslim must be certain of the faith fundamentals, even if certainty is attained through the statement of another, and in the rulings of religion, one who does not have certainty must either be a mujtahid who can derive rulings from evidence, or imitate a fully qualified mujtahid, i.e., accept his statement without asking for evidence and act accordingly^[2], or act with precaution in a way that ensures fulfillment of one's duty."

Paying attention to the simple definition above is important because in many debates, attempts are made to present convincing meanings for taqlid. For instance, it is said that "taqlid means referring to an expert," or "taqlid means asking the knowledgeable," or "taqlid means following a specialist," or "taqlid means trusting the knowledge and experience of others." None of these definitions reflect reality, because "referral" takes various forms, and depending on the form and manner of referral, the nature of the act changes completely — not all of them are called "taqlid." For example, a student also refers to a professor, asks and follows him, and trusts the professor's knowledge, experience, and honesty — yet no one calls this "taqlid"; rather, they call it "research and learning." This very type of referral is actually the commendable and desirable method, and will be explained in more detail as an alternative in the section "If We Do Not Imitate, What Should We Do?" Nevertheless, to summarize, the fundamental distinguishing feature of taqlid from other forms of referral is that taqlid involves a kind of disregard for evidence, disregard for the why of the action, and not asking about them.

Parent page: Definition of Taqlid

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