The Command of the Infallibles for Universal Tafaqquh

With a brief search in Shi'a hadith sources, we encounter numerous hadiths that with complete explicitness and great emphasis command tafaqquh (deep understanding) and striving to know religious matters. This chapter reviews a number of these hadiths. A notable point is that the address of all these hadiths is to the general public, and in none of them is the command for tafaqquh limited to a specific group. Also, in none of them is the command for tafaqquh limited only to beliefs and faith fundamentals — there is no mention of such a division.

Another point is that despite the multiplicity and explicitness of these hadiths, taqlid has suspended all the following commands. As long as there is a sleeping pill or painkiller like taqlid — as long as the marja' tells people "act according to this treatise, God willing it will suffice, and if not, the responsibility is with me" — no one sees any necessity or need to pursue what the following hadiths have made incumbent upon them!

Hadiths with the keyword tafaqquh

  1. Imam Sadiq (pbuh): "You must engage in tafaqquh in the religion of God, and do not be Bedouins, for whoever does not engage in tafaqquh in the religion of God, God will not look upon him on the Day of Resurrection and will not purify his deeds." [1]
  1. Imam Ali (pbuh): "There is no good in worship that is without tafaqquh." [2]
  1. Imam Ali (pbuh): "Indeed, there is no good in recitation that is without reflection; indeed, there is no good in worship that is without tafaqquh." [3]
  1. Imam Ali (pbuh): "O people! There is no good in a religion that has no tafaqquh in it, and no good in a life that has no reflection in it, and no good in devotion that has no piety in it." [4]
  1. Imam Ali (pbuh) — in his advice to his son Hasan (pbuh): "Plunge into the depths of difficulties for the sake of truth wherever it may be, and engage in tafaqquh in religion." [5]
  1. Imam Zayn al-Abidin (pbuh): "There is no worship except with tafaqquh." [6]
  1. Imam Kazim (pbuh): "Engage in tafaqquh in the religion of God, for fiqh (understanding) is the key to insight, the completion of worship, and the means to high stations and noble ranks in religion and this world. The superiority of the faqih (one who understands) over the worshiper is like the superiority of the sun over the stars. Whoever does not engage in tafaqquh in his religion, God will not be pleased with any of his deeds." [7]
  1. The Prophet of God (pbuh): "A little fiqh (understanding) is better than much worship." (Kanz al-Ummal: 28794)
  1. The Prophet of God (pbuh): "The best worship is fiqh (understanding)." (Kanz al-Ummal: 28909)
  1. The Prophet of God (pbuh): "Whoever engages in tafaqquh in the religion of God, God will suffice his worries and provide for him from where he does not expect." (Kanz al-Ummal: 28855)

One of the main justifications people give for taqlid is that they have life preoccupations and do not have time to pursue the evidence for their religious rulings. In this hadith, the Prophet guarantees that whoever engages in tafaqquh in the religion of God, God will suffice their worries and provide for them from where they do not expect.

  1. The Prophet of God (pbuh): "Fie upon every Muslim who does not set aside one day every week to engage in tafaqquh in his religion and to ask about his religion!" [8]
  1. Imam Ali (pbuh): "Engage in tafaqquh in religion, for the fuqaha' (those who understand) are the heirs of the prophets." [9]
  1. Imam Ali (pbuh): "When God desires good for a servant, He makes him a faqih (understanding) in religion and inspires him with certainty." [10]
  1. Imam Baqir (pbuh): "All perfection is in tafaqquh in religion, patience in adversity, and moderation in livelihood." [11]
  1. Imam Ali (pbuh) said: "Let your young follow the example of your old, and let your old be kind to your young. Do not be like the rough ones of the Age of Ignorance: they neither engage in tafaqquh in religion nor reason about God — like eggs in a nest, whose breaking is a burden and whose hatching brings forth evil." (Nahj al-Balaghah, Sermon 164)
  1. Imam Baqir (pbuh): "If I find a young man from the youth of the Shi'a who does not engage in tafaqquh in religion, I will discipline him." (Al-Mahasin, vol. 1, p. 357, h. 761)
  1. Imam Ali (pbuh): "One who worships without fiqh (understanding) is like a donkey at a mill: it turns but does not move forward." (Bihar al-Anwar, 1/208/10)
  1. The Prophet (pbuh): "The example of a worshiper who does not engage in tafaqquh is like someone who builds at night and demolishes during the day." Source
  1. The Prophet of God (pbuh): "Indeed, everything has a pillar, and the pillar of this religion is fiqh (understanding)." (Kanz al-Ummal: 28768)
  1. The Prophet of God (pbuh): "The best worship is fiqh (understanding)." (Al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib, 1/93/3)
  1. The Prophet (pbuh): "A servant never increases in fiqh in his religion except that he increases in moderation in his deeds." (Kanz al-Ummal: 5404)
  1. Imam Ali (pbuh): "It is part of the truth that you engage in tafaqquh, and part of fiqh is that you are not deceived." (Al-Kafi, 1/45/6)
  1. Imam Ali (pbuh): "Prudence is that you engage in tafaqquh, and part of fiqh is that you are not deceived." (Al-Amali lil-Mufid, 206/38)
  1. The Prophet (pbuh): "God Almighty has not been worshiped by anything better than fiqh in religion." (Kanz al-Ummal: 28752)
  1. Imam Sadiq (pbuh): "Indeed, wisdom is knowledge and tafaqquh in religion. Whoever among you engages in fiqh is wise." (Bihar al-Anwar, 1/215/25)
  1. Imam Baqir (pbuh): "Indeed, the children of the Hereafter are the believing, acting, ascetic people — the people of knowledge and fiqh, the people of thought, reflection, and examination. They do not tire of the remembrance of God." (Tuhaf al-Uqul, p. 287)
  1. Imam Sadiq (pbuh): "Manliness is of two kinds: manliness at home and manliness on a journey. Manliness at home is reciting the Qur'an, attending mosques, keeping company with good people, and reflecting on fiqh (religious matters). Manliness on a journey is sharing provisions, joking in a way that does not displease God, minimizing disagreement with your companion, and refraining from speaking against them when you part." (Ma'ani al-Akhbar, 258/8)
  1. Imam Ali (pbuh): "The foundation of matters in religion is to rely on prayers and avoid major sins. Cling to this as something indispensable for a single moment. Its neglect is destruction. If you go beyond this to fiqh and worship, that is the ultimate fortune." (Bihar al-Anwar, 78/7/59)
  1. "And learn the Qur'an, for it is the best of speech, and engage in tafaqquh in it, for it is the spring of hearts." (Nahj al-Balaghah, Sermon 110)
  1. "People are not at ease until they ask, engage in tafaqquh, and come to know their Imam, and it is permissible for them to act according to what he says, even if it is taqiyyah (dissimulation)." Source translation

From where in these narrations can it be understood that religion is a specialized matter and only a limited number of people should engage in tafaqquh while the rest should imitate?! What is painful is that in none of the lessons on "ijtihad and taqlid" and similar subjects that the author has examined so far has any mujtahid referred to any of these hadiths to — with evidence and reasoning — reject their applicability to all people and claim that the hadith is only for seminary students!

Hadiths with the keyword knowledge (ilm)

  1. "People are of three types: a scholar, a learner, and scum (ghutha')." (Usul al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 34)

Note that the hadith divides all people into three categories and there is no place for imitators among them. As we have stated before, imitators do not learn knowledge; at most, what they get from the treatise is the opinion of its author on that issue, which is not called "knowledge for action." And in other hadiths in this section, we see that in the vocabulary of the Infallibles (pbuh), knowledge and action go together.

  1. "People go out in the morning in three categories: a scholar, a learner, and scum. We are the scholars, our followers are the learners, and the rest of the people are scum." (Same source)

This hadith is similar to the previous one, with the difference that it limits the scholars to the Infallibles (pbuh) and places all Shi'a and followers in the category of learners. That is, from this perspective, it makes no distinction between those we recognize as religious scholars and the rest of the people — all are addressed as learners. This is consistent with our understanding of the hadith "Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim, male and female," because in that hadith too, seeking knowledge is an obligation for every Muslim, regardless of how much knowledge one currently has — one must always be in search of knowledge.

Both of the above hadiths are explicitly in contradiction and incompatibility with the initial fatwa of the treatises that write "people are of three types: mujtahid, cautious, imitator." The term "ghutha'" is not at all a positive expression and is used as criticism and reproach — meaning "do not be scum, don't be like foam on water following whichever current has more followers." So essentially, two acceptable categories remain: the scholar and the student. There is no third acceptable category, and this does not at all correspond to the triad promoted by the treatises.

  1. Imam Sadiq (pbuh): "People are of two types: a scholar and a learner; the rest of the people are rabble (hamaj), and the rabble are in the Fire." [12]

Similar to the two hadiths above, this hadith divides people into three categories and reproaches everyone other than the scholar and the learner. "Hamaj" refers to small, annoying insects that move disorderly and scattered; it is used metaphorically for people who move without thought, awareness, or purpose, merely following the crowd.

  1. Imam Ali (pbuh): "People are of three types: a divine scholar, a learner on the path of salvation, and filthy rabble who follow every caller and lean with every wind — they have not been illuminated by the light of knowledge nor have they taken refuge in a firm pillar." [13]

In this wisdom, Imam Ali (pbuh) also explains the meaning of "rabble."

  1. "Indeed, God has distinguished His servants with two verses from His Book: that they should not speak until they know, and that they should not reject what they do not know. God Almighty said: 'Has not the covenant of the Book been taken from them that they should not say about God except the truth?' And He said: 'Rather, they denied what they did not encompass in knowledge and whose interpretation had not yet come to them.'" [14]

Note that although it says not to deny what they do not know, before that and more importantly, it says not to attribute to God something they do not know to be true or false. So while we should not deny things we do not know, we should not accept them and attribute them to God either. Rather, we should consider the possibility of their truth and engage in research and tafaqquh until either their truth or falsehood becomes clear.

  1. "The Messenger of God (pbuh) said: 'Whoever acts based on analogies has perished and caused others to perish. And whoever gives fatwa to people without knowledge, while not knowing the abrogating from the abrogated or the definitive from the ambiguous, has perished and caused others to perish.'" (Same source)

Note that giving fatwa, although used in the mechanism of taqlid, does not necessarily mean that a person gives a fatwa and others follow without evidence. The word "fatwa" means expressing a ruling, and the verses of the Qur'an that explain rulings with evidence are also called fatwa[15]. So this word does not necessarily imply taqlid.

  1. Imam Sadiq (pbuh): "One who acts without insight is like a traveler on the wrong path — speed only increases his distance from the destination." [16]
  1. "Knowledge is coupled with action; whoever knows acts, and whoever acts knows. Knowledge calls for action; if action responds, knowledge remains, and if not, knowledge departs." (Same source)

This hadith states that knowledge and action are in conjunction with each other. But in taqlid, we leave knowledge with the marja' and only try to act. According to this hadith, what meaning and place can action without knowledge have?

  1. "Amir al-Mu'minin (pbuh) was asked: 'Who is the most knowledgeable of people?' He said: 'The one who gathers the knowledge of people to his own knowledge.'" [17]
  1. "Among the advice of Luqman to his son was: 'O my son! Set aside a portion of your days, nights, and hours for seeking knowledge, for you will find no waste like wasting time by abandoning it.'" [18]

Given the emphasis and warning that Luqman — or in a sense, the Imam (pbuh) — gives about abandoning the pursuit of knowledge, it seems unlikely that he meant only experimental sciences such as medicine, physics, etc. It is worth reflecting that among various sciences, it is knowledge of the rightness and wrongness of the individual and social rulings that we act upon every day of our lives — the lack of which leads most to the waste of one's life. Moreover, Luqman's advice is directed to the general public, not a particular class. The nature of the advice — "set aside a portion of your days, nights, and hours for learning" — makes clear that the intention is not to choose religious studies as a profession, but rather: whatever your profession, plan your time so that you also set aside time for learning that thing, the neglect of which would waste your life.

Hadiths with the keyword ma'rifah (knowledge/recognition)

  1. "God does not accept any action except with knowledge (ma'rifah), and there is no knowledge except with action. Whoever knows, knowledge guides him to action, and whoever does not act has no knowledge. Indeed, faith consists of interdependent parts." [19]
  1. "I found all the knowledge of people in four things: first, that you come to know your Lord; second, that you know what He has done with you; third, that you know what He wants from you; and fourth, that you know what takes you out of your religion." [20]

The point of this hadith is that it says "people" — not jurists — meaning it considers knowledge for all people. Another point is that it uses the verb "know" and "ma'rifah." Can we say that someone who answers every religious question with "I don't know, my marja's opinion is such" has attained knowledge and recognition of what God wants from him?

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Parent page: Taqlid in the Qur'an and Narrations

Return to: Table of Contents

  1. Usul al-Kafi, Shaykh al-Kulayni, vol. 1, p. 31, view ↩︎

  2. Tuhaf al-Uqul, Ibn Shu'ba al-Harrani, vol. 1, p. 204, view ↩︎

  3. Bihar al-Anwar, Allamah Majlisi, vol. 89, p. 211, view ↩︎

  4. Al-Mahasin, Abu Ja'far al-Barqi, vol. 1, p. 5, view ↩︎

  5. Nahj al-Balaghah, Letter 31, view ↩︎

  6. Tuhaf al-Uqul, Ibn Shu'ba al-Harrani, vol. 1, p. 280, view ↩︎

  7. Bihar al-Anwar, Allamah Majlisi, vol. 10, p. 247, view ↩︎

  8. Bihar al-Anwar, Allamah Majlisi, vol. 1, p. 176, view ↩︎

  9. Awali al-La'ali, Ibn Abi Jumhur, vol. 4, p. 60, view ↩︎

  10. Ghurar al-Hikam, al-Tamimi al-Amidi, vol. 1, p. 291, view ↩︎

  11. Tuhaf al-Uqul, Ibn Shu'ba al-Harrani, vol. 1, p. 292, view ↩︎

  12. Al-Khisal, Shaykh Saduq, vol. 1, p. 39, view ↩︎

  13. Nahj al-Balaghah, Wisdom 147, view ↩︎

  14. Usul al-Kafi, Shaykh al-Kulayni, vol. 1, p. 43, view ↩︎

  15. In lexicons, the meaning of fatwa is: "Fatwa: the expression of a ruling; also fatya. Raghib says: fatwa and fatya are answers about rulings that are matters of doubt. The appearance of Qur'anic verses regarding absolute expression of rulings and answers in response to questions, whether about rulings or other matters: 'And they request from you a ruling concerning women. Say, Allah gives you a ruling concerning them' (Qur'an 4:127)..." Qur'an Dictionary, Sayyid Ali Akbar Qarashi, vol. 5, p. 151, view ↩︎

  16. Ibid. ↩︎

  17. Al-Mahasin, Abu Ja'far al-Barqi, vol. 1, p. 230, view ↩︎

  18. Amali al-Mufid, vol. 1, p. 292, view ↩︎

  19. Al-Kafi, Shaykh al-Kulayni, vol. 1, p. 44, view ↩︎

  20. Ibid., p. 50, view ↩︎