The Verse of Surah al-Hajj 11
One of the verses that condemns taqlid by rebuking following without attaining knowledge is verse 11 of Surah al-Hajj:
And among the people is he who serves God only upon the fringe. If good befalls him, he is at rest in it; but if a trial befalls him, he turns about, having lost this world and the world to come. That is indeed the manifest loss. (22:11)
To explain this verse, it is better to start from verses 3 and 4: "And among the people is he who disputes about God without knowledge and follows every rebellious devil, upon whom it is decreed that whoever takes him as a patron, he will lead him astray and guide him to the chastisement of the Blaze." Allamah Tabatabai in Tafsir al-Mizan referred to taqlid in explaining this verse but considered it to be about polytheists. Later in verses 8 and 9, the Qur'an describes another group with a similar phrase: "And among the people is he who disputes about God without knowledge or guidance or an illuminating Book, turning away in pride, to lead astray from the way of God. For him is disgrace in this present life, and on the Day of Resurrection We shall make him taste the chastisement of the burning." Again, Allamah considered this verse to be against the taqlid of polytheists, with the difference that verses 3-4 are for polytheists who imitate, and verses 8-9 for polytheists who are leaders and are imitated. He provided no evidence for limiting these verses to polytheists, while from the beginning of the sura up to verse 11, the word "nas" (people) appears six times, and the sura begins with "Ya ayyuha al-nas" (O people) — a general address that includes both polytheists and non-polytheists.
Even if we accept that those two descriptions are about polytheists, this excuse cannot be made for verse 11, because this verse also begins with "Wa min al-nas…" (And among the people is he…), indicating it describes another group of people. Moreover, it says "ya'budu" (he serves/worships), which does not apply to polytheists. This group of religious people do not dispute without knowledge, nor do they follow every devil, but their problem is that they worship "upon a fringe." Commentators differ on the meaning of the Arabic word "harf," with some translating it as "edge" and others as "side" or "margin." This word does not appear elsewhere in the Qur'an. However, from the previous verses about "disputing without knowledge," one can understand that "harf" means anything other than solid knowledge and evidence — in other words, taqlid itself.
The continuation of the verse confirms this interpretation: they worship superficially and without certainty, like someone who fights on the fringes of an army so he can flee if they are about to be defeated. If good befalls them, they are reassured, but if a trial comes, they turn away. Such a worshipper loses both this world and the next. The following verses add striking points: "He calls, apart from God, upon what neither hurts him nor benefits him; that is the far error. (22:12) He calls upon one whose harm is nearer than his benefit — an evil patron and an evil companion!" (13)
A quick search among contemporary scholars found no one who related this verse to taqlid. But do the set of verses convey anything else? Is it not true that for one's faith and worship not to be superficial and shaky, one must seek knowledge and deep understanding about them and search for stronger evidence? Are those worshippers described by God not similar to most of today's muqallids? When told "do not do such and such; this is not servitude to God; God has not commanded this anywhere," they pull back and say "I don't know; I'm not a jurist or an expert." Yes, they do not dispute about God without knowledge, but when asked "why then do you do this?" their only answer is "my marja' said so." Not to mention some people are not even sure what their marja's opinion is on a particular matter and merely act based on hearsay.
In any case, such people, because they themselves know they have no solid evidence for their marja's a'lamiyyah and know that even the most learned marja' may err, have such weak conviction about their actions that if things go well, they feel reassured that their religiosity is correct. But if they face a trial or tribulation for which their marja' has no fatwa and has not specified the duty, they revert to the ways of the irreligious, having no knowledge of their own about what to do. In confirmation, the early verses of Surah al-'Ankabut say: "Do people suppose that they will be left to say 'We believe' and will not be tried? (29:2) Indeed, We tried those before them, that God may know the truthful and the liars." (3) Also, Imam al-Sadiq (p) said: "Any of our companions who does not engage in tafaqquh in religion has no good in him. O Bashir, any man among them who is not free from need of tafaqquh in religion will need others, and when he needs them, they will lead him into their misguidance without his awareness." (Usul al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 91) It is in trials and tests that this need arises.
Unlike contemporary scholars, among early Islamic scholars, Shaykh Kulayni used this verse against taqlid in the introduction of his book Usul al-Kafi and then cited the following hadiths that explain the verse, its relation to taqlid, and confirm the above argument:
"Because he entered religion without knowledge and certainty, his exit from religion is also without knowledge and certainty. And Imam (p) said: Whoever enters faith with knowledge remains firm, and his faith benefits him; and whoever enters without knowledge leaves it just as he entered. And he said: Whoever takes his religion from the Book of God and the tradition of His Prophet is more steadfast than mountains; and whoever takes his religion from the mouths of men, men will displace him from religion. And he also said: Whoever does not recognize the matter of our Imamate from the Qur'an will not escape trials." (Usul al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 7)
Shaykh Tabrisi in his Tafsir Majma' al-Bayan also considered the meaning of this verse to be "the followers of misguidance through taqlid."
Another piece of evidence linking this verse to taqlid is verse 20 of Surah Luqman, which also uses the phrase "disputing without knowledge," after which verse 21 discusses following fathers and ancestors without reasoning, which contemporary scholars have accepted is a prohibition of taqlid. Interestingly, at the end of verse 21, it asks: "even if Satan calls them to the chastisement of the Blaze?" The same words "Satan" and "chastisement of the Blaze" appear in verses 3 and 4 of Surah al-Hajj, showing that all these verses are semantically related and about the same subject.
Parent page: Verses Condemning Following without Knowledge