Meaning of Taqleed
Mu' meneen Brothers
and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa
Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be
upon all of you)
One of our
brothers/sisters has asked this question:
asa
plz tell me what
is taqleed(follower)
jizakomallah
(There may be some grammatical and spelling
errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in
confidentiality.)
Answer:
In the name of Allah, We praise
Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can
misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We
bear witness that there is no one (no idol,
no person, no grave, no
prophet, no imam, no dai,
nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
‘Taqleed’ is derived from the
Arabic word ‘Qalada’, which is a belt-like leather harness used like a rein for a domestic animal. ‘Taqleed’ when used in the Islamic concept
means to follow someone unconditionally, or to follow someone without asking
for any proof or evidence.
Just as the animal on a ‘qalada’
or rein goes wherever the shepherd takes him,
so do the people in ‘taqleed’ follow their guides without asking for any
proof or evidence. They simply follow
their guides wherever the guide takes them.
Whatever written of Truth and
benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error
is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He
is the Only Source of Strength.
Your Brother in Islam,
