(Part 10)
The Continuation;
The Second Topic: History of Taqlid (Imitation)
The Second Speech: Imitation in Islam
Islam, according to all Muslims, is a complete and perfect religion, free from deficiency or fault at any time. Differences in jurisprudential branches (furu‘) are not a defect but rather one of the beauties of Islamic jurisprudence that brings diversity and multiplicity of opinions.
Imitation (taqlid) did not emerge during the Meccan period of the Prophet’s mission, and it was only in the later Medinan period that a form of ijtihad (independent reasoning) and imitation began to develop. The majority of jurists consider the Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) ijtihad to be permissible. Imitation among the Companions arose due to the expansion of the Islamic society and the people’s needs. Many Companions followed the legal opinions of prominent figures such as the Rightly Guided Caliphs. During the period of the Tabi‘in and the followers of the Tabi‘in, with the emergence of the schools of Ahl al-Hadith and Ahl al-Ra’y, and the rise of great jurists, imitation became more widespread.
The First Article: Imitation during the Prophetic Era
The issues of ijtihad and imitation during the Prophet’s lifetime occurred occasionally and rarely. It is evident from the texts that his life had two dimensions: one as a human and the other as a Messenger superior to all humans. The Prophet (peace be upon him) emphasized his human aspect, as mentioned in the Qur’an:
“قُلۡ اِنَّمَاۤ اَنَا بَشَرٌ مِّثۡلُکُمۡ یُوۡحٰۤی اِلَیَّ ﴿۱۱۰﴾
“{Say: I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed}” [Al-Kahf: 110]
The Prophet would consult with his Companions and act upon their advice—for instance, the choice of camp location in the Battle of Badr (based on the suggestion of al-Hubab ibn al-Mundhir), or consulting Abu Bakr and Umar (Peace be upon them) regarding the fate of the prisoners of Badr, and many other similar instances.
Religious imitation in subsidiary matters (furu‘) generally refers to following jurists and scholars in understanding Qur’anic verses and hadiths. Thus, during the blessed time of the Prophet (peace be upon him), jurisprudence had not yet been compiled or structured in the way of later jurists. At that time, it was not common to analyze jurisprudential topics systematically as jurists later did. Those jurists put their utmost effort into defining the pillars, conditions, and etiquettes of legal matters—examining each issue separately with its evidence. They proposed hypothetical cases to solve Muslims’ problems and explained those topics in depth. They also defined clear boundaries for matters and limited those that were possible to define.