The article below certainly exceeds all limits to provide proofs in supports of Taqleed.

A reply to the presented proofs in this article is given at the end. The necessity of Taqleed is proved by The Holy Quran and The Ahlulbayt(A.S Firstly, what does \'Taqleed\' mean? Translated into imitation, it essentially means the following in actions of another person. In the Shia Imamiyah school, this relates to the following of a \'mujtahid\' y a \'non!mujtahid\' in Islamic rulings "Sharia\' law# and matters relating to \'Furu\' $l!%een\'. $ &ujtahid is an e'pert in Islamic (urisprudence "Fiqh# who has een )erified as ha)ing the a ility to deri)e laws and rulings from the two sources of Islam* the +ur\'an and the Sunnah of the $hlul ayt . In the chapter of \'The ,rophets\', this )erse states- . ask the people of remembrance if you do not know. "/0-1#. 2learly this is as3ing people who ha)e no 3nowledge on certain matters, to refer to people that do, whom essentially are the e'perts. This is the natural way of things, to see3 3nowledge from those who ha)e it. 4)en the ,rophets were instructed to do so, as the case with &usa "S# when he was told to see3 wisdom from $l!5hidhr. 6e then need to identify these e'perts and the +ur\'an has done this again, in \'The Family of Imran\', \'The 7riginator\' and \'The ,leading 7ne\'Allah bears witness that there is no god but He, and (so do) the angels and those possessed of knowledge (3:18) those of His ser ants only who are possessed of knowledge fear Allah "89-/:# Allah will e!alt those of you who belie e, and those who are given knowledge, in high degrees "9:-00# 2learly then, $llah "S6T# has placed emphasis that those with 3nowledge are gi)en a special status. Then the 4'alted has instructed that those 3nowledgea le ones are to e followed, as is the natural thing to do" you who belie e# "bey Allah and obey the $essenger and those vested with authority from among you (%:&') $uthority cannot come without 3nowledge* the leaders should always e the most 3nowledgea le of the people, for they are est equipped to lead the people. ;a)ing 3nowledge is a pre!requisite for leadership, for with it difficulties are o)ercome, as $mir $l!&uimineen "S# has e'plainedKnowledge is power( whoe er finds it o ercomes by it and whoe er does not find it is o ercome Following the 3nowledgea le applies equally in political and religious matters, regardless of the state of affairs in that region, for the erudite are the closest to $llah "S6T#He it is )ho has re ealed the *ook to you( some of its erses are decisi e, they are the basis of the *ook, and others are allegorical( then as for those in whose hearts there is per ersity they follow the part of it which is allegorical, seeking to mislead and seeking to gi e it (their own) interpretation, but none knows its interpretation e!cept Allah, and those who are firmly rooted in knowledge say: )e belie e in it, it is all from our +ord( and none do mind e!cept those having understanding (3:,) )hy should not a company from e ery group of them go forth to gain profound understanding in religion and to warn their people when they return to them, so that they may beware "<-0//# The first )erse gi)es the reason why you cannot choose to deduce rulings yourself "or to use

qiyas# if you do not ha)e the necessarily 3nowledge. This )erse also admonishes those who follow their own opinions, e)en though they lac3 3nowledgeAnd follow not that of which you have no knowledge in (1,:3-) The word used for those who would gain understanding in )erse <-0// is \'liyataffaqahu\' which means \'to ecome fuqaha\'. This is e'actly what the mujtahids are, Fuqaha. The ,rophet , then no!one has the right to gi)e his ijtihad on itAnd whate er the $essenger gi es you accept it, and whate er he forbids you, abstain (from) "9<-1# The same applies to matters of the Fundamental ,rinciples of =eligion ">sul $l!%een#, for they are matters in elief and you must research these yourself, rather than lindly follow someone in them. This has een highlighted in se)eral )erses, among which areAnd when it is said to them, come to what Allah has re ealed and to the $essenger, they say: .hat on which we found our fathers is sufficient for us/ )hat# 0 en though their fathers knew nothing and did not follow the right way "9-0?@# )hen he said to his father and his people: )hat are these images, to which you are de oted1 .hey said: )e found our fathers worshipping them/ He said: 2ndeed you and your fathers ha e been in manifest error "/0-9/!9@# The Imams further encouraged the role of the fuqaha and the mujtahids, e)en during their ImamateAarrates $l!$s3ari, from his grandfather $l!Sadiq, peace e upon them oth- .if there is anyone among the fuqaha who is in control o er his own self, protects his religion, suppresses his e il desires and is obedient to the commands of his $aster, then the people should follow him. "$l!Ihtijaj, $l!Ta rasi, )ol /, p /B8# 2oncerning the four great fuqaha- $ ul ;asan Curarah I n $\'yan, $ u (a\'far &uhammad I n &uslim, $ u Dasir Eayth I n $l!Da3htari and $ ul +asim Darid I n &u\'awiyah, who were among his students, Imam $l!Sadiq "S# said- .they are the trustees of Allah for the administration of the permissible and forbidden in religion. "The %e)elopment of Shi\'i Islamic (urisprudence on %eath and %ying from the FourthFTenth to the 4ighthFFourteenth 2enturies, ;asnain 5assamali# 6hen >mar I n ;anGalah as3ed $l!Sadiq "S# who the Shia should refer to when they dispute, ;e replied- ..hey must seek out one of you who narrates our traditions, who is ersed in what is permissible and what is forbidden, who is well3ac4uainted with our laws and ordinances, and accept him as 5udge and arbiter, for I appoint him as judge over you/ 2f the ruling which he based on our laws is re5ected, this re5ection will be tantamount to ignoring the order of Allah and re5ecting us is the same as re5ecting Allah, and this is the same as polytheism. "Furu\' $l! 5afi, $l!5ulayni, )ol 1, p @0/# Imam Al36idha (7) appro ed 8akariyyah 2bn Adem Al39ummi and :unus 2bn Abd Al36ahman, as 5udges for the people in their regions. "$l!\'$mili, 6asail $l!Shia, )ol 0:, pp 0?B 0?1# The ele)enth Imam "S# said- .2t is obligatory for the populace to follow the jurist who refrains from committing wrong, mentions his faith, opposes carnal desire and obeys Allah;<s command. "$l!\'$mili, 6asail $l!Shia, )ol 0:, pp <@ <9# $s for following the fuqaha during the occultation of the 0/th Imam "$F#, there are many hadiths pertaining to these instructions, among which areThe tenth Imam, $li $l!;adi "S# said- .After the occultation of your 9a;<im a group of the \'ulemah will call upon people to belie e in al39a;<im;<s imamah and defend his religion by using proofs sent by Allah, so that they might sa e the weak minded faithful from either the deceptions of 7haitan or the deceptions of those opposed to Ali. "$l!Ihtijaj, $l!Ta rasi, )ol /, p /B?# In reply to a question Ishaq I n Haq\'u had sent to the Imam "$F# )ia the second deputy- .As

far as newly occurring circumstances are concerned, you should turn (for guidance) to the narrators of our hadiths, for they are my proof o er you 5ust as 2 am Allah;<s proof o er them. "$l!Ihtijaj, $l!Ta rasi, )ol /, p /B?, $l!\'$mili, 6asail $l!Shia, )ol 0:, p 0?0, Dihar $l! $nwar, $l!&ajlisi )ol 98, p 0:0# So, we ha)e learned three things- The 3nowledgea le fuqaha are to e followed, they can gi)e Ijtihad in rele)ant matters and taqleed is necessary in the time of occultation. The e)idence has shown that Ijtihad is an esta lished practice and the erudite and pious fuqaha are to e followed whene)er and where)er they may e. Delow are some of the qualities a &ujtahid must ha)e in order for him to ecome a &arja\' and for people to follow him$ &ale "women can ecome mujtahids, ut not maraji\'# Shia Imami $dult " aligh# Sane 7f legitimate irth (ust $lso, one cannot follow a &ujtahid who died efore the person initially o ser)ed his taqleed. ;owe)er, most of the fuqaha agree that if you follow a &arji\' and he dies, you can still follow his rulings, ut new issues must e referred to a li)ing &arja\'. $lso, the majority of the fuqaha elie)e that the most 3nowledgea le of the mujtahids must e followed. 7ne can also choose to not do direct taqleed ut instead act on Ihtiyat "precaution#. Dasically, he has to )iew all the mujtahids rulings on a matter and act on the most precautious of them. For more information on the rulings of taqleed, refer to the rele)ant oo3 of rulings for each marja\'. Taqleed is no different then other natural processes where y you refer to the e'perts. Ta3e the e'ample of going to a doctor for a medical reason. Hou will go to him ecause you are the patient "muqallid# and you do not ha)e the necessary information and a ility to treat yourself "non!mujtahid# so you see3 the doctor\'s ad)ice "taqleed# ecause he is the e'pert "mujtahid#. ;owe)er, when there are differences etween the doctors, you will see3 the most 3nowledgea le or see3 a second opinion. This is a good thing, ecause differences may mean easier or cheaper or simpler treatments. So, you wouldn t ris3 your health y not referring to a doctor, so why would you ris3 your deeds and your religion y not referring to a mujtahid? It is y the Irace of $llah that today we ha)e many maraji\' in different countries who ha)e pu lished their rulings in many languages and which are a)aila le through a )ariety of means. 6e also ha)e scholars a)aila le to us who can answer our questions and guide us to the right rulings and learned rothers and sisters who can refer us to these resources. &a3e use of these for there is no e'cuse for ignorance, especially in religion. SH4% $&&$= H7>S>F

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!eply to the "ecessity of Taqleed# I was really shoc3ed y reading the article elow, in which all possi le means were used to con)ince Shiyan!e!$hlul Daita.s. the necessity of following a non!masoom scholarLs opinion "fatawa of a &ujtahid#, as waji "in Faro!e!%een# for all those who do not enjoy the same status of 3nowledge while ma3ing use $iat from +uran Shareef which were only for masomeena.s and misrepresentation of $hadith of masomeena.s.. The author has frequently used his own interpretation of $iat from +uran Shareef and has e)en ascri ed the merits of some of $iats to non!masomeena.s., e)en though they contain well esta lished titles which are in the praise and recognition of only $hlul Daita.s.., i.e., MAhhel$e$%a&ir', MAulul AilmL, MAulul AmirL.

It is our tragedy today that we ha)e ta3en the same approach as was adapted y Sunnis in order to raise the merits of their worthless M;eroesL y stealing the $iats of +uran and $hadith of =asool $llahs.a.w. in order to co)er up the filth of their self acclaimed leadersJ ;owe)er, I would not li3e to dwell further in details of these efforts ut lea)e my reply to the judgement of followers of $hlul Daita.s. to reflect on oth )iews. ,lease note, I ha)e used the 4nglish translation of +uran Shareef from T.D.Ir)ing "$l!;ajj Talim $li#, ,u lished in Tehran, 0<<:. Aiat "o.( 2t=s a famous Aiat from 7urat3al3 Ambia, >hapter ?1, @erse ,, *efore you )e ha e sent only men whom )e inspired/ Ask people with (long) memories if you do not know it already/ The $ra ic of people with long memories is M$hhel!e!Ca3irL, there are numerous traditions in 5afi, Tafseer $iashi and Tafseer +ummi, from $yiamah &asomeen a.s. in which it has een e'plained that MCa3irL is referred to =asool $llahs.a.w. , and M$hhel!e!Ca3irL means the $yiamah &asomeen a.s. and &uslims ha)e the o ligation to turn to $hlul!Daita.s. for those matter which they do not 3now. In addition, it is narrated y Imam =aGaa.s. in M$oun $la3 ar $l=aGaL, that $llahs.w.t has sent MCa3irL means =asoola.s. "who was sent to you for the recitation of )erses of $llahs.w.t#, thus MCa3irL is =asool $llahs.a.w. and we are M$hhelL . In 5afi, Imam &ohammed Daqir $llaha.s. pointed his di)ine hand to his sacred chest and said we are the M$hhel!e!Ca3irL and e)ery single thing can e as3ed from us, while replying to a question on M$hhel!e!Ca3irL

Aiat "o.)* Aod testifies there is no deity e!cept Himself, and so do the angles and persons possessing knowledge/ $aintaining fairplay, there is no deity e!cept Him, the Bowerful, the )ise In Tafseer $ishi and Tafseer Safi, page :?, it is narrated from Imam &ohemmad Daqir a.s. that M$ulul $ilmL is referred to ,rophets and their successors and they are firm on justice "M+iam il +iastL# . Aiat "o.+* .hose who ha e been gi en knowledge see that what has been sent down to you from your +ord is the .ruth, and guides (us) along the 6oad to the Bowerful, the Braiseworthy/ Tafseer!e!Safi, page @0/ cites from Tafseer!e!+ummi that this $iat is in praise of $mir!ul! &omaneena.s and the word M;aqL is referred to $mir!ul! &omaneena.s Aiat No. ! :ou who belie e, whene er someone tells you to make room at (any) sessions, then make room( Aod will make room for you (elsewhere)/ )hen it is said: C$o e on ahead#= then mo e on up/ Aod will raise those of you who belie e, in rank, as well as the ones who are gi en knowledge/ Aod is informed about anything you do / This is famous $iat on M$ulul $mrL and it is well 3nown fact that the word M$ulul $mrL, is only and only for the $ima $thara.s and no non!masoom can ha)e this title. Sunnis ha)e een ma3ing use of this title for their rules, including &ua)ewahl.a. and HaGiadl.a.. ;owe)er, the followers of $hlul Daita.s ha)e een told to only ascri e this title to &asomeen $thara.s. In one of our famous Tafseer M&ajma $l!DiayanL it is narrated that M$llahswt would ne)er ma3e it o ligatory to follow a person, e'cept a &asooma.s . Aiat "o., He is the "ne )ho sent you down the *ook which contains decisi e erses/ .hey (form) the basis of the *ook( while others are allegorical/ .hose whose hearts are prone to falter follow whate er is allegorical in it, seeking to create dissension by gi ing (their own) interpretation of it/ :et only Aod knows its interpretation( those who are ersed in knowledge say: C)e belie e init( it all comes from our +ord#= Howe er, only prudent persons bear it in mind /

The word used in the )ersed for the 3nowledge is M6al =asa3hun fil $ilmL which has een e'plained y Imam (affar!e!Sadiqa.s that it only refers to us and we are well )ersed in interpretation of the Doo3. . In $htajaj!e!Ta rasi, it is narrated from $mir!ul!momaneena.s that only $llahswt and =asools.a.w. and M6al =asa3hun fil $ilmL "masomeen# 3now the true meanings of the )erses of the oo3 which are not e'plicit, although the enemies of $lhul Daita.s would succeed in forcefully seiGing the inheritance of =asool $llahsaw ut will ne)er e capa le of claiming the thorough 3nowledge of the Doo3. Aiat No." *elie ers should not march forth in a body( if a s4uadron from each di ision of them should march forth, they should still instruct (others) in religion and warn their folk when they return to them so that they may take precautions / 6hen as3ed from Imam (afar!e!Sadiqa.s "M$lul SharaiaL# , a group of people narrate from =asool $llahsaw that ,rophetsaw said that the disagreement among my followers ">mmah# is $llahLs lessing. Imama.s. replied, if that is so and disagreement is a lessing then their agreement would e $llahLs wrathJ Imama.s. said they ha)e ta3en the incorrect meanings and e'plained, Thus $llahswt as3ed newly con)erts to form small groups among themsel)es and )isit =asool $llahsaw and learn Islam and go ac3 to their tri es in order to teach others. $nd =asool $llahsaw has ta3en the meaning of M$l aladanL as different cities and not as M$l aladan in %eenL, Imama.s. told his followers that there is only one %een and there is no room for difference of opinion in it. Aiat "o.Do not worry o er something you ha e no knowledge about: your hearing, eyesight and ital organs will all be 4uestioned concerning it / In the e'planation of Mla Taqfu ma Eeesa la3a ahi IlmunL, it is narrated y Imam Cain!ul! $ adeena.s. "M$lul SharaiaL# , that you do not ha)e any jurisdiction to comment on religious affairs as per your predilection, as $llahswt Says and recited this $it of +uran Shareef. =asool $llahsaw prayed for the lessing of a person who would only say the M;aqL and otherwise 3eep silent so that e sa)ed from eing engulfed y the e)il powers. In addition, ,rophetsaw said that you should not e)en listen to whate)er you feel li3e e'cept what has een made permissi le y $llahswt and recited MInnsama wal DaseerL. Aiat "o.. )hene er they are told: C>ome to what Aod has sent down, and to (hear) the $essenger,= they say: C)e are satisfied with what we found our forefathers doing(= e en though their forefathers did not know anything and were not guided# In another $iat $llahswt SaysAiat "o./ )hen he told his father and his folk: C)hat are these images which yhouare so de oted to1= .hey said: C)e found our forefathers ser ing them/= He said( C:ou and your forefathers ha e been in such ob ious error/= In Tafseer Safi it is e'plained that M;as una ma wajadnaL, was the only flawed pledge of the Idol worshiper of &ecca, indicating their poor wisdom and lind faith on their religious scholars. Ahadith from 0asomeena.s. on See&ing !eligious Advice There are also se)en $hadith from &asomeena.s, which ha)e een quoted in fa)our of following a Fuqahi. These are the words of &asomeena.s and we must accept them without any e'cuse or eing rela'ed on the conditions which are set out our $imah $thara.s. The qualities of Fuqaha, included in these se)en $hadith are outlined elow0. 2ontrol of his wonself* /. ,rotects his religion* 8. Suppresses his e)il desires*

@. 7 edient to the commands of his &aster* 9. Hou must see3 out one among yoursel)es who narrates our traditions, who is )ersed in what is permissi le and what is for idden, who is well!acquainted with our laws and ordinances* B. 7ne who refrains from committing wrong, mentions his faith, opposes carnal desire and o eys $llahLs command* Finally a hadith is presented as it was quotedIn reply to a question Ishaq I n Haq\'u had sent to the Imam "$F# )ia the second deputy- .As far as newly occurring circumstances are concerned, you should turn (for guidance) to the narrators of our hadiths, for they are my proof o er you 5ust as 2 am Allah;<s proof o er them. "$l!Ihtijaj, $l!Ta rasi, )ol /, p /B?, $l!\'$mili, 6asail $l!Shia, )ol 0:, p 0?0, Dihar $l!$nwar, $l! &ajlisi )ol 98, p 0:0#From the a o)e quoted +uranic $iat and $hadith from &asomeena.s there is no e)idence of Ijtihad or necessity of Taqleed. 6e ha)e een simply as3ed to follow $llahswtLs %een as has een e'plained y the &asomeena.s in all aspects, circumstances and time. $nd in the case of lac3 of 3nowledge, or newly occurring circumstances, we should turn to those pious and loyal scholars who are the narrators of $hadith of &asomeena.s. Therefore, all the $iats and $hadith do not allow, in any circumstances, to interpret the laws of $llahswt , y anyone who is not selected y $llahswt "&asomeena.s#, which is referred to M$jtihadL these days and is found in the M=asala or TousiL of todayLs M&ujtahidLs pu lication. $nd all of MTousiL writers are considered as Fuqaha. $s a result, the practice of propagation of +uran and $hadith has een either a andoned altogether or at least are limited to majalis. 2onsequently, Islamic rulings ased on M$jtihadL "a form of +ias#, in all aspects of life, ha)e emerged. These MguidelinesL "Tousi# ased on M$jtihadL from )arious &ujtahideen do not always agree in )arious aspects of %een, therefore conform to the stance of Sunni who elie)e in M%isagreement in $llahLs %eenL is a DlessingL. &ay $llah swt ena le us to follow ;is %een as has een interpreted y &asomeena.s and e'plained in their $hadith, and is transmitted to us y the narrators of their $hadith without any twist of M$jtihadL. $min Sum$minJ 6assalam ;u eali"a.s# $dmin