God’s prayers and peace be bestowed upon the noblest creature and the master of the mankind Prophet Muhammad bin Abdullah and upon his pure Household.

It is no secret that imitation has a great importance in the Muslims’ life and that it has a great influence on the individual’s behaviour and deeds and on the delineation of the features of the society which is through imitation associated to the prominent scholars.

When we come to examine the religious society which is honoured with its belongingness to The Household’s) God’s prayers and peace be bestowed upon them (creed, we notice that imitation represents a major element in the social education in all the fields and that it occupies a prominent position as regards what the parents teach their children at the threshold of being assigned with the religious responsibility.

Still, there are a lot of questions which are related to the details and issues of imitation which we have been lately hearing from the people after the society had lost a group of great references who were succeeded by several references who are eligible to take hold of the jurisprudential reference. This has resulted in the emergence of questions, some of which are related to the proper way of the fulfilment of the religious imitation; some of which are related to the condition of the most knowingness in the reference; and some of which are related to other points.

These questions represented the reason for the writing of this study. I meant it to be small in its size and easy in its expression, so that the public will be able to understand it. We hope that it will illuminate the path of imitation by means of the lamp of the true religion, so that they will pass it precisely and safely. We hope from The Most High God that it be well accepted.

And Praise be to God,

The Lord of All the Worlds.

Akram Barakat