1. Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims
  2. Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims

Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims

15 Questions

If someone did not know about Taqleed and later learned that they must follow a Mujtahid, do they need to repeat all their prayers and fasts?
Rebecca Masterton

No, they do not need to repeat them.
Is Taqleed wajib on one who is not a mujtahid himself? If not, how can one determine the Islamic decrees to be followed?
Abbas Di Palma

The holy Qur'an says that believers should act upon knowledge: "And do not pursue that which you have no knowledge" (17:36). The idea of acting according to guesses and conjectures have been clearly rejected: "And they have thereof no knowledge. They follow not except conjectures, and indeed conjectures avail not against the truth at all" (53:28). Consequently, the one who is not able and is not qualified to deduce religious rulings should follow an expert and a mujtahid to learn the necessary details of Islamic law that are relevant to his life and situation. Not doing so would imply to follow conjectures of his own self or non-qualified people and this is condemned by the Qur'an. It is also possible to act according to precaution which implies to take the most precautionary steps and opinions but this requires a considerable amount of knowledge often difficult to attain for the ordinary person; it is therefore advisable for those who are not experts in religious sciences to follow a fully-qualified mujtahid whose knowledge has been fully established.

With prayers for your success.
Would a female mujtahid still have to follow a male marja'?
Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi

It is haram for a person who has reached the level of ijtihad to do taqlid for another mujtahid. This applies equally to men as well as women.

However, when the question of a marja` comes (i.e., a mujtahid who is followed by others), then one of the conditions is that the marja` must be a male. For example, the late Ayatullah al-Khu`i, says: "The conditions [necessary] in marja`i 't-taqlid...", before listing the well-known conditions ---like sanity, being baligh, iman, justice and being a male (Minhaju 's-Salihiyn, vol. 1, p. 7).

In short, a woman can reach the level of ijtihad and follow her own views but she cannot become a marja`.