The word · Law & life
تَقْليد
Taqlid
Following a qualified scholar's ruling without knowing the underlying evidence yourself.
Also written · Taqleed · Taklid · Taqlead · Taqliid · Muqallid · following a scholar · following a madhhab · blind following · imitation
The meaning
What Taqlid means in Islam
It is what most Muslims do most of the time, and the Qur'an tells those who do not know to ask those who do. Scholars differ over its limits: some hold a layperson should commit to one school for coherence, others allow asking any trustworthy scholar, and all agree taqlid is not followed against a clear text one actually knows. The word is also used critically, for copying without thought, which is a different matter from consulting an expert.
Evidence · Scholars differ · The scholars read this one differently
Read beside it
Words that sit beside it
- IjtihadThe disciplined effort of a qualified scholar to derive a ruling from the sources.اِجْتِهاد
- MadhhabA school of law: a settled method of deriving rulings, carried by generations of scholars.مَذْهَب
- FatwaA scholar's answer to a specific question: advice, not a court judgement.فَتْوى
- IkhtilafScholarly disagreement, which classical Islam treated as normal rather than as a crisis.اِخْتِلاف
More from Law & life
- 'AqdA contract: a binding agreement formed by an offer and its acceptance.عَقْد
- DiyahBlood money: compensation paid to a victim's family for a killing or an injury.دِيَة
- HijabThe covering a Muslim woman wears in public, most often a headscarf with modest clothing.حِجاب
- MakruhDisliked but not forbidden: leaving it is rewarded, doing it brings no sin.مَكْروه
- Mut'ahTemporary marriage for a fixed term, permitted in Twelver Shia law and prohibited in Sunni law.زَواجُ المُتْعة
- RukhsahA concession: permission to do the easier thing when a recognised excuse applies.رُخْصة