Objectively Weighing Information & Taqlid

wa alaikum as-salam,

i understand your background and your disdain for believing without evidences or proofs.

That is the exact critique Allah azza wa jall made against the Polytheists and the Ahl al Kitaab:

“They say, ‘Sufficient for us is what we found our fathers upon,’ even though their fathers knew nothing and were not guided.”
Surah Al-Mā’idah 5:104“
If you obey most of those on earth, they will mislead you from the path of Allah; they follow nothing but assumption and conjecture.”
Surah Al-An‘ām 6:116
“They will say, ‘Our Lord, we obeyed our leaders and our great ones, and they misled us from the path. Our Lord, give them double the punishment…’”
Surah Al-Ahzāb 33:67–68

“Do not be an imma‘ah (a person with no principle) who says: ‘I am with the people; if they do good, I do good; and if they do wrong, I do wrong.’
Rather, prepare yourselves: if people do good, do good; but if they do wrong, do not follow them.”
Tirmidhī, 2007; graded ḥasan

“The greatest misguidance is to say: ‘We follow whatever our leaders and elders say,’ even if they contradict the Book of Allah.”
Ibn Battah, al-Ibānah; authentically reported

“Whoever is given a fatwa without knowledge, his sin is upon the one who issued it. But whoever follows something without knowledge, its sin is upon him.”
Abu Dawood 3657; graded ṣaḥīḥ

“The only cure for ignorance is to ask.”
Abu Dawood 336; graded ṣaḥīḥ

As the Qur’anic and prophetic sources make clear, Allah does not want us to follow our ancestors, leaders, or even the majority of people blindly.

He commands us to follow Him, His Messenger ﷺ, and those leaders who are established upon truth and righteousness.It is essential to understand this point: 
Islam is not against following.
Islam is against following falsehood, false idols, false beliefs, and false leaders.

Islam opposes blind imitation of misguidance, not the act of following itself.With that in mind, we must clarify what taqlīd actually means.

Taqlīd does not mean “do not ask questions.

This is a common misunderstanding.

Taqlīd simply means that a person who does not possess the necessary knowledge or ability to extract rulings from the primary sources consults someone who does have that expertise and follows their judgment.

A scholar may give a ruling without detailed explanation, but the layperson is not forbidden from asking for the evidences or the reasoning behind the opinion.

Islam was not sent for a single intellectual class or one specific generation.
It was revealed for all of humanity, to restore pure monotheism and guide every type of person.

Naturally, people differ:
Some only need to know the ruling, and that suffices for them.Others want to know the ruling and its evidences, because their minds are more inquisitive.
Islam accommodates both types. One person may ask a scholar for his verdict and accept it immediately, while another may ask for the ruling and then inquire about its proofs. Both approaches are valid.
In short:Taqlīd does not mean “I won’t ask questions."
Taqlīd means “I recognize my limitations and seek the knowledge of those more qualified to understand the matter.”

Before concluding, one final and important point:

Taqlīd is allowed only in matters of fiqh (practical rulings).It is not allowed in matters of ʿaqīdah (belief).
When it comes to belief in Allah, His angels, His books, His prophets, and the Last Day, taqlīd is not allowed.

A person cannot be a true mu’min (believer) without understanding the evidence for these foundational beliefs.

You may ask why many people are still considered Muslims even if they do not know the detailed proofs of their beliefs.

The answer is that Islam distinguishes between:
A Muslim in the legal sense
A true believer (mu’min) in the theological sense

This distinction is necessary, otherwise no one could enter Islam without first completing advanced study in theology.

I hope this clarifies the matter and addresses your concerns.

Wa’s-salām.

Thanks for the response.

Yeah, I cannot follow a scholar without seeing evidence and understanding it fully. I have to actually see why, so I think it would be great if scholars were more open to detailed questions and explanations. Because quite frankly, I don’t care in regards to hadith or fiqh that who said what from whom unless I can establish authenticity and see the evidence. Otherwise, it holds no weight to me.

Thank you.