Taqlid: Must We Follow a Mujtahid’s View on Identifying Legal Subjects?
Practical Laws of Islam as per the teachings of Imam Khamenei
Taqlid: Must We Follow a Mujtahid’s View on Identifying Legal Subjects?
English:
Question #5
It is well-known among mujtahids that identifying the subject of a rule is the responsibility of the mukallaf whereas the determination of the rule itself is the duty of the mujtahid. But in many instances we notice that mujtahids give their opinion with respect to the identification of the subject. Is it obligatory to act upon them in this regard?
Answer #5
The responsibility of identifying the subject rests with the mukallaf. Therefore, he is not obliged to follow the identification of his mujtahid unless he feels confident of the mujtahid’s identification or the subject is something the identification of which requires jurisprudential derivation.
- Imam Khamenei, Practical Laws of Islam, Rules of Taqlid, Options: Caution, Ijtihad and Taqlid