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The Creator
knows what is best for HIS creation HE has ordained 'Islam'
(All of it, Beliefs together with the detailed rules &
regulations) to be the path to be followed by human beings,
which will lead to salvation.
HIS Prophet (SA) conveyed to us the Islamic Sharia, but we
we do not have direct access to him today. We have the
Islamic rules & regulations passed down to us through a
chain of people. Hence ,in order to earn HIS pleasure &
avoid HIS wrath (i.e. follow Islam), all of us have to do 'Taqleed'
(follow someone). It can be our Ancestors, Society/its
elders OR ..... a Marja (who is one of the most learned Mujtahid
or Jurist.)
This is applicable to all muslims (incl,.
people
unconcerned about Islamic laws), as they get married or undertake death rites
etc based on Islamic rules.
The Mujtahids undergo an
intensive process of study &
teaching in the howza for decades .Through this process he
becomes an expert in ;Arabic language, Quranic sciences,
Hadith (incl verification of the chain of Narrators to
authenticate the Hadith) , History , Logic etc. He acquires
these
qualifications/expertise & it is only then that he
emerges as the most learned amongst the learned, whom people
follow for
Furu-e-deen
matters.
After the Ghaiba (Occultation) of our 12th Imam (AS), it is
our
Ulamaa and religious scholars who have kept the bright
light of Islam glowing in the face of darkness and jahiliya
(ignorance). The 12th Imam himself has guided us to follow
the Ulamaa in these times in Authentic Hadith / Letters
(tauqih).
Some of the
Current Maraje are listed here & Given below are
additional resources on the subject:- |
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1. It is
necessary for a Muslim to believe in the fundamentals of
faith with his own insight and understanding, and he cannot
follow anyone in this respect i.e. he cannot accept the word
of another who knows, simply because he has said it.
However, one who has faith in the true tenets of Islam, and
manifests it by his deeds, is a Muslim and Mo'min, even if
he is not very profound, and the laws related to a Muslim
will hold good for him. In matters of religious laws, apart
from the ones clearly defined, or ones which are
indisputable, a person must:
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either be a Mujtahid (jurist) himself, capable of inferring
and deducing from the religious sources and evidence;
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or if he is not a Mujtahid himself, he should follow one,
i.e. he should act according to the verdicts (Fatwa) of the
Mujtahid;
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or if he is neither a Mujtahid nor a follower (Muqallid), he
should act on such precaution which should assure him that
he has fulfilled his religious obligation. For example, if
some Mujtahids consider an act to be haraam, while others
say that it is not, he should not perform that act.
Similarly, if some Mujtahid consider an act to be obligatory
(Wajib) while others consider it to be recommended (Mustahab),
he should perform it. Therefore, it is obligatory upon those
persons who are neither Mujta hids, nor able to act on
precautionary measures (Ihtiyat), to follow a Mujtahid.
Mujtahid is a jurist competent enough to deduce precise
inferences regarding the commandments from the holy Qur'an
and the Sunnah of the holy Prophet by the process of Ijtihad.
Ijtihad literally means striving and exerting. Technically
as a term of jurisprudence it signifies the application by a
jurist of all his faculties to the consideration of the
authorities of law with a view to finding out what in all
probability is the law. In other words Ijtihad means making
deductions in matters of law, in the cases to which no
express text is applicable. (See, Baqir Sadr, A Short
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