Definition of Taqlid

Literal: Taqlid is the verbal noun derived from the Arabic root q-l-d, which means to place, gird, or adorn with a necklace.

Technical: The acceptance of another's statement without demanding proof or evidence, on the belief that the statement is being made in accordance with fact and proof.

Taqlid in General

The faculty of taqlid is inherently existent in us. If we had refrained from the taqlid of our parents and teachers, then today we would be deprived of even the basic and preliminary needs of humanity. By nature, man is endowed with the ability to imitate and follow others. If this was not the case, we would not have been able to learn our mother tongue. If we had refused to accept unquestioningly (without demanding proof) every command, beck, and call of our teachers, we would have been ignorant of even the alphabet of the languages we speak, let alone the study and writing of books in those languages. Our whole life - every facet of it; eating, drinking, wearing garments, walking, earning, and so forth-is connected with this very concept of taqlid. Our intellectual and cultural development is the result of taqlid of our parents, teachers, and others.

If the technical terminology of every branch of knowledge were not acquired on the basis of taqlid (i.e. without questioning the authority of that terminology), then proficiency in such knowledge could not have been attained. If the meanings of words and their idiomatic usages were not acquired through taqlid of linguists and the norms of our linguistic discourses, we would not become conversant in any language.

Sometimes man learns the harmful effect of poison as well as the remedial effects of medicines by virtue of taqlid. In war, if an army does not accept unquestioningly every order ofits commander, victory may not be attained. If the various agencies of government do not obey the laws promulgated by the law makers, then law and order cannot be maintained in the land. In short, the progress and perfection of our physical, spiritual, intellectual, academic, moral and social life is firmly rooted in taqlid - to accept and obey professional authority.