Whoever claimed Islam is present by following alone is not only part of a deviant sect, but they open the doors of doubts and kufr for themselves and others. Pride and ta'assub [unlawful clinging] to deviant a'qeedah are some of the main things that prevent people from becoming Muslim, so how an earth can someone reach a conclusion that such blind allegiance is also the method to enter the deen?

The Following ayaat prove that there is no taqleed in a'qeedah. This is because Allah condemned the kuffar for making 'following' the basis of their belief. Allah (swt) says:-* "And when it is said to them: ‘Follow that which Allah has sent down’ they say ‘Nay, we shall follow that which we found our fathers (following).’ Even if Shaytaan invites them to the torment of the Fire” (Luqmaan 31:21) So this ayah shows that the nature of kufr belief is that it involves following something which does not deserve to be followed. This means the individual, must analyse the subject and its proofs. Many people today influenced by false ‘traditionalists’ propagate their pride in taqleed but they clearly don't understand the rules of taqleed. We are not allowed to follow a mujtahid in everything. Some matters we are prohibited from following in, however knowledgeable the one being followed is.* "Come now to what Allah has sent down, and the Messenger," they say,"Enough for us is what we found our fathers doing". What, even if their fathers had knowledge of naught and were not rightly-guided?” (al Maai'dah 5:104) Again the cause of the ignorance and disbelief of the kuffaar is that they are blindly following something from other people without looking to the proof. This is proven by the text "...even if their fathers had knowledge of naught and were not rightly-guided..." This means the individual who is desiring valid belief must have personal conviction in the roots of the deen based upon evidence. There can be no tasdeeq [firm belief] when one does not know what they are affirming.* “When it is said to them: ‘Follow what Allah has sent down’ They say ‘Nay, we shall follow what we found our fathers following’ Even though their fathers did not use their intellects in anything nor were they guided.” (al Baqarah 2:170) This ayah mentions that the disbelievers were wrong because they followed that which carried no rational proof. Therefore, the believer reaches his belief with conviction in the heart transmitted by the a'ql agreeing with sound evidence. The a'qeedah is actually consisting of al a'qeedatul a'qleeyah [the rationally proven basis of belief] and 'al a'qeedatun Naqleeyah' [the beliefs based upon text], the second can not be reached by the mind but only through textual evidence from Quran and Sunnah, e.g. The Names of Allah, The Description of Hell and Paradise, the existence of Angels. As for the rationally proven belief, then that is consisting of the proofs for existence of the Creator, the authenticity of the Quran and its inimitability and the rational need for messengers.* “And follow not that of which you have no knowledge. Verily, the hearing and the sight and the heart, of each of those you will be questioned.” (al Israa’ 17:36) This ayah prohibits following something where you have knowledge of the truth of its opposite. The eyes and ears receive the evidence and the heart understands it, thus all of those faculties will be accounted on Yawmil Qiyaamah, a person who rejects evidence that has reached him, will be in trouble.* "And when Ibraheem said to his father and his tribe 'What are these idols you are addicted to? 'They said 'We said, 'We found our fathers worshipping them'" (al Anbiyaa 21:52-53) Again we see that blind following in belief lead to shirk.* Adi bin Haatim said that he heard Nabi (saw) recite the verse "They took their rabbis and their priests to be lords besides Allah and the messiah Ibn Maryam, while they were commanded to worship none but one ilaah, laa ilaha illa huwa. Praise and Glory be to Him from having the partners they associate." (at Tawbah 9:31) So I said to him (saw) 'Verily, we did not worship them' to which he (saw) replied, "Did they not make haraam what Allah made halaal, so you then made it haraam. And did they not make halaal what Allah made haraam and you therefore made it halaal?" I said 'Yes' He (saw) said, "That is worshipping them." (AHMAD, TIRMIDHI) So following of scholars against clear evidence is shirk in knowledge and was the mistake of those before us. Note the ayah described these people as mushrikeen and the hadeeth described this type of following as worship of people.There is No excuse for following dalaalah, that is to oppose the matters of a'qeedah or things known by necessity and established by clear evidence on the basis of 'following', the following ahdeeth prove that:- * Hudhayfah ibn al Yaman said ‘The people used to ask rasool Allah (saw) about the good, but I used to ask him about the evil for fear that it might overtake me, so I said, ‘O Rasool Allah, we used to be in ignorance (jaahileeyah) and evil (shari) then Allah brought this good to us. So is there any evil after this good? He (saw) said “Yes” I said ‘And is there any good after that evil?’ He (saw) said “Yes, but it will be tainted (literally ‘smoke’)” I asked ‘What will that smoke be?’ He (saw) said “A people guiding others with other than my guidance, you will approve of some (of their deeds) and disapprove of others.” I asked ‘Then is there any evil after that good?’ He (saw) said “Yes, callers at the gates of Hellfire, whoever responds to their call will be thrown into it.” I said ‘O rasool Allah describe them to us.’ He (saw) said “They will be from our own people and speak our language.” What do you order me to do if I should see that?’ He (saw) said “Cling (talzamu) to the jama’atul Muslimeen and their Imaam.” I said ‘And if there is no Jama’ah and no Imaam?’ He (saw) said “Then keep away from all those sects even if you have to bite upon the root of a tree until death overtakes you in that condition.” (BUKHAARI English version vol.4 [no.803] and vol.9 [no.206], MUSLIM [4553]) The proof here is the part "...whoever responds to their call will be thrown into it..." The punishment will not be suspended because of the fact that these deviant calls were in the name of Islam. Today there are many leaders, scholars, sects, groups and prganisations that call to the Fire in the name of Islam…..The common excuse of their followers is ‘We follow the scholars’* Abu Hurayrah reported that Nabi (saw) said “He who called to guidance (hudaa), there would be rewards for him like the rewards of those who followed it, without their rewards being diminished in any respect. And he who called misguidance (dalaalah) he shall have to carry the sins of those who committed it, without their sins being diminished in any respect.” (MUSLIM [6470]) The proof here is that the burden of sin is not reduced for those following dalaalah, i.e. they can not say 'But we were following shaykh so and so who studied under so and so' Rather, such an excuse is only valid in matters that are open to ijtihaad in the first place.As for the Islamic belief it must be based upon individual affirmation of something known. You are not a Muslim because your parents are or because your shaykh told you....rather, you are only a Muslim if you have knowledge of the foundations of belief and affirm it with certainty. Certainty of belief [yaqeenul i'maan] is a requirement for every muslim, if his belief is only based upon taqleed, then he is not a Muslim. Islam is distinguished from false religion because it is based upon proof [burhaan], authoratative evidence [sultaan], clear proofs [bayyinaat] and that results in certainty. Taqleed only leads to zann [conjecture] and shakk [doubt] and the Quran invalidated the belief who took that as their foundation. This why taqleed only applies in matters of fiqh, i.e. matters open to ijtihaad, because ijtihaad is by its nature fallible and based on uncertain evidence, the result of every ijtihaad is dominance over doubt[ghalibatu-zann], i.e. probability but not certainty.Some quotes of u'lemaa concerning prohibited taqleed, note that most of these quotes do not even mention a'qeedah but concern rules known by necessity, as they are also not a matter of taqleed.:-* Imaam Maalik [d.179 h] said "Everyone after the prophet (saw) will have his sayings accepted and rejected, not so the prophet (saw)" (IBN A'BDUL BARR 'Jaami' Bayaan al I'lm' [2/91]) and "Truly, I am only a mortal, I make mistakes and I am correct (sometimes). Therefore LOOK INTO MY OPINIONS, all THAT AGREES WITH THE BOOK AND THE SUNNAH, ACCEPT IT, AND ALL THAT DOES NOT AGREE WITH THE BOOK AND THE SUNNAH, IGNORE IT." (IBN A'BDUL BARR 'Jaami' Bayaan al I'lm' [2/32])* Imaam Abu Haneefah [d.150 h] said "When I say something contradicting the Book of Allah ta'ala or what is narrated from the messenger (saw) then ignore my saying" (AL FULAANI 'Iqaz al Himam' [p.50]) and "It is not permitted for anyone to accept our views if he does not know from where we got them" (IBN A'BIDEEN in his footnotes to 'al Bahr ar Raa'iq' [6/293] IBN A'BDUL BARR 'al Intiqaa' fi Fadaa'il ath Thalaatha al Aa'immah al Fuqahaa' [p.145] IBN AL QAYYIM 'al I'laam al Muwaqqi'een [2/309]) * Imaam ash Shafi'i [d.204 h] said "Legal knowedge is of two types. ONE IS FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC, AND NO SOBER OR MATURE PERSON SHOULD BE IGNORANT OF IT...for example, that the prayers are five, that people owe it to Allah to fast the month of Ramadaan, to make hajj to the House whenever they are able,, and to pay zakah on their wealth, that He (swt) has prohibited usury, zina, murder, theft, khamr, and of that sort which He (swt) has obligated men to comprehend, to perform, to pay in their property and to abstain from that which He (swt) has forbidden them. This type of knowledge MAY BE FOUND TEXTUALLY IN THE BOOK OF ALLAH OR MAY BE FOUND GENERALLY AMONG THE PEOPLE OF ISLAM. The masses relate it from the preceeding masses [public] and ASCRIBE IT TO RASOOL ALLAH (SAW), nobody ever questions its ascription or its binding force upon them. It is the kind of knowledge which admits of error neither neither in its narration nor its interpretation, it is not permissible to question it." ('Risaalah') also Imaam ash Shafi'i said "The Muslims are unanimously agreed that if a sunnah of Rasool Allah (saw) is made clear to someone, IT IS NOT PERMITTED FOR HIM TO LEAVE IT FOR THE SAYING OF ANYONE ELSE" (IBN AL QAYYIM 'I'laam al Muwaqi'een' [2/361]) and "If you find in my writings SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO THE SUNNAH OF RASOOL ALLAH (SAW), THEN SPEAK ON THE BASIS OF THE SUNNAH OF RASOOL ALLAH (SAW) AND LEAVE WHAT I HAVE SAID" (IBN A'SAAKEER [15/9/10] KHATEEB 'al Ihtijaaj bi ash-Shafi'i' [8/2] IBN AL QAYYIM 'I'laam al Muwaqi'een' [2/361] NAWAWI 'al Majmoo' [1/63]) and in another narration "...Then follow it and do not look sideways at anyone else's saying" (ABU NU'AYM 'al Hilyatul Awliyaa')* Ibn al Qayyim [d.751 h] said "There is an obligatory (wajib) taqleed, A FORBIDDEN TAQLEED, and a permitted taqleed... The obligatory taqlid is the taqlid of those who know better than us, AS WHEN A PERSON HAS NOT OBTAINED KNOWLEDGE OF AN EVIDENCE FROM THE QURAN OR THE SUNNAH CONCERNING SOMETHING..." ('A`lam al-muwaqqi`een `an rabb al-`alameen [2:186-187]) and Ibn al Qayyim said "A scholar may err. This is inevitable as he is not protected from error. It is therefore NOT PERMISSIBLE TO ACCEPT EVERYTHING THAT HE SAYS AND RAISE HIS STATEMENTS TO THE STATUS OF ONE WHO IS PROTECTED FROM ERROR. THIS IS WHAT EVERY SCHOLAR ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH CENSURES. THEY FORBID IT AND THEY CENSURE THOSE WHO PRACTISE IT..." ('A`lam al-muwaqqi`een `an rabb al-`alameen [2:192])* Imaam [Haafiz] Ibn A'bdul Barr [d.463 h], the classical maaliki a'lim and muhaddith said "The ulama are in agreement that it is permissible, for whoever looks into the differing opinions of the Prophet's Companions, to follow the position of whomever he likes among them. The same holds for whoever looks into the positions of the Imams other than the Companions, as long AS LONG AS HE DOES NOT KNOW THAT HE HAS ERRED BY CONTRADICTING THE TEXT OF THE QURA'N OR THE IJMA OF THE U'LEMAA, IN WHICH CASE HE CANNOT FOLLOW THE ABOVE POSITION." (Jaami'Bayaan al I'lm)* Shaykh Abdul Ghani an Nablusi said "The issues which are agreed upon, without any doubt and by necessity, DO NOT REQUIRE ANY TAQLEED of the four Imaams, like the obligation of salah, fasting, zakah and hajj etc and like the prohibition of adultery and fornication, drinking wine, murder, stealing and usurping. The issues which are debated are when taqleed becomes necessary" ('Khulasatul Tahqeeq fi Hukm at-Taqleed wat-Talfeeq' [p.4])* Imaam Khateeb al Baghdadi [d.463 h] said "As far as the Islamic rules are concerned, their are two types. The first are those which are known by necessity to be part of the deen of the Prophet (saw) like the five prayers, zakah, fasting in Ramadaan, hajj, the prohibition of adultery, wine etc. TAQLEED IS NOT ALLOWED IN THESE ISSUES since they are such that everyone should know and understand..." ('al Faqeeh wal Muttafaqqihah' [vol.2 p.67])* Ibn Taymeeyah [d.728 h]says "It is a duty on people to follow Allah and his messenger. These people of authority [oolil amr] the following of whom has been decreed by Allah, are to be followed SUBJECT TO THEIR FOLLOWING ALLAH AND HIS MESSENGER AND NOT AS INDEPENDENT SOURCES OF GUIDANCE." (Majmu' al Fataawa [vol.2 p.461])

* Imaam Ibn Hazm [d.456 h] said "We do not not object to people asking religious verdicts from scholars. What we object to is their taking the statement without any proof to support it, without referring it to any text of the Quran or Sunnah, because this will necessarily lead to the following of mistakes. If during the time of the messenger (saw) there were some who gave incorrect verdicts, after his death, they are more in number and more widespread. Therefore, IT IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST, THAT ONE BE VERY CAUTIOUS CONCERNING GETTING RULINGS FROM ANY SCHOLAR WHO DOES NOT STRENGTHEN HIS RULING BY BASING IT ON THE QURAN, SUNNAH OR IJMA'" ('al Ihkaam fi Usoolul Ahkaam' [vol.6 p.1076])