The obligation of taqlid - The harms of abandoning it with special regards to making taqlid of an individual

Today the general trend of thought circulating amongst the masses is that success lies exclusively in the advancements of society. However this notion cannot be applied across the board. It may be applicable in our worldly affairs but in regards to religion which is the basis of a Muslims code of life this concept is nothing but a false impression. The blueprint of our success has been mapped out by the contemporaries of Nab? (saw) and those who followed suite in their approach and methodology. There will definitely be new challenges in religion which must be dealt with. However when confronting these obstacles we cannot forget the principles laid out by such great contemporaries.Taql?d which might be a new ideology to some of us has in reality been around from the fourth year of Isl?m. When the jurists began to witness the degeneration of the Muslim populous for the protection of this religion from the mass’ nafs (base desires) they declared taql?d incumbent. In this era where following ones base desires has become the norm and searching for the “easy way out” has become the standard methodology it has become manifest how important taql?d is. This was one of the motivating factors for the author to write on this subject matter. This monograph is actually part of a collection of researched topics by the author. This was originally prepared for the scholars in the field of Isl?mic studies; therefore terms and certain portions were not discussed in detail. Consequently I have to the best of my ability explained them in footnotes where explanation is needed. I have written a few lines introducing all the scholars that the author brings forth in this treatise. Where the author quoted from a text ambiguously I cross-referenced the original text and quoted the content needed for easier understanding. In order for an enhanced understanding of this monograph special attention should be given to the footnotes.