Campusalam

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Throughout Islamic history, Muslim scholars have played a vital role in Muslim affairs on all levels including the political, social, economic and religious fronts. At times, scholars have been involved in revolutions and at other times, they have been the foremost opponents of social tensions and unrest, sometimes even in light of intense social injustice.

There are disagreements on legal authority in Islam. Some argue that religious texts cannot be understood without a scholar; and the layperson should accept the ruling derived by the scholar. Many further expect people to accept the legal ruling of one school or madhhab. The practice of following the ijtihad of a scholar and refraining from following one’s own independent opinion is called taqlid. On the other hand, others have rejected the practice of taqlid. Amongst Sunni scholars, these would include Ibn Taymiyyah.

In the Shi'a tradition, two schools arose with differing attitudes to legal authority and how the believer relates to it.

1. The Akhbari school emphasised the literal understanding of the Qur'an and the Hadith, and limited the use of reason, interpretation and ijtihad. The role of the scholar was not to develop new thinking and legal interpretations, but to master and review the sources and traditions. Legal authority was derived from the Shi'a imams; so the role of hadith was emphasised over the role of fatawa by contemporary scholars.

2. In contrast, the Usuli school emphasised the role of reason, interpretation and ijtihad by those who are qualified. Those not qualified to exercise ijtihad themselves were encouraged to follow the example of an eminent scholar or marja al-taqlid. Thus following a particular scholar for legal rulings and practice takes on a greater importance for Usuli Shi'a.