Why do we need scholars?

Fiqh, i. e. Islamic Jurisprudence is a matter of much significance.  Every Muslim has needed it from the first day itself.  The decadence in Beliefs (Aqaaid) and issues (Masaail) in the present time has only increased its importance.

 

 

 

Human beings are forever in need of guidance for all their actions.  This is also beyond their ability to frame laws for themselves and obey them.  Due to the inherent differences and shortcomings of the human mind, human beings cannot frame any law which is flawless in all respects.  Inevitably, they have to turn to the Lord Almighty for guidance.

For this reason, Allah Ta’ala has guided us through His revelation (wahi).  The to-be-recited revelation (Wahi Matlu) and the not-to-be-recited revelation (Wahi Ghair Matlu) i. e.  the Hoy Quran and the Prophetic Hadith are the only 2 sources of Islamic Law.  Allah Ta’ala has declared the fulfillment of this religion (din), Surah Maida -03.

Now there will be no revelation, but this is clear that the verses of the Holy Quran and the words of the Hadith are limited, where as the problems of the humankind, which are refashioned by the passing of time, are unlimited.  For this reason, the extraction of rules of the contemporary issues by contemplating over the sources of Islamic law is highly necessary.  In the Science of Jurisprudence (Fiqh), these very issues of human life are dealt with.  The verses of the Holy Quran and the Hadith that deal with these issues are 500 and 3000 respectively.

Obviously, new rules have to be formulated by contemplating over these verses and Hadith.  In these, at some places they (the rules) have been mentioned concisely, at some places, they are hidden, at some places, they have been mentioned in abbreviated form and at some places they are ambiguous.  To contemplate over them and formulate rules, which include personal, economic, political, domestic rules, and to guide the community and the Ummah, is beyond the ability of even an accomplished scholar, let alone a common man.


Mere mastery of language does not qualify one to understand the finer points of the law and neither can every litterateur be a legislator as well.  When this is not possible in the laws made by men, but is considered a joke that only mastery over a language qualifies one to be a legislator, then comprehension of Divine Laws demands much more from us.  For this reason, those revered personalities who spent their entire lives in the deduction and extraction of laws, who remained the leaders of the community because of their knowledge and piety, their deductions are more authoritative than ours.  This is so obvious that no explanation is needed for this.  Every person turns to his/her superior in need and trusts the superior’s judgment and the same happens in Taqleed, in which because of the inherent harm of following one’s own judgment, one turns towards the Mujtahid (lit.  the extractor of laws), in whom one sees the ability of extraction of laws.  In a way, Taqleed is the nature of man and man cannot run away from Taqleed.  For this reason, the whole Islamic world since the earliest ages, have considered any of the 4 Imams as their leader.