[Second: Imitation of Scholars]

Another common form of imitation is following the statement and action of scholars; because most Muslims consider the statement and action of scholars to be equivalent to Sharia and do not recognize any distinction between the two. However, Sharia is certainly not the statement and action of scholars, but rather the statement and action of Allah Almighty, which are not linked to the statement and action of scholars, and their compatibility with each other is not intrinsic; just as the incompatibility of many of the statements and actions of scholars with Sharia is evident, to the extent that Allah Almighty has said about them: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِنَ الْأَحْبَارِ وَالرُّهْبَانِ لَيَأْكُلُونَ أَمْوَالَ النَّاسِ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَيَصُدُّونَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ﴾[1]; “O you who believed! Many of the scholars and monks surely devour the belongings of people unjustly and turn (them) away from the way of Allah.” Moreover, their disagreements with each other in their statements and actions are blatant and numerous, whereas the truth is certainly a single statement or action and does not have the capacity for multiplicity or plurality. Therefore, following them is, on the one hand, contradictory and meaningless, and on the other hand, leads to discord among Muslims, just as it has already done; because the discord among Muslims regarding their beliefs and deeds is, more than anything else, a result of their following various scholars; considering that they follow scholars such as al-Ash‘ari (d. 324 AH) and ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) in their beliefs and scholars such as Abu Hanifa (d. 150 AH), Malik (d. 179 AH), al-Shafi‘i (d. 204 AH), and ibn Hanbal (d. 241 AH) in their deeds, while following them is based on their followers’ conjecture about the conformity of their statements and actions with Sharia, which is certainly not sufficient for following them; because knowledge of the conformity of something with Sharia is essential for believing in or practicing it, and conjecture cannot be the basis of a Muslim’s belief and deed; as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿وَمَا لَهُمْ بِهِ مِنْ عِلْمٍ ۖ إِنْ يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا الظَّنَّ ۖ وَإِنَّ الظَّنَّ لَا يُغْنِي مِنَ الْحَقِّ شَيْئًا﴾[2]; “They have no knowledge of it. They follow nothing but conjecture, while conjecture is not sufficient for (proving) the truth.”