because, on the one hand, a scholar in Islam is one who fears Allah; as He has said: ﴿إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ﴾[1]; “Among His servants, only scholars fear Allah,” and thus those of His servants who do not fear Him are not considered scholars. On the other hand, most of them imitate the scholars before them and issue fatwas within the framework of their sects, while an imitator is certainly not considered a scholar, and this is undisputed.

[The Impossibility of Imitating scholars Based on Imitating Them]

Nevertheless, many Muslims, especially in countries such as Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon, consider it obligatory for every Muslim to choose a marja‘ from among them for imitation, and they believe that action without this is invalid and unacceptable, while the argument of most of them for this belief is the fatwa of their scholars on the matter, and this means they are imitating based on imitation, which is a false and meaningless cycle; because certainly, imitation is contrary to the natural principle and, accordingly, is not free from the need for evidence, and its evidence cannot be based on itself. Therefore, there is no choice but to practice ijtihad in imitation, whereas they are typically imitators in their imitation; because they do not recognize any evidence for it from Sharia or the intellect, except for an illusion created for some of them: that imitating scholars is by way of intellectuals consulting an expert. However, this illusion is far from reality; because, in the view of intellectuals, an expert varies depending on the subject for which they consult him. In their view, an expert in religion is one whose consultation leads to certainty, such as the Messenger of Allah , not one whose consultation only leads to conjecture, such as a mujtahid; considering that in religious affairs—unlike in customary and worldly affairs—certainty is the subject and is essential, whereas consulting any other than Allah or one who speaks on His behalf does not naturally lead to certainty and, therefore, is not rational.