Therefore, giving power to such a person without restriction and supervision is to throw oneself into destruction, which is considered self-oppression and is not permissible; as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿وَلَا تُلْقُوا بِأَيْدِيكُمْ إِلَى التَّهْلُكَةِ﴾[1]; “And do not throw yourselves into destruction with your own hands,” and He has said: ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَظْلِمُ النَّاسَ شَيْئًا وَلَكِنَّ النَّاسَ أَنْفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ﴾[2]; “Undoubtedly, Allah does not oppress people, but people oppress themselves.” Based on this, Allah has not made obedience to such a person obligatory for people, but it is people who have made obedience to such a person obligatory for themselves; because Allah does not oppress them at all, and it is they who oppress themselves. Such an action is not only considered oppression but is also a clear instance of foolishness, which is unlikely from intellectuals in general, let alone from their Lord!

From here, it is understood that imitating scholars is not adequate in any way, and ijtihad is obligatory for all Muslims. This is, of course, provided that the intended meaning of ijtihad is a certain understanding of the beliefs and rulings of Islam; because if its intended meaning is a conjectural understanding of them, even if based on ahad reports and suppositions such as consensus, it does not differ much from imitation and, accordingly, is not adequate; because the reason for the inadequacy of imitation is the inadequacy of relying on uncertainties in religious beliefs and rulings, and this reason is common to both imitation and ijtihad based on uncertainties. Therefore, ijtihad based on uncertainties is not adequate, even if it is better than imitation. Rather, anything that is necessary for a certain understanding of religious beliefs and rulings is obligatory for all Muslims.

[Third: Imitation of the Majority]

Another common form of imitation is to follow the statement and action of the majority of people; because many Muslims believe that the statement and action of the majority of people are more correct than the statement and action of the minority of them and follow them as a model. However, it is certain that the correctness of a statement or action does not depend on the number of its followers, but rather on its conformity to the intellect, which is considered the criterion for knowing.