Foreward
There is no dearth of books on the subject of taqleed and ijtihad, and I had no idea that I would be writing anything on it. However, certain reasons compelled me to write down this treatise.
When, in 1963, the editor of ‘Faran’, Mahir ul-Qadri, suggested that I should contribute an article on taqleed, I was disinclined to engage in debate on the question, as, indeed, my respected father, Maulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi, always kept himself away from it. However, I acceded to his request in the hope that I might explain the issue and invite the warring parties to think coolly and cease to argue.