Taqlid

Taqlid is accepting a qualified scholar's answer and acting on it without examining the evidence behind it yourself.

What it means for me: The word can sound like an insult, but among scholars it names an ordinary state, not a fault. Their criticism of taqlid targets someone able to examine evidence who chooses not to. It is not aimed at an ordinary person, whose duty is only to ask. You already do this with your doctor's prescription, and no one calls that a weakness.

Example: A man asks a scholar he trusts, gets an answer, and acts on it without asking for the underlying evidence. That is taqlid in the scholars' own sense of the word. It is exactly what someone unable to examine the sources is expected to do. Read Do I have to follow a madhhab?.

Do not confuse with: Ijtihad. Taqlid accepts a conclusion on trust; ijtihad reaches a conclusion by examining the evidence directly.

If scholars differ: Scholars differ on whether a person should commit permanently to one madhhab. Some hold that consistency is best; others allow moving between schools for a good reason. The difference is named here as a difference and not decided; the mufti is the reference.