Do I have to do taqleed of Scholars? What about taqleed of an Imam?
A: Taqleed of scholars who deduce Islamic Laws based on personal opinion/observation and comparison is Forbidden/Haram.
Scholars who gather, explains, and presents hadiths from the masoomeen that correspond with the Quran in regards to a subject based on research, and do not deduce islamic Law thru personal opinions and comparison is using the proper and safe guideline, thus is a reliable source for inquiry
You can use this Audio file as a guide line: Discerning The Right Path
In regards to an infallible living Imam of our time, once the Imamat of the Imam is proven to us not only we have to do taqleed,we are obligated to fully obey (Eta-at اطاعه) him ONLY, which is beyond taqleed.
Hadiths from Al- Kafi Regarding Taqleed and Discerning how to choose proper Islamic Law:
H 153, Ch. 18, h 1
"I asked Imam Sadiq (a.s.) about the verse of the holy Quran that says, ‘They (unconditionally) obeyed the rabbis and the monks and worshipped the Messiah, son of Mary, as they should have obeyed God.(9:31)’. The Imam replied, "By Allah they did not call people to worship them. If they had done so people would not have accepted it. The Rabbis and monks made unlawful things lawful for them and the lawful things as lawful. And in this way they worshipped them unintentionally."
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