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Taqlid of the Mujtahid Imams: Shaykh Kiranawi’s reply to Ibn al Qayyim The following work is an English translation of a treatise known as al-Din al-Qayyim by Shaykh Habib Ahmad al-Kiranawi of India, it was originally written in Arabic as a riposte to Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (d. 751 AH) of Damascus, on the latter’s treatment and claims on the issue of Taqlid. Thus, it is esentially a scholarly defence of the need and permissibility of following qualified scholarship (Taqlid) of the highest ranking Imams known as Mujtahids, like Abu Hanifa (d. 150 AH), Malik ibn Anas (d. 179 AH), al-Shafi’i (d. 204 AH) and Ibn Hanbal (d. 241 AH). These Imams are the founders of the four most accepted schools of Islamic jurisprudence (Madhhabs) in Sunni Islam for more than 1200 years. Their schools represent the real understanding of the teachings of the earliest Muslims, meaning, the Way of the Sahaba, and what they received from the Companionship of Allah’s Messenger, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. Till this day, most Muslim scholars and laiety on the surface of the earth are adherents of one of these four recognised Madhhabs. It is only a small minority who have distanced themselves from Taqlid via the centuries as the books of Islamic scholarship and history attest to for more than a millenium. The English edition was translated from Arabic by Shaykh Zameelur Rahman from England, and with his permission it has been uploaded here for the benefit of all readers who wish to understand the issue of Taqlid, and why it is necessary for most Muslims to practice Islam in their lives with the conviction that it is based on not only the sources of the Sharia, but explained and detailed accurately by premier authorities known as Mujtahid Imams. Download link darultahqiq