What is "taqlid"

alt. (context Islam English) Conformity to traditional legal decisions in Shari'a jurisprudence. n. (context Islam English) Conformity to traditional legal decisions in Shari'a jurisprudence.

Taqlid or taqleed ( Arabic تَقْليد taqlīd) is an Arabic term in Islamic legal terminology. It literally means "to follow". In Islamic legal terminology it means to follow a mujtahid (as an Islamic scholar who is competent in interpreting sharia) in religious laws and commandment as he has derived them, that is, following the decisions of a religious expert without necessarily examining the scriptural basis or reasoning of that decision, such as accepting and following the verdict of scholars of jurisprudence ( fiqh) without demanding an explanation of the processes by which they arrive at it, hence adherence to one of the classical schools ( madhhab) of jurisprudence.

Taqlid may be contrasted with independent interpretation of legal sources by intellectual effort ( ijtihad).