Reddit mentions of Lessons in Islamic Jurisprudence

Wasalaam,


Sorry to misinterpreting your original comments. If you don't mind, I'd like to offer my view. With regards to fiqh (jurisprudence), it too, is a science that is based upon tools and primary sources. The subject, referred to as Usul al-Fiqh, is very methodical - you can research more about how the marajah come up with their rulings by reading Lessons in Islamic Jurisprudence by the late Muhammad Baqir Sadr. As I'm sure you know, these scholars study for decades - up to 60 or 70 years depending on their ages. It is precisely due to the fact that it is a systematic, scientific process that 90% of the rulings of the marajah are the same.


In the end, it is our responsibility to try to determine the most knowledgeable to the best of our ability. The high-level students studying in Islamic seminaries are the most qualified to determine the differences as well as the degree of the logic, continuity, and argumentation put forward by the scholars. These scholars not only publish their rulings in their Tauzeeh al-Masail, but they publish, at length, the reasoning behind their rulings. These books can be volumes and volumes long. Unfortunately, very few, if any have been published in English.


I assure you, the Ahle-Khibra are not so superficial to rely on things like charisma or memory. In fact, there are Ahle-Khibra who work in say, Marja X's but who follow Marja Y. There are also Ahle-Khibra who have never met some of the Marajah candidates but still consider them A'laam. How? To determine their level of knowledge, they read their detailed published works and analyze their reasoning. For example, people use Sistani's masterpiece Minhaaj al-Saliheen and compare it to similar books published by other marajah.


Like you said, we should use our 'aql. The jahil way would be to follow a marja based on our very limited knowledge. We haven't studied sufficiently the topics of logic (mantiq), ilm ul-hadith, ilm-ul rajal, sarf, nawh, tafseer, etc. I, myself, have absolutely no qualifications to judge between whether or not, say, I can pray with cat hair on my clothing or not. Someone would have to put away the rule book, refer to the volomnious Usul books, and take a look at the logic behind the argument. Which hadith is used? Why did they use that hadith? Is the hadith sahih? Muawathaq? Dhaeef? Mutawattir? How did they balance it against other hadith? How did they interpret the hadith? Personally, I know I'm not nearly knowledgeable to get into this. This is why I'm going to ask the experts. I'm not going to ask my parents who they think the most knowlegeable is.

This is why we use the Ahle-Khibra since they're the qualified and least bias to make this determination. The most safe way, is to become a mujtahid oneself and to follow oneself, but this isn't practical for most of us.