Taqleed of Fiqh Imams, Necessary?

Following one of the Imams of the Muslim schools of law (Taqleed) is not prohibited. You can follow any one of these schools as they are only transmitters of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) Sunnah. A person who does not follow a Muslim school of law is not Kafir. If he/she thinks that he/she can do all kinds of worship by sticking firmly to the Qur’an and Sunnah, then there would be no problem.

the eminent Muslim scholar and renowned Da`iyah, Sheikh `Abdel Khaliq Hasan Ash-Shareef, states: “Following an Imam of the schools of law ( Taqleed) is not disapproved in Islam. You should know that this Taqleed in not in the basic pillars of faith such as monotheism, but this Taqleed is only in other areas of the religions. If you know an imam to be just, trustworthy, and righteous, then there would be no reason not to follow him. A Muslim can live without Taqlled and the one who does not do taqleed is not Kafir.

We are not obliged to follow the four imams, but you can follow any scholar who has the qualities mentioned above or you can depend mainly on the Qur’an and Sumah if you are qualified scholar and have the ability to know all rulings that came with the two sources of legislation. ”