"Taqlīd"的定义，无论从语言上还是从法律上看，都表明：凡在某事上跟随他人者，即为穆盖里德（muqallid，追随者），因此该议题的主题是"跟随他人"。因此，就对伊斯兰教法（Sharī'ah）规定的知识而言，人分为两类：第一类是穆贾台希德（mujtahid，独立求法者），第二类是穆盖里德（muqallid，追随者），没有第三类。因为人的实际情况是：他要么采纳自己通过伊贾提哈德（Ijtihād）所得出的结论，要么采纳他人通过伊贾提哈德所得出的结论。问题仅限于这两种情况。因此，凡不是穆贾台希德的人，无论属于哪一类，都是穆盖里德。 Taqlīd的问题在于：无论采纳者是否为穆贾台希德，只要是从他人那里采纳教法规定，即构成Taqlīd。穆贾台希德在某一个问题上效仿其他穆贾台希德，是被允许的，即使他自己本有能力进行伊贾提哈德，那么在这个问题上他也被视为穆盖里德。因此，就某一条教法规定而言，效仿者（穆盖里德）可能是穆贾台希德，也可能不是。同一个人可以同时既是穆贾台希德，又是穆盖里德。 至于穆贾台希德，当他在某一问题上完全具备了进行伊贾提哈德的能力，并且进行了伊贾提哈德，其伊贾提哈德的结果导向了某项教法规定，那么他不得效仿其他穆贾台希德而采取与自己伊贾提哈德结论相反的观点。除非有以下四种情况，否则他不得放弃自己在此问题上的见解。

The definition of Taqlīd, linguistically and legally, indicates that anyone who follows others in a matter will be a muqallid, so the subject matter is ‘following others’. Therefore, there are two types of people with respect to the knowledge of the Sharī’ah rules: The first is the mujtahid and the second is the muqallid and there is no third. Since, the reality of the man is that he either adopts what he has arrived at himself by his Ijtihād or what someone else has arrived at by Ijtihād. The issue is limited to these two cases. Therefore, anyone who is not a mujtahid is a muqallid of whatever category. The issue in Taqlīd is the adoption of the rule from others irrespective of whether the one who adopted is a mujtahid or not a mujtahid. It is allowed for the mujtahid to imitate other Mujtahiddin in a single matter even if he himself was qualified to do Ijtihād. Then, he will be considered a muqallid in this issue. Thus, in a single hukm the imitator (muqallid) may or may not be a mujtahid. The same person may be a mujtahid and he may be a muqallid at the same time.The mujtahid when he comes to obtain a complete competence for Ijtihād in one of the issues, if he performs Ijtihād on it and his Ijtihād leads him to the hukm, he is not allowed to imitate other mujtahiddin in a matter contrary to what his Ijtihād has led him to. It is not allowed for him to leave his opinion in this matter except in four cases: