Performing Taqlid of a Female Mujtahid (2)

Performing taqlid (the unquestioning acceptance of legal decisions without knowing the basis of those decisions) of a female mujtahid is an issue of growing attention in the academic world. Utilizing the analytical-critical method, this article examines the Shari'a ruling on making taqlid of women and the authority of their fatwas. The results of this study show that none of the evidences proposed against the issue, including the argument of the madhāq-i shari‘at (religious law taste or perceptive aptitude), is sufficient to refute the authority of a woman's fatwa. On the other hand, the arguments concerning the legitimacy of taqlid do not include women's fatwas. As a result, the fatwa of a female mujtahid is not authoritative but for herself