Honestly, I've read Aziboy's and Hammy's posts. There are so many errors it will take another 100 posts of discussion to rattle through all of them.
That is why I've decided choose another route for discussion:
I've posted on the other forum the various usages and connotations of Taqleed as used by the scholars. If you want to quote a scholar, then know what meaning he is intending; other one can become baffled and mix everything all over.
I'll reproduce it here, with a bit of editing:
This post is dedicated for all the connotations of Taqleed that have been used by the classical scholars that I have come across to date.
I thought about gathering them in one place because this is a potentially confusing issue to the beginner, so I thought I would clarify these in one place. I will try to give one example for each.
1. Taqleed i.e. to take the opinion of a qualified person whose statement is not Hujjah per se in the Shariah, but is a Hujjah for the ignorant (just like a real Daleel is Hujjah for a Mujtahid).
This definition is the main connotation and usage in the books of Usool that discuss this issue. One of the best definitions given for this meaning of Taqleed is by Ibn 'l-Humam: العمل بقول من ليس قوله إحدى الحجج بلا حجة.
Thanks to Aziboy for quoting him. By the way, Aziboy, it's Ibn al-Humam, not Ibn Hammam. Please stop doing Batil Taqleed of others. Copying-pasting without comprehension is the most humiliating type of Batil Taqleed one can perpetrate.
This meaning of Taqleed has either one of two states:
a) obligatory - for the one incapable of arriving at his own conclusion
b) prohibited - for the one capable of arriving at his own conclusion, and this is the one where most refutations against Taqleed are directed at, by the likes of al-Jassas, Ibn `Abd ''l-Barr, Ibn Khuwayz Mandad, Ibn 'l-Qayyim, etc. (There are further details on this type of Taqleed discussed in the texts about Mujtahids doing Taqleed of other Mujtahids.)
According to this definition of Taqleed, it would mean there is no such thing as 'Taqleed of the Prophet', because the Prophet per se is Hujjah. Likewise, there is no such thing as Taqleed of Quran or Ijmaa, because both are evidence in their own right.
2. Taqleed i.e. to follow something valid, and this would encompass a scholar as well as the Prophet peace be upon him.
Some Shafi`i Usool texts actually do allow the application of the term Taqleed for the Prophet as well. Al-Zarkashi:
لا خلاف أن قبول قول غير النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم من الصحابة والتابعين يسمى تقليدا. وأما قبول قوله عليه السلام فهل يسمى تقليدا؟ وجهان ينبنيان على الخلاف في حقيقة التقليد ماذا؟ قلت: وذكر الشيخ أبو محمد الجويني في المسألة في أول السلسلة أن الذي نص عليه الشافعي أنه يسمى تقليدا، فإنه قال في حق الصحابي لما ذهب إلى أنه لا يجب الأخذ بقوله ما نصه: فإما أن يقلده فلم يجعل الله ذلك لأحد بعد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم. انتهى
وخطأ الماوردي من قال إنه ليس بتقليد، ولكن قال الروياني في البحر: أطلق الشافعي على جعل القبول من النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم تقليدا ولم يرد حقيقة التقليد، وإنما أراد القبول من السؤال
وفي وقوع اسم التقليد عليه وجهان، قال: والصحيح من المذهب أنه يتناوله هذا الاسم، وفي هذا إشارة إلى رجوع الخلاف إلى اللفظ، وبه صرح إمام الحرمين في التلخيص وقال: هو اختلاف في عبارة يهون موقعها عند ذوي التحقيق
واختار ابن السمعاني أنه لا يسمى تقليدا، بل هو اتباع شخص، لأن الدليل قد قام في أن له حجة، فلا يكون قبول قوله قبول قول في الدين من قائله بلا حجة
Most say though that the first usage of Taqleed is the best, and to say 'Taqleed of the Prophet' is just Majaz (metaphorical, i.e. to simply follow).
3. Taqleed i.e. Ittiba` of a person who from whom the laws originate, and this is reserved for the Prophet peace be upon him.
This usage has been sourced in al-Shafi`is words, who said (via al-Zarkashi): ولا يجوز تقليد أحد سوى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم. Scholars have said this إطلاق is Majaz, as the set terminology is that in #1 above, and the Prophet is not included therein. Why the Prophet peace be upon him has been referred to by al-Shafi`i as one we should do 'Taqleed' of is because he was a human being with knowledge (which explains why the term Taqleed is never used for Quran, or Allah, or Ijma`, or Sunnah, or Hadith, etc.)
4. Taqleed i.e. to follow something that is against the proof.
This meaning has been used by Imam Abu Hanifah's student, Muhammad bin 'l-Hasan, who said (in the context of refuting Imam Abu Hanifah (see below, from al-Mabsut by al-Sarakhsi)
وقد استبعد محمد رحمه الله تعالى قول أبي حنيفة في الكتاب لهذا وسماه تحكما على الناس من غير حجة فقال ما أخذ الناس بقول أبي حنيفة وأصحابه إلا بتركهم التحكم على الناس فإذا كانوا هم الذين يتحكمون على الناس بغير أثر ولا قياس لم يقلدوا هذه الأشياء ولو جاز التقليد كان من مضي من قبل أبي حنيفة مثل الحسن البصري وإبراهيم النخعي رحمهما الله تعالى أحرى أن يقلدوا ولم يحمد على ما قال
Just as a sidenote, al-Sarakshi didn't like the above statement by Imam Muhammad and went on to say regarding him:
وقيل: بسبب ذلك انقطع خاطره فلم يتمكن من تفريغ مسائل الوقف حتى خاض في الصكوك واستكثر أصحابه من بعده من تفريغ مسائل الوقف كالخصاف وهلال رحمهما الله تعالى، ولو كان أبو حنيفة رضي الله تعالى عنه في الأحياء حين قال ما قال لدمر عليه، فإنه كما قال مالك رضي الله تعالى عنه رأيت رجلا لو قال هذه الأسطوانة من ذهب لدل عليه ولكن كل مجرى بالجلاء يسر
What we are interested in here is the usage of the Taqleed - to follow someone when they go against real proof. This condemned Taqleed is only applies to scholars and advanced students, not laymen or quasi-laymen students, because they are aware of the evidences. A layman who has no clue is always excused.
5. Taqleed i.e. not to do any Ijtihad.
Al-Zarkashi quotes some Usoolis on this, who suggest that even laymen have to do a degree of Ijtihad when identifying a scholar, hence they are not doing Taqleed - in other words, Taqleed in this connotation does not even exist in the world, as everyone is doing Ijtihad of some sort their own accord:
أخذ العامي بقول المجتهد، هل يسمى تقليدا أم لا؟ فقيل: ليس بتقليد لأنه لا بد له من نوع اجتهاد، وبه جزم القاضي والغزالي والآمدي وابن الحاجب، وحكاه العبادي في زيادته عن الأستاذ أبي إسحاق، لأنه بذل مجهوده في الأخذ بقول الأعلم. وقال القاضي في مختصر التقريب: الذي نختاره أن ذلك ليس بتقليد أصلا، فإن قول العالم حجة في حق المستفتي، نصبه الرب علما في حق العامي، فأوجب عليه العمل به، كما أوجب على المجتهد العمل باجتهاده، واجتهاده علم عليه. ويتخرج من هذا أنه لا يتصور تقليد مباح في الشريعة، لا في الأصول ولا في الفروع، إذ التقليد على ما عرفه القاضي: اتباع من لم يقم باتباعه حجة ولم يستند إلى علم. قال: ولو ساغ تسمية العامي مقلدا مع أن قول العالم في حقه واجب الاتباع جاز أن يسمى المتمسك بالنصوص وغيرها من الدلائل مقلدا. قال القاضي: ولأنه يستند إلى حجة قطعية وهو الإجماع، فلا يكون تقليدا. وهذا بناء منه على أحد تفسيري التقليد
6. Taqleed i.e. not to follow anything that is evidence for YOU
- For the scholar, evidence is Quran, Sunnah, Ijma, Qiyas, etc.
-For the layman, the sole evidence is the fatwa of Mufti. THIS is the evidence of the lay Muqallid. The books of Usool are quite clear that the fatwa of Mufti for a Muqallid is like what real evidence is for a scholar. This is also the reason some Usoolis believe that a layman must do Tarjeeh between conflicting evidences and differing Muftis, just like a scholar does Tarjeeh between conflicting evidences.
So when Aziboy quotes Ibn 'l-Hajib, realise that Ibn 'l-Hajib intended THIS meaning of Taqleed, i.e. going to a Mufti for his fatwa is not Taqleed, because the fatwa itself is evidence for the lay Muqallid. But at the end of the day, he is still following a scholar, which matters as per the verse of the Quran.
This is closely related to the Taqleed in the 5th connotation as you can see above, perhaps even ultimately the same. You'll also note Ibn 'l-Hajib in the Arabic passage, which Aziboy quoted.
7. Taqleed i.e. to follow another opinion.
The usage of this meaning is found in the issue of التقليد بعد العمل - to do Taqleed post-action. The scenario is that if one intended to perform Salah on the Hanafi way, but after Salah realised that his Salah was not valid according to the Hanafis due to whatever reason, but is nevertheless valid in the opinion of the other schools, to not to repeat the Salah on the basis of the other schools declaring it valid is known as التقليد بعد العمل. Some scholars have talked about this issue and a link to explaining this can be found here:
رسالة فى التقليد لشيخنا الشيخ سالم بن عبدالله باقطيان - ملتقى أهل الحديث
8. Taqleed i.e. to follow an opinion outside one’s school of practice.
This usage of the term has been sourced from al-Tahtawi of the Hanafis, who said in his notes on al-Durr al-Mukhtar:
قلد الحنفي مالكا ثم أراد الرجوع عن التقليد أي ويحكم بمذهبه بأن المهر لا يلزمه فليس له ذلك انتهى ح واعلم أنه ليس المراد نفي جواز التقليد مطلقا بل في نحو ما ذكرنا
9. Taqleed i.e. adherence to one scholar (or school).
This has been used by al-Zarkashi himself (note only the last ‘Taqleed’ word):
هل يجب على العامي التزام تقليد معين في كل واقعة؟ فيه وجهان. قال إلكيا: يلزمه. وقال ابن برهان: لا، ورجحه النووي في أوائل القضاء، وهو الصحيح، فإن الصحابة رضوان الله عليهم لم ينكروا على العامة تقليد بعضهم من غير تقليد
Aziboy, Hammy, you need to clarify what connotation of Taqleed you are refuting. I'm sure you are not against asking a scholar. That is Taqleed definition #1! Why are you so against it then? You are just waging a war against a word! You might as well wage war against all scholars who used the term in their Usool texts and elaborated on the rules of Taqleed.
As for what S. Albani said, I'll speak about it soon, but I'd like your thoughts on the above, Aziboy, Hammy. Have an academic discussion please. Stop doing blind Batil Taqleed of others.