In order to give a clear-cut answer to your question, we must mention the following points:

1. The impermissibility of Taqlid in the fundamentals of faith means that we cannot suffice to conjectures and speculation. In fact, it is necessary to have faith in them with insight and understanding.[1] As for religious laws and the branches of faith, Taqlid would suffice even though one may not become certain of the actual injunction and he may suspect that the real injunction with God might be something other the ruling of the jurist (Mujtahid) whom he follows.

2. What has been mentioned in the beginning of the books titled “Islamic Laws” is the impermissibility of following a jurist in the fundamentals and tenets of faith not in all ideological issues.[2]

To further explain the above, Islamic beliefs are divided into two parts: One part is the roots and fundamentals of faith. In order for a person to be Muslim, it is necessary for him to believe in them. The second part consists of certain issues which despite being a part of the beliefs do not have anything to do with one’s being Muslim. That is to say, it is not necessary to believe in them and if a person does not believe in them, he is not considered to have gone out of faith.

The fundamentals of faith are belief in God, prophecy, prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh), Hereafter or Resurrection. Hence, one’s belief in these tenets should be with insight and understanding because speculation and immolation in this regard would not be sufficient.

As was stated earlier, the second part of Islamic beliefs consists of the details and characteristics of faith such as God’s attributes and inerrancy of the prophets. Are God’s attributes the same as His Essence? What are the different types of attributes? What are the attributes of action? What are the attributes of God's essence? How is God’s knowledge of things? Is infallibility concomitant with prophecy? Is it necessary for a prophet to be immune to error? What is the extent of infallibility? Does resurrection take place in a physical form or in a spiritual form? What is Paradise like? Do those who go to Hell perpetually dwell there? It is not necessary to believe in these details as they do not have anything to do with one’s being Muslim. Indeed, if a person wants to ascribe something to Islam in this regard, it should be based on research and reliable deduction or it has to be with reference to the saying of an expert in religious matters.

3. It is clear that one cannot refer to verses and narratives – as textual proofs – to become certain or to get surety because it would result in a cycle. Unlike the fundamentals of faith, it is not possible to know the religious laws and the branches of faith except through the Quranic verses and Prophetic traditions. Therefore, it is inappropriate and out of place to compare the principles of faith with the practical laws of Islam. What the religious laws can be compared with are the details and characteristics of the fundamentals. When it comes to the details, it is not necessary to follow a jurisprudent, but it is permissible.

Referring to a religious authority (i.e. a jurist) does not lead to a vicious circle because identifying the most learned jurist is not restricted to being an expert in the field of jurisprudence or to associating with the jurist; rather there are other ways also through which one can identify the most knowledgeable jurist. For example, if a jurist is widely known in the society as the most learned, it is sufficient. Similarly, if a few reliable people testify that a certain jurist is the most learned of the jurists, it is permissible to trust them. This is the case with all other technical fields. For example, a skilled doctor is identified when he is widely known in the society as such or when a few trustworthy individuals report on that.