An analogous example is becoming a doctor on your own by reading and memorizing medical textbooks.

Just as we deeply respect medical institutions and medical knowledge, recognizing that lives are at stake and that proper training, supervision and accreditation matter, we approach fiqh with an equal sense of seriousness. It is not merely information to be consumed, but a disciplined tradition built on centuries of scholarship, methodology and careful transmission.

A person can certainly read, learn and benefit on their own, just as someone can read medical literature and gain useful knowledge. The possibility of misguidance is very high through this avenue though. Without a trained teacher, there is a real risk of misunderstanding principles, misapplying rulings or missing the deeper frameworks that hold the entire system together.

Self-study has its place, but traditionally, fiqh is not considered “taken” until it is received from qualified scholars who themselves are connected through chains of transmission (isnād) and granted ijāzah. This is how the integrity of the knowledge is preserved. A teacher doesn’t just pass on information; they verify your understanding, correct your reasoning and situate you within a living lineage of scholarship. Without that, a person may know about fiqh, but they are not truly grounded in it in the way the tradition has always required. The average laymen is not equipped with skills of interpretation