A comparative study of those who believe in the sanctity of imitation in Shia and Sunni

The purpose of this paper is to examine the view of the sanctity of the imitation in two Shia and Sunni sects. Sunni Salafists and Shia Akhbarian consider anti-imitation attitudes as their main principles. Common points such as Nassism and being anti-wisdom have led to intellectual deficits in these two sects that one of its results is a negative attitude toward imitation.
Salafists rely only on the appearance of the Book and the prophetic hadiths and the Sire of Salafi scholars instead of resorting to rational arguments and Akhbarian consider the appearance of Infallibles’ narrations as the origin. Both sects have provided reasons for proving their own point of view and they have mentioned certain intellectual foundations that influence their thinking. In this study a comparison is made between them and the similarities and differences of the two sects have been investigated.