There is a person I know, he is Shia, follows the everything just the way we do including wilaayah, believing in 12 imams, practicing Muharram and etc. There is no difference whatsoever just apart from the fact that they dont do “Taqleed” of a particular marj’ah. Their community does have a leader however, who is a direct descendant of Imam Jaffar as Sadiq (a.s), who guides them just the way a marj’ah guides us. The way we call ourselves Ithnaasheri their title is Mashayakhi. Its nothing like the Ismaeelis or Bohras. The only difference is they dont do taqleed.
However I read from the app iSistani regarding taqleed of a mujtahed. It said that Taqleed means to follow and Mujtahed is a knowledgeable leader that a community or person can follow and ask advice from regarding Islam and its practices.
What are your views on this? Is it right? And would it be permissible to marry in this community? And after marriage what should be the conditions for the children? As the child gets the title of his Father. Their main community and this leader live in India Gujarat in a town called Siddhpur. They have built a university called Maktabah Jaffariyah and also a Library where they provide islamic courses such as Qur’an Hifz, Aalim and Faazil courses. The library is called Meher Library. They’re also affiliated with Ahlulbayt University in Tehran. Their history however is that this community became Shia muslims from Hindus. 700 years ago a man/ saint named Mashayakh saw a group of Hindu pilgrims on their way to their pilgrimage. He told them about Islam. For proof of his righteousness and purity he told them that if they would just look under his sleeve they would see the place their going to for the pilgrimage. They did so and to their awe they saw the place too. They believed him and since then that was the first group of people to become the “Shia Jaffari Mashayakhi Mo’min”. This man was also from the lineage of Imam Jaffar as Sadiq (a.s). And after him his sons and their sons continued guiding this community. (They do not call themselves the Imam but just a means towards the right path and guidance. With the same hope and desire as us to please Allah swt. And to be of help and to respond with Labbayk to the Imam of our time Imam Mahdi ajtf.

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According to the fatwa of the late Sayyed al Khoei, the grand marji and teacher of most current maraji of taqleed including Sayyed Sistani, when he was asked about the shaikhiyah and whether or not we are allowed to pray behind them his reply was: it’s not permissible. This should give you enough idea about them. They are very extremist in their views about the Imams and their level of knowledge about the unseen.
The name of the book is : Munyatu Al Sa’il