Following a Maddhab: A simple clarification of a common misconception

Ridwaan Ravat

Ridwaan Ravat

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By Mufti Muhammad Sajaad

Imam Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911 AH) said:

“The difference found in the four Schools of Islamic law (Hanafi, Shāfi’ī, Māliki and Hanbali) in this nation is a huge blessing and an enormous virtue. It has a subtle hidden wisdom the intelligent are able to grasp, but the ignorant are blind of.

(Jazeel al-Mawahib, p.4).

IS FOLLOWING ONE OF THE FOUR MADH-HABS NECESSARY?

A SELF-ASSESSMENT

1. All the sacred verses and Ahadith are in Arabic. The four Imams were experts in the Arabic language and I am not.

2. The four Imams lived in an age that was described by the Prophet ﷺ*as the most blessed of Islamic ages. He ﷺ*said: The best of my Ummah are those of my generation, then the (generation) that follows them and then the (generation) that follows them (Sahīh al-Bukhāri). Obviously, I cannot claim to have this distinguished credential.

3. All four Imams were attested as being the most God-fearing and pious of people by thousands of leading Ulama.

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4. Thousands of scholars throughout Islamic history considered the opinions of the Imams to be the most superior and refined understanding of the Qur’an and Sunna. Not a fraction of these numbers have ever attested to my wisdom or scholarly credentials.

5. The four Imams have an extraordinary track record. That is, the whole Ummah embraced their opinions for over a thousand years. Throughout the Muslim world, Muslims followed one of the four schools [see last section]. My view(s) cannot claim this profound acceptability. The companion Ibn Masud رضي الله عنه said:
"That which the Muslims deem to be good, is good with Allah" (Musnad Imam Ahmad).

The odd opinions I may concoct do not have this solid recommendation.

6. In so many matters of life I only feel at ease if I get an expert’s advice. I turn to doctors, mechanics, architects and many other specialists to tell me what to do. My religion is the most important thing to me, thus it makes sense to rely on the greatest intellects of the Ummah to guide me.

7. A school is the best way to protect the Deen from untrained individuals twisting it to suit ulterior motives and desires. I do not know of a better way to protect the Deen from distortion than this.

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8. Other schools were never meticulously codified and refined as were the opinions of the four Imams. Thus it is a red herring to say why only follow these four and not the*madhhab*of say, Thawri or Tabari etc.

9. If Salafism was the way of this Ummah throughout its history, why would Sunni scholars continuously condemn it as a dangerous deviation?

For example, the great scholar Ibn Rajab (d. 795 AH) wrote a book against them called: Refutation Of Those Who Follow Other Than The Four Schools

(Ar-radd `ala man ittaba ghayr al-madhahib al-arba`a).

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THE DANGERS OF ABANDONING THE FOUR SCHOOLS

We all love to be given a choice. Having a range of hats or shirts to choose from is a luxury. But it would be suicide if we brought this mentality of the marketplace into our religion. When a person says it is not obligatory for the Muslim to follow one of the established schools that is what he is doing. People are then free to shop for whatever opinion takes their fancy!

This is termed making your desires into religion and it is forbidden by this verse:

Have you seen the one who takes his desires as his god (45:23).

If the millions and billions of Muslims were supposed to apply their minds to the verses and hadith, chaos would only result. Without the scholarly expertise (or a high level of fear of Allah ta`ala) they would make horrendous mistakes.

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The Verdict Of The Ulama Of The Muslim World

1. The famous*Imam al-Haramayn*Abu al-Ma‘āli Abd al-Malik bin Yusuf al-Juwayni (419-478 AH) writes in his book*Al-Burhan:

“The expert scholars have agreed that the masses are obligated (‘alayhim) with following the schools of the (four) Imams who thoroughly investigated and researched, who compiled the chapters (of*Fiqh) and mentioned the circumstances of the rulings”

(vol. 2, P. 1146).

2. Shaykh*Salih al-Sunūsi writes in*Fath al-‘Alee al-Malik fil-Fatwa ‘ala madhhab al-Imam Malik:

“As for the scholar who has not reached the level of*ijtihād*and the non-scholar, they must do taqlīd*of the Mujtahid… And the MOST CORRECT VIEW is that it is OBLIGATORY (wajib) to adhere to a particular school from the four schools…”

(p.40-41, in*Usul al-Fiqh).

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3. The Hanbali scholar Imam ‘Ala al-Din al-Mardawi in his major Juristic compendium*Al-Insaf, cites the statement of the famous scholar Imam Al-Wazir ibn Hubaira (d. 560 AH):

“Consensus has been established upon*taqlīd*of one of the Four Schools and that the truth does not lie outside of them”

(Vol.11 p.169,Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah).

4. Imam Badr al-Din al-Zarkashi states in*Al-Bahr al-Muhit,

“There has been established a consensus amongst the Muslims that the truth is restricted to these (four) schools...

(vol.6 p.209).
 
So what is the gist of your lecture? You are trying to prove that following one of the 4 Madhabs is Fard or Wajib? Or what?
 

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