First of all, thanks for being nice. That was the best part of your post.
I'll just try to answer the major point of your post.
I have explained this point before, and the excerpt from Ibn Qayyim's book also explains the fact that a layman cannot have a madhab. He does not have the neccasary knowledge to do the research,
brother, when i call myself hanafi (in some specific case), then that does not mean that I am telling that I have studied all the evidences of all the four madhabs and judging according to it, rather
within the differences of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah, differences which is Haq, i am following tha hanafi Mujhtahideen and I am taking their rulings.
like one of your shaykh fatwa (right now i am not able to search that fatwa) that layman's madhabs is the madhab of the scholars he refers.
so also through this i am hanafi (in terms of fiqh, madhab) as my all scholars here are hanafi. I do not take any opinions from other madhab even though i respect them love them and their scholars and they are the scholar of this ummah, but for me Imam Abu Hanfia rahimahulla and those who followed his Usool is enough
for me to learn shariah (salaah, haj, fasts, purity etc etc). this is not hisbiyyah, or one should not get offended over it.
A glimpse of Sahabah (companions of prophet) and Tabaein era recorded in Bukhari.
Imam Bukhari narrates from Ikrimah that the people of Madinah asked Ibn Abbas about a woman who, during Hajj, makes her first tawwaf and then enters her menstrual period before she can make her final tawwaf. Ibn Abbas told them that she could go home without completing her final tawwaf. The people of Madinah said,“
We will not take your opinion over the opinion of Zaid ibn Thabit.”
Source - a recent fatwa in askimam.org
However, for example, there is a brother who prays with his hands down (he is a Shafiee), and when he was told that the Messenger (saw) used to fold his hands, he says: "I am a Shafiee". He does not know that the reason Imam Shafiee prayed with his hands down was because he was tortured, and even Imam Shafiee writes in a book of his that the Messenger used to fold his hands. This is an example of blindly following a Madhab, and not of a scholar, and this is what is looked down upon.
Actually here it's proving blindly following a scholar rather than madhab, for if he was following the madhab he would follow the matter written on books or told by scholars.
And a common misconception is that 'salafis' and 'wa habbism/wa habbis' are La Madhabi and this not the case.
brother, there is difference between salafi and hanbali. there is also difference between wahaabee and salafi. You can confirm to this with hanbali scholar. i dont want to go in its detail.
I feel the later of all your post is the summary of the following. so i'll just reply to it.
And this is exactly what is occuring amongst many ignorant muslims, if they know something, and a Scholar tells them that another opinion is stronger or more correct, they will not adopt it due to the fact that they consider the opinion they are following to be more correct though they themselves do not have the sufficient knowledge to judge!
i agree, and thats the point which need to be understood. when he do not have the sufficient knowledge to judge then how can he judge that scholar A is really with the stronger opinion?? when he himself didnt study all the eveidences related to it?
I hope you understand that practically.
If i know some layman is in shafii madhab (thats he take the opinion of mujhtahideen in that madhab), i will never tease him or say this is makrooh, this is wrong, or raf'al'dayn within salaah was being abrogated later in prophet 's life etc etc, i'll never do that because i know he is following the mujhtahideen and Even if he is wrong insha'ALlah, by the mercy of Allah Taala, they are being still rewarded, for they are sincere in their religion and following the right way.
but ofcourse, if some non-muqallid (whatever label they keep) approach to me then my attitude to them will not remain similar. thats the major problem with the non-muqallid, they become the source of fitnah and fasaad where ever they go, they do thing against the sunnah which is established in that region part. in pakistan they speak against hanafi madhab, in sri lanka they speak against shafi madhab. Thats why they are being disliked by the scholars as well majority of the people.
One companion of prophet lead a long salaah in jamaat, such that few companions broke the salaah and went off, some came to prophet and complain about that's companion lenghty salaah, our prophet showed his anger towards that companion and marked it as
fitnah. Praying long salaah is praiseworthy but when it becomes the source of disunity prophet disliked it. Now, sunnah which is established in particualr country (say hanafi madhab in south east asia) but some outsider comes and speak against that sunnah and marked it as biddah then they will not be termed as khidmah of Hadith but a source of fasaad and fitnah. One should really sincere and follow the right way, insha'Allah the destination is same the way may be slightly different but our ultimate guide is Quran and Sunnah, and some furoo masaail we agree to disagree, and by the baakah of this, prophet's every sunnah is alive and is being carried out by his followers. sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
