Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

If someone were to ask you which school of thought you follow, how would you respond?

I have a friend (Scholar in the making) who insists that you should follow ONE particular school of thought....

He claims that the opposite to this is the Salif methodology, which you seem to embrace, as you showed in one of you previuos answers to me...

Please enlighten me upon this confussing matter...

Thank you 

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Answer:

Which madhab belief/Aqeedah to follow

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Question: If someone were to ask you which school of thought you follow, how would you respond?

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 22 Surah Hajj verse 77-78:

O you who have believed, do ‘rukooh’ (bow down) and do ‘sajdah’ (prostration), and worship your Lord Allah Alone, and do righteous deeds: it may be that you attain true success! Exert your utmost for the cause of Allah, as one should. He has chosen you for His service, and has not laid on you any hardship in your religion. Therefore, be steadfast in the religion of your father Abraham. Allah had named you ‘muslims’ before this, and has named you (muslims) in this Quran also, so that the Messenger may be a witness in regard to you, and you may be witnesses in regard to the rest of mankind.

Allah Subhanah, the Lord and Creator of everything in existence has Himself named the believing Ummah as ‘Muslims’; and a believer who sincerely believes in Allah and the Last Day must feel honored to introduce and recognize himself by the name Allah Subhanah has Himself chosen for the believers: ie. Muslims.

It does not behove and befit a believer who sincerely believes in Allah and the Last Day to add a man-made and self-invented prefix to the name ‘Muslim’ which none other than the Lord Creator Himself has chosen for them. Allah is our witness brother, the believers should take honor and pride in being recognized by the name their Lord Most High has Himself chosen for them: ie. Muslims.

If someone is not satisfied recognizing us by the name Allah Subhanah has Himself chosen for the believing Ummah (ie. Muslims) and insists on asking us to declare which sect or school of thought we believe in, then the appropriate answer to such a person should be that we belong to the sect upon which the Messenger of Allah (saws) and his companions belonged; for the Prophet Mohamed (saws) declared that every sect will be in the Hell Fire except this one sect!

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 171 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Amr

That Allah's Messenger (saws) said: “There will befall my Ummah exactly all those evils which befell the people of Israel (Jews and Christians), so much so that if there was one amongst them who openly committed fornication with his mother, there will be amongst my Ummah one, who will do the same. And if the people of Israel were fragmented into seventy-two sects, my Ummah will be fragmented into seventy-three sects. All of them will be in Hell Fire except one sect.” The noble Companions asked: “O Allah's Messenger (saws), which one is that?” Whereupon he (saws) said: “It is one to which I and my companions belong.”

Your Question: I have a friend (Scholar in the making) who insists that you should follow ONE particular school of thought....

If the insistence of your friend and brother scholar in the making is that the believers belong to the one sect to which belonged the Noble Prophet Mohamed (saws) and his companions, then without an iota of a doubt, your friend is absolutely right; for the believers who sincerely fear Allah and the Last Day must claim allegiance to no other sect than the one to which our Noble Prophet (saws) and his companions adhered to.

But if your friend insists that one assign a self-invented name or prefix to the sect or schools of thought when Allah and His Messenger (saws) have given no authority for this invention, then obviously the insistence of your friend must be rejected.

The believers who sincerely fear Allah and the Last Day should be content and honored to be recognized by the name the Lord Creator has chosen for the believing Ummah: ie. Muslims.

Your Question: He claims that the opposite to this is the Salif methodology, which you seem to embrace, as you showed in one of you previuos answers to me...

Beloved brother, Allah forbid that we embrace or assign a name or methodology for ourselves after having believed in Allah and His Messenger (saws) other than being called by the name that our Lord Creator has Himself chosen for the believing Ummah: ie. Muslims.

We regret that you might have misunderstood the context in which our previous answer was written where we declared that if the Messenger of Allah (saws) and his companions were Hanafis, then we are Hanafis; if they were Malikis, then we too are Malikis; if they were Shafeis, then we too are Shafeis; if they were Hanbalis, then we too are Hanbalis; and if they were Salafis, then we too are Salafis!

But the truth of the matter is that never ever did the Messenger of Allah (saws) or his noble companions claim to be Hanafis, or Shafeis, or Malikis, or Hanbalis, or Salafis, or belong any other self-invented prefix, sect, or methodology except Islam! The Messenger of Allah (saws) and his noble companions were more than content to be recognized by the name Allah Subhanah has chosen for the believing Ummah (Muslims), and Allah is our witness brother, the believers who sincerely love Allah and His Messenger (saws) are satisfied to be recognized by that exact same name: ie. Muslims, without the addition of any self-invented and unauthorized prefix!

Just look at the Anger and Wrath of Allah described on those who break up their religion into sects; then how is it possible that one who sincerely believes in Allah and the Last Day strive and insist that this United Ummah of Muslims be broken into sects and sub-sects?

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 23 Surah Mu’minoon verse 52-55:

And you (believers) all belong to one and the same ummah, and I(Allah) am your Lord; so fear Me Alone! Yet afterwards the people divided themselves into different sects, and each sect rejoicing in what it has. Well, leave them deeply involved in their heedlessness up to an appointed time. What? Do they think that, by continuing to provide them with wealth and children, We are solicitous for their welfare? Nay, they do not understand the reality of the matter!

It is indeed unfortunate that after possessing such absolutely crystal clear guidance from the Lord, some amongst the believers insist on inventing self-proclaimed sects, sub-sects, and methodologies!

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan