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:

I often go into Jam`aat for 2-3 days with some (Hanafee) brothers, although they are very pious and very frinedly, they often critisize me for not making up my mind and following any aprticular school of thought. Now these brothers, are extremly knowleable (and more so then me) however i really don`t know how to respond to this, and would STORNLY appreciate your input as to how i should respond to them, and Which interpretation (i.e. imaam) should i follow when there is difference of opinion, when all claim to follow the Qur`aan and Sunnah.

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Answer:

Which madhab 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.

In light of the clear guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah, there are six things which form the articles of faith or ‘emaan’ in Islam; if one does not believe in even one amongst these six articles of faith, he would leave the fold of Islam:

1. Belief in Tawheed or the Absolute Oneness and Uniqueness of Allah Subhanah.
2. Belief in each and every one of the appointed Messengers of Allah, culminating with belief in the appointment of the Last and Final Messenger, Mohamed ar-Rasool Allah (saws).
3. Belief in each and every one the revealed Books of Allah Subhanah, culminating with the belief in the Last and Final Revelation of Allah, the Al-Quran.
4. Belief in the Angels of Allah Subhanah.
5. Belief in the concept of the Hereafter; ie. Paradise and Hell Fire.
6. Belief in the ‘Qadr’ or Divine Decree of Allah Subhanah.

If one does not believe in one, or even a part of one amongst the above listed six articles of faith, he would leave the fold of Islam and be considered a disbeliever in the Sight of Allah Subhanah.

Belief in the four imams or their school of thought is neither an article of faith, nor compulsory for one to be regarded as a believer in the Sight of Allah Subhanah.

The Truth is brother, the four eminent imams did not invent or bring something new to the deen of Islam revealed on Prophet Mohamed (saws), but simply gave their rulings and opinions upon issues of Islamic Jurisprudence and Fiqh in light of the guidance of the Glorious Quran and the authentic traditions of the Messenger of Allah (saws). None of the ‘madhabs’ have any difference of opinion in any of the foundational matters in the deen. They are all absolutely unanimous in the subjects like Tawheed, Message, Hereafter, Imaan, etc. The difference of opinion arose between the companions and between the scholars on very small matters of Jurisprudence, and each amongst them gave rulings and opinions on that matter in light of the evidence and guidance from the Quran and the Sunnah.

Thus, regardless if one accepts and follows the opinion of any one ‘Imam’, or the best ruling of any ‘Imam’ regarding a particular matter amongst the four schools of thought, provided one’s intention is to follow the guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah, there is absolutely no harm. The difference between following any one of the four schools of thought, would be the difference between following something which is very good to something which is excellent! It was never a situation that one ‘imam’ was right and the other was wrong, for each and every one of these respected ‘imams’ based their opinion on nothing but the Quran and the Sunnah. In our humble opinion, rather than limiting oneself to only one of the schools of thought, it would be best to take advantage of the knowledge of each of the four ‘imams’ on the matter of Jurisprudence, and accept the opinion of the one which one believes is closest to the guidance of the Quran and Sunnah.

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