on the issue of Madh'habs

[muslimah84]

Salam alykum ww,

growing up we were just muslims, that was it, i wasnt a sunni or shia or hanafi or maliki etc etc etc....just muslim i.e;submit my will and life for worship Allah....so fastfoward 23 years and im trying to gain more knowledge about my faith and improve my deen for the sake of Allah and im hitting a brick wall......i go to register for classes and classes are divided based on what "school of thought" you follow???uhn (i dont know if im hanafi or this or that etc....im just a muslim..???)....I almost want to cry, im so fustrated. Im praying for guidiance. I just want to seek knowledeg, i want to follow whats in the holy quran and the sunnah of our prohphet SAW and find out like why and when each aya was revealed,tafsir of the Quran and the transmission and naration of adeeth...etc....i think this will give me more clarity....
during the time of the prophet SAW there were no schools etc......and in the Quran its says our religion was perfected for us...it was all there, all we needed to do was follow the Quran and the way of our phrophet SAW.....so why did the uluma need to have schools...???? isnt everything we need already there for us.....Now I have a yearning to know exactly the history of our religion how we know have diffrernt school of thoughts with "so called" minute diffrences....why its sooo easy to commit bidah and we dont even know it......
at the end of the day if we are all following the Quran and the prophet SAW, shouldnt it all be the same....Im trying not to lose my mind here, were do i go to find such knowledge.......
sorry im ranting now....
overwhelmed and fustrated sister
Jazakallah Kairun.

 

[muslimah84]

Really,Really fustrated....

 

[Zafran]

salaam

I understand where your coming from, I also dont follow a specific school of thought as it isnt compulsory. Not only that i dont realy understand why it is so importnat to follow one.

I'm a mulsim that follows the Quran and the Sunnah thats enough. It should be for all of us.

 

[ShyHijabi]

Salaam,

I think people are very confused about what Mahtab means. It does not mean one thinks they are more Muslim than another. Of course we are all Muslim but Mahtab is about how the practice is interpreted. Many people say they do not follow a mahtab when in actuality they do. They just practice a specific way taught by their parents and don't question why they pray salat a specific way or what is considered the awra of a female.

For instance, I live in Florida, this makes me a Floridian and also an American. There is federal law and there is state law. None of the state laws can contradict the federal law but I still follow the laws of my state. Am I still American? Of course I am, just because I follow Florida law does not mean I am not American and I still don't have to obey federal law. When people ask which state law I follow I say Florida. I don't say, "What does it matter? I am American!" Because it does matter when it comes to interpretation of local law.

So all four mahtabs are perfectly fine and none of us are more Muslim than the next. I suggest you speak to the imam of your mosque and ask if you have been praying salat and other things accroding to a mahtab. You will still be Muslim and we will still be sisters and brothers, but it may help when it comes to understanding fiqh.

Wasalaam

~Sarah

 

[IslamIsLight]

salam aleikum
Sister dont be frustrated .
Madhab is not something that devides us into groups .We still call ourselves muslims .
I wish I could explain you ,but I cant put the words right all together .Please read the following fatwa very carefully from beginning to end ,it explains everything very clearly ...


Question:

What is the ruling on following one of the four madhhabs in all cases and situations?

The Committee replied:

Praise be to Allaah, and blessings and peace be upon His Messenger and his family and companions.

Firstly: the four madhhabs are named after the four imams – Imam Abu Haneefah, Imam Maalik, Imam al-Shaafa’i and Imam Ahmad.

Secondly: These imams learned fiqh (jurisprudence) from the Qur’aan and Sunnah, and they are mujtahideen in this regard. The mujtahid either gets it right, in which case he will have two rewards, the reward for his ijtihaad and the reward for getting it right, or he will get it wrong, in which case he will be rewarded for his ijtihaad and will be forgiven for his mistake.

Thirdly: the one who is able to derive rulings from the Qur’aan and Sunnah should take from them like those who came before him; it is not right for him to follow blindly (taqleed) when he is believes that the truth lies elsewhere. Rather he should follow that which he believes is the truth. It is permissible for him to follow in matters in which he is unable to come to a conclusion based on the Qur’aan and Sunnah and he needs guidelines concerning a particular issue.

Fourthly: Whoever does not have the ability to derive rulings himself is permitted to follow one whom he feels comfortable following. If he is not comfortable following him then he should ask until he finds someone with whom he is comfortable.

Fifthly: From the above it is clear that we should not follow their opinions in all situations and at all times, because they may make mistakes, but we may follow their views that are sound and are based on the evidence.

Fataawa al-Lajnah, 5/28

It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah, no. 3323:

Whoever is qualified to derive rulings from the Qur’aan and Sunnah, and has strong knowledge in that regard, even if that is with the help of the legacy of fiqh that we have inherited from earlier scholars of Islam, has the right to do that, so he can act upon it himself and explain it in disputes and issue fatwas to those who consult him. Whoever is not qualified to do that has to ask trustworthy people who so that he may learn the rulings from their books and act upon that, without limiting his asking or his reading to one of the scholars of the four madhhabs. Rather people refer to the four imams because they are so well known and their books are well written and widely available.

Whoever says that it is obligatory for the learned people to follow the scholars blindly in all cases is making a mistake and being inflexible, and is thinking that these learned people are inadequate, and he is restricting something that is broad in scope.

Whoever says that we should limit following to the four madhhabs is also mistaken, because he is restricting something that is broad in scope with no evidence for doing so. With regard to the common (i.e., uneducated) man there is no difference between the four imams and others such as al-Layth ibn Sa’d, al-Awzaa’i and other fuqaha’.

Fataawa al-Lajnah, 5/41

It says in Fatwa no. 1591:

None of them called people to follow his madhhab, or was partisan in following it, or obliged anyone else to act in accordance with it or with a specific madhhab. Rather they used to call people to follow the Qur’aan and Sunnah, and they would comment on the texts of Islam, and explain its basic principles and discuss minor issues according to general guidelines, and issue fatwas concerning what people asked about, without obliging any of their students or anyone else to follow their views. Rather they criticized those who did that and said that their opinions should be cast aside if they went against a saheeh hadeeth. One of them said: “If the hadeeth is saheeh then that is my madhhab.” May Allaah have mercy on them all.

It is not obligatory for anyone to follow a particular madhhab, rather we should strive to learn the truth if possible, or to seek the help of Allaah in doing so, then to rely on the legacy that the earlier Muslim scholars left behind for those who came after them, thus making it easier for them to understand and apply the texts. Whoever cannot derive rulings from the texts etc for some reason that prevents him from doing so should ask trustworthy scholars for whatever rulings of sharee’ah he needs, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“So ask the people of the Reminder [Scriptures — the Tawraat (Torah), the Injeel (Gospel)] if you do not know”

[al-Anbiya’ 21:7]

So he has to strive to ask one whom he trusts among those who are well known for their knowledge, virtue, piety and righteousness.

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 5/56

The madhhab of Abu Haneefah (may Allaah have mercy on him) is the most widespread madhhab among the Muslims, and perhaps one of the reasons for that is that the Ottoman caliphs followed this madhhab and they ruled the Muslim lands for more than six centuries. That does not mean that the madhhab of Abu Haneefah is the most sound madhhab or that every ijtihaad in it is correct, rather like other madhhabs it contains some things that are correct and some that are incorrect. What the believer must do is to follow the truth and what is correct, regardless of who says it.

And Allaah knows best.


Islam Q&A

 

[Basicofislam]

:salam2:I dont know why people make such a big thing about madhab. Follow the suuna and you wont go wrong. I want to ask people did any imam say follow me and no other. If they did Allah will ask them and i tell you friends they all will refuse. They all said to follow the sunnah of the prophet. This is us who have created this imam barrier. But yes there is a major diffrence in the sunni and shia beliefs.