Madhabs: To follow or not to follow?

Q. Is it a must for a Muslim to follow a madhab?

A. Is an ‘ammi [layperson] obliged to follow a madhab? Imam Ahmad ibn Hamdan al-Harrani’s view is summarised below. [Usul ad Da’wa by Shaykh Abdul Karim Zaydan p. 147 - 149]:

He said, ‘’the ‘aammi [layperson] subscribes to a particular madhhab or he does not, for each position the following rules apply:

Position 1- In the case of the ‘aammi [layperson] subscribing to a particular madhab there are two opinions expressed by the Scholars:

[i] – His adherence to a specific madhab is not binding upon him because considering oneself to be upon a madhab necessitates that one knows the proofs and evidences of that school – and the ‘aammi [layperson] does not posses that sort of knowledge therefore he should ask [yastafti] whichever scholar he wishes.

[ii] – The adherence of the ‘aammi [layperson] to a specific madhab is a recognised position in his right by virtue of him believing that the school he belongs to is the truth and as a result he has to fulfill and act in accordance with what he believes in and abide by it. In consequence, he must seek fatawa [yastafti] from a scholar who will issue rulings upon the principles of the subscribed madhab.

Position 2- In the case of the ‘aammi [layperson] not adhering to a particular madhab there are also two opinions forwarded by the Scholars:

[i] – It is not obligatory for him to subscribe to a specific madhab, as a result, he is not obliged to seek a fatwa [yastafti] within the set principles of a specific madhab but he has the freedom to seek fatawa from any qualified scholar and take the fatawa from any of the recognised schools of thought, [madhabuhu man yuftihi – his madhab is the scholar issuing the fatwa].

The evidence presented by the proponents of this view state that the salaf as salih did not obligate the ‘aammi [layperson] to do Taqlid [follow without knowing the evidences] of a particular scholar with the exclusion of others, however, they allowed him to ask [yastafti] whichever scholar he wished.

[ii] – It is obligatory for the ‘aammi to subscribe to a madhab – he is to practice and implement the strict rules [‘azaim] and the concessions [rukhas] of the subscribed madhab and seek fatawa according to its principles. They say that if the ‘aammi is allowed to follow any opinion he wishes, the outcome will be that he sticks to only the rukhas [concessions] of the school and thus follows his whims and desires. The consequence of this action will be such that it will result in complete dissolution of the duties and rulings of the Shari’ah, and nothing can protect us from this chaos except by obligating the ‘aammi [layperson] to subscribe to a madhab and adhere to its rulings and principles. They responded to the first group of scholars by stating that during the era of the salaf as salih the various schools of thought had not been codified, analysed and were not known to people and thus they did not make it incumbent upon the ‘aammi to subscribe to a specific madhab’’.

Thus, the conclusion of the proponents of this opinion is that it is necessary for the ‘aammi to subscribe to a specific madhab. He chooses one after searching and asking for the most suitable and appropriate madhab. This can be achieved by knowing which madhab is most prominent, widespread and popular in a given society.

Qawl al-Rajih [Authentic position]:

After citing the aforementioned points of Imam Ahmad ibn Hamdan al-Harrani, Shaykh Abdul Karim Zaydan clarifies the issue further in the following points: [summarized]

1- It is incumbent upon all Muslims to know the hukm of Allah in those matters that are obligated upon him.

2- As long as the Muslim has the ability to do ijtihad, he has to search and investigate for the rulings from the sources.

3- A Muslim who has the ability to perform ijtihad has to follow the minhaj of the mujtahideen in his research for the truth and the correct rulings. [To perform ijtihad is a challenging task. Scholars cite some conditions of ijtihad:

- Knowing the Arabic Language which includes: Nahu [grammar] sarf [Arabic morphology], Balagha [science of rhetoric] and the knowledge of al-huruf [‘Ilm al Huruf]

- Knowledge of the Qur’an which includes: Ahkam al-Qur’an, the knowledge of the nuzul of the Qur’an, the science of Nasikh and Mansukh, the science of the Qira’at, and the science of tafsir.

- Knowledge of the Sunnah which includes: Mustalah hadith [also jarh wa ta’dil and the ilal of hadith], the legal ordinances contained in the Sunnah, the causes or instances of the ahadith [asbab wurud al hadith] etc.

- Usul al Fiqh which includes: Knowing the general and the specific texts, the mutlaq and the muqayyad, the abrogating and the abrogated, and the qawi’d al fiqhiyiat and their application, and the Maqasid ash Shari’ah.

- Knowledge of those matters that have consensus [ijma’ as sahih].

[Above shurut were taken from our Shaykh Abdullah al-Judai’s book ‘Usul al Fiqh’ book P. 381]

4- If a Muslim is unable to do the aforementioned, he has to ask the people of knowledge (‘ilm) and confirm (yuqallid) to what they rule because they will inform him the rulings of Allah as they are in a capable position to extract rulings directly from the Qur’an and Sunnah.

5- In the case of a Muslim unable to perform ijtihad, he has to seek assistance from the authentic and trustworthy books of Scholars such as the books of the madhaib.

6- When the Muslim studies from these madhabs and adheres to one of them he is called a Hanafi, Shafi’, Maliki, or Hanbali. Therefore, his subscription to one of these schools means that he has taken the madhab as dalil and a guide to the rulings of the shar’. So the madhab becomes a road to the rulings of the shar’ and not contradictory to the shar’, and it is on this basis he has subscribed to it.

7- When and after thoroughly studying a particular madhab he finds an issue in his school not to be sound then he is allowed to follow another opinion, it actually becomes wajib upon him. This was the methodology of all the scholars; they all said that if ‘the hadith is authentic it is my madhab’.

8- Based upon what has preceded – it is permissible for a Muslim to subscribe to a specific madhab. It is also permissible for the ‘aammi not to adhere to a madhab but should ask the people of knowledge what he needs to know to fulfill his obligations.

We can see from the above comments that it is perfectly valid for a Muslim to follow a madhab he is comfortable with. If he has chosen the Hanafi school to implement and the majority of people in our society follow the Hanafi school, also the majority of the scholars give fatawa in accordance with the principles of the Hanafi school, people should not censure them for doing that.

Coincidently, scholars like Shaykh al Al Bani, Uthaymeen, Bin Baz and others have stated that an ‘aammi should follow a madhab and begin his studies by mastering or learning one then moving on to others schools/opinions.

Wallahu ‘alam

Abdullah Hasan