The Four Schools of Jurisprudence Are Valid Sunni Schools That May Be Followed

Question:
May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good. Is it obligatory to follow one of the schools of jurisprudence, and which of the schools is the best? May Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
It is obligatory to follow the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), to emulate him, and to act in accordance with what came from him. Whoever is able to know what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) brought and to understand it in terms of jurisprudence, it is obligatory for him to do so, and it is not permissible for him to follow any scholar without knowing his evidence. This applies only to scholars who are qualified to derive rulings and possess the known conditions for independent legal reasoning. As for one who is unable to perform independent legal reasoning and unable to know what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) brought, because he is a layperson or a beginner in seeking knowledge, he should follow a scholar he trusts in his religion and knowledge. This is based on the saying of Allah the Exalted: "So ask the people of knowledge" . The four schools of jurisprudence, praise be to Allah, are all Sunni schools, and they are all valid in general, built upon sound principles and derived from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). This does not mean that everything found in a school is correct; there may be errors in independent legal reasoning, but in general, praise be to Allah, they are valid schools. Therefore, it is permissible to follow or emulate any of them, such as the Hanafi school, the Maliki school, the Shafi'i school, or the Hanbali school. However, as we mentioned, this is only for those who are unable to perform independent legal reasoning and identify evidence, namely the laypeople or those beginning to seek knowledge. They ask and accept the answer given to them by the scholars, because Allah commanded them to do so, , and He did not command them to do so except so that they would act in accordance with what is told to them and what they are given as a scholarly legal ruling. Yes.