Does the student of knowledge have to adhere to a specific school of jurisprudence at the beginning of his studies, or does he start with independent legal reasoning?

The questioner : If a person is at the beginning of seeking knowledge, does he hold fast to a specific school of jurisprudence to study it, and then engage in independent legal reasoning afterwards, or does he start with independent legal reasoning?

The Shaykh : No, he does not start with independent legal reasoning. Independent legal reasoning is not as easy as some people imagine it to be today. In our present age—unfortunately—following a school of jurisprudence without knowing its evidence prevails among Muslim communities. A student of knowledge cannot make a single leap to the intermediate level, which lies between following a scholar without knowing his evidence and independent legal reasoning. He cannot make a single leap to the intermediate level, which is following the evidence, and which is better than following a scholar without knowing his evidence and less than independent legal reasoning. He cannot, because the environment he lives in is one of following a scholar without knowing his evidence. Every group follows one of the four schools of jurisprudence. So if a Muslim is in such an environment, he has to study Islamic jurisprudence from the sources available to him, and from the scholars who teach from those books, who are scholars of following a school without knowing its evidence. However, he must also study the scientific tools that help him understand the Book and the Sunnah, in addition to understanding the statements of the scholars, whether they are from the early or later generations. Because studying these tools, such as grammar and morphology, in addition to the principles of jurisprudence and the principles of hadith, enables him to gradually ascend the ladder to the intermediate level, which is following the evidence. Then, after that, to engage in independent legal reasoning to prefer some statements over others in some issues, until he becomes a scholar firmly established in issuing scholarly legal rulings on issues or modern problems that may arise for people.
The Muslim community should be as the first community was in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), the generation after the Companions, and those who followed them. But this requires much effort, and very much effort. Until the Muslim community returns to its original state, where the general Muslims did not follow a specific school of jurisprudence as they do in this time, but rather they would ask the jurist—meaning the true scholar of the Book and the Sunnah—and he would issue a ruling for them, and the ruling of that scholar would become the school of jurisprudence for that person seeking a ruling.
This was the case in the first era, and it should be the case in every time and every place. But this requires tremendous effort, and very tremendous effort. Therefore, the student of knowledge today is compelled to study the school-based jurisprudence, but it is not permissible for him to make it his religion, to worship Allah with it. Even if he later learns, whether in the near or distant future, that some of the issues in it contradict the Book and the Sunnah, in this case it is not permissible for him to remain a follower of his school as long as it has become clear to him that the correct view—even if in some issues—is in a school other than his own.
This is the path for beginning the pursuit of knowledge. As for that leap we see from some enthusiastic youth who claim independent legal reasoning, while they have not yet reached the level of following the evidence, which is the level of attempting to prefer one statement over another. Therefore, the best of matters is the middle, and the desire for extremes is wrong. It is not permissible for a Muslim to be content with following a scholar without knowing his evidence, even if he becomes one of the great scholars. Just as it is not permissible for a beginner in the pursuit of knowledge to leap to the level of following the evidence when he is unable to prefer one view over another, let alone to be able to engage in independent legal reasoning and give opinions on issues that have not been addressed before.
Please proceed.