Affiliation with the Four Schools of Jurisprudence
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question: Is it permissible to be fanatical about the school of jurisprudence one follows in any ruling of the Shari'ah, even if that entails contradicting the truth? Or is it permissible to leave it and follow the correct school in some cases? What is the ruling on adhering to only one school?
Answer: Following one of the four schools of jurisprudence—the four well-known schools of the people of the Sunnah that remained, were preserved, and were clarified among the Muslims—and affiliating with one of them is not prohibited,It is said: such as so-and-so being a Shafi'i, so-and-so being a Hanbali, so-and-so being a Hanafi, and so-and-so being a Maliki.
This title has continued to exist among scholars, even the great scholars, from ancient times,It is said: such as so-and-so being a Hanbali,It is said, for example: Ibn Taymiyyah the Hanbali, Ibn al-Qayyim the Hanbali, and the like. There is no blame in this. Mere affiliation with a school is not prohibited, but on the condition that one does not restrict oneself to this school by taking everything in it, whether it is right or wrong, whether it is correct or incorrect. Rather, one takes from it what is correct. And what one knows to be wrong, it is not permissible to act upon it. And if the stronger position becomes clear to him, it is obligatory for him to adopt it, whether it is in the school he affiliated with or in another school. This is because one to whom the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) becomes clear has no right to leave it for the saying of anyone. The model to follow is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). So we follow the school as long as it does not contradict the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). If it contradicts him, that is an error by the jurist, and it is obligatory for us to leave it and take the Sunnah, and take the stronger position that aligns with the Sunnah, from whichever school of the jurists it may be.
As for the one who takes the saying of the imam absolutely, whether it is wrong or right, this is considered blind following. And if he believes that it is obligatory to follow a specific person, this is apostasy from Islam.
The Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah says: Whoever says that it is obligatory to follow a specific person other than the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he is given the choice to repent. If he repents, well and good; otherwise, he is killed. This is because no one is obligatory to follow except Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). As for the other mujtahid imams (may Allah have mercy on them), we take their sayings that align with the Sunnah.
As for when the jurist errs in his independent legal reasoning, it is forbidden for us to take his independent legal reasoning. And Allah the Exalted knows best.
Question: Is the criterion or measure by which correctness is distinguished from error its alignment with the Book and the Sunnah?
Answer: There is no doubt in that.
Answer: Following one of the four schools of jurisprudence—the four well-known schools of the people of the Sunnah that remained, were preserved, and were clarified among the Muslims—and affiliating with one of them is not prohibited,It is said: such as so-and-so being a Shafi'i, so-and-so being a Hanbali, so-and-so being a Hanafi, and so-and-so being a Maliki.
This title has continued to exist among scholars, even the great scholars, from ancient times,It is said: such as so-and-so being a Hanbali,It is said, for example: Ibn Taymiyyah the Hanbali, Ibn al-Qayyim the Hanbali, and the like. There is no blame in this. Mere affiliation with a school is not prohibited, but on the condition that one does not restrict oneself to this school by taking everything in it, whether it is right or wrong, whether it is correct or incorrect. Rather, one takes from it what is correct. And what one knows to be wrong, it is not permissible to act upon it. And if the stronger position becomes clear to him, it is obligatory for him to adopt it, whether it is in the school he affiliated with or in another school. This is because one to whom the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) becomes clear has no right to leave it for the saying of anyone. The model to follow is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). So we follow the school as long as it does not contradict the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). If it contradicts him, that is an error by the jurist, and it is obligatory for us to leave it and take the Sunnah, and take the stronger position that aligns with the Sunnah, from whichever school of the jurists it may be.
As for the one who takes the saying of the imam absolutely, whether it is wrong or right, this is considered blind following. And if he believes that it is obligatory to follow a specific person, this is apostasy from Islam.
The Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah says: Whoever says that it is obligatory to follow a specific person other than the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he is given the choice to repent. If he repents, well and good; otherwise, he is killed. This is because no one is obligatory to follow except Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). As for the other mujtahid imams (may Allah have mercy on them), we take their sayings that align with the Sunnah.
As for when the jurist errs in his independent legal reasoning, it is forbidden for us to take his independent legal reasoning. And Allah the Exalted knows best.
Question: Is the criterion or measure by which correctness is distinguished from error its alignment with the Book and the Sunnah?
Answer: There is no doubt in that.