There is a group in Alexandria called the Salafis, and their basis in Islamic jurisprudence is the Hanbali school. Do you advise studying Islamic jurisprudence according to the Hanbali school?
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The questioner : A questioner asks, saying: There are brothers in the Alexandria Governorate who possess great knowledge, and we do not praise them beyond what is due to Allah. People call them Salafis; they call themselves the Salafi school. They have a methodology, and part of the methodology in study consists of a collection of Salafi books by all the scholars, and above them, the four schools of jurisprudence. There is also a brother with knowledge in the same place who has students, and they are students of knowledge, but they are devoted to studying the Hanbali school and Hanbali jurisprudence, as represented in the book "Al-Udha". To which group should I go to learn my religion? Knowing that the Hanbali brother retracts from anything in the school that contradicts any authentic hadith. Please advise us, may Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : What I understand from the question is that the brother referred to, who studies the Hanbali school, is not actually a Hanbali in the sense that comes to mind. Rather, he has taken his study of the Hanbali school as a means to gain understanding of the religion, and has not made the study of the Hanbali school an end in itself where he stops and remains. If this is what I understand from the question, then I see no objection to this questioner joining the circle of this man and his like. If, as stated in the question, it becomes clear to him that the Hanbali school contradicts the correct Sunnah in a certain matter, he turns away from the school of Ahmad ibn Hanbal in that matter and follows the authentic hadith in it. However, there is a subtle point here that must be noted and pointed out: Does this person who studies the Hanbali school have a first concern for studying the other schools, and a second concern for tracking the hadiths found in the chapters of the hadith books related to jurisprudence? If so, let him hold fast to it with his teeth.
The questioner : He is, and Allah knows best, like that. They have a library in Alexandria containing all the books.
The Shaykh : I do not know, but first I answer to the extent of what I understand from the question, and then I clarify to the extent that my conception of this person helps me. If the matter is as described, he is the student of knowledge to whom journeys are made. But if he stops in his study of the Hanbali school, and only rarely does it become clear to him that the school is wrong in a certain matter, and only then does he return, then this is turning the truth upside down, as the extremists of the four schools do. He has made the means an end and the end a means. The requirement for a student of knowledge, let alone scholars, is that their understanding of the religion be in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), not in the sayings and opinions of men. That is the requirement. But I return to say: if he has taken the Hanbali school as a means to gain understanding of the religion within the limits of this school, while expanding his study of the other schools and tracking the evidence in each of them, and then chooses what is closest to the truth, in accordance with the Book and the Sunnah, then that is the way.
The questioner : To complete your question, which you clarified, he asks others: I hear some noble brothers, and we do not praise them beyond what is due to Allah, say that there are conditions before starting the pursuit of knowledge, such as learning the Arabic language, memorizing the Qur'an, and learning grammar. I have answered this.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is right.
The Shaykh : What I understand from the question is that the brother referred to, who studies the Hanbali school, is not actually a Hanbali in the sense that comes to mind. Rather, he has taken his study of the Hanbali school as a means to gain understanding of the religion, and has not made the study of the Hanbali school an end in itself where he stops and remains. If this is what I understand from the question, then I see no objection to this questioner joining the circle of this man and his like. If, as stated in the question, it becomes clear to him that the Hanbali school contradicts the correct Sunnah in a certain matter, he turns away from the school of Ahmad ibn Hanbal in that matter and follows the authentic hadith in it. However, there is a subtle point here that must be noted and pointed out: Does this person who studies the Hanbali school have a first concern for studying the other schools, and a second concern for tracking the hadiths found in the chapters of the hadith books related to jurisprudence? If so, let him hold fast to it with his teeth.
The questioner : He is, and Allah knows best, like that. They have a library in Alexandria containing all the books.
The Shaykh : I do not know, but first I answer to the extent of what I understand from the question, and then I clarify to the extent that my conception of this person helps me. If the matter is as described, he is the student of knowledge to whom journeys are made. But if he stops in his study of the Hanbali school, and only rarely does it become clear to him that the school is wrong in a certain matter, and only then does he return, then this is turning the truth upside down, as the extremists of the four schools do. He has made the means an end and the end a means. The requirement for a student of knowledge, let alone scholars, is that their understanding of the religion be in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), not in the sayings and opinions of men. That is the requirement. But I return to say: if he has taken the Hanbali school as a means to gain understanding of the religion within the limits of this school, while expanding his study of the other schools and tracking the evidence in each of them, and then chooses what is closest to the truth, in accordance with the Book and the Sunnah, then that is the way.
The questioner : To complete your question, which you clarified, he asks others: I hear some noble brothers, and we do not praise them beyond what is due to Allah, say that there are conditions before starting the pursuit of knowledge, such as learning the Arabic language, memorizing the Qur'an, and learning grammar. I have answered this.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is right.