Is a Muslim obligated to follow a specific one of the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence?

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : For example, in your question, are you referring to the ordinary layperson, or are you referring to a scholar, a doctor, meaning one who has obtained a doctoral degree? The answer differs. The layperson is not bound to a school of jurisprudence; because the layperson has no school of his own, his school is the school of the one who issues a ruling for him. So whichever scholar he asks, he follows his words, whether he errs or hits the mark. He bears no responsibility; he acted in accordance with His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): . But if he is among the people of knowledge—and by people of knowledge we mean one who is able to understand the Qur'an and understand the Sunnah; meaning, first, he has knowledge of the Arabic language, which enables him to understand the Qur'an correctly, and the hadiths of the Messenger (peace be upon him) likewise; then he has knowledge of the hadiths, which are authentic and which are not, and he has knowledge of the abrogating and the abrogated from the Qur'an and the Sunnah, and so on—this person is not permitted to follow a scholar without knowing his evidence. But if he has no knowledge, then he is counted among the common people, and he is included in His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): . This is the calamity of the age today... because they fight independent legal reasoning and those who engage in it, and they say, and some of them have written a paper titled "Non-sectarianism is the bridge to irreligion."

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh: Got the answer?

The questioner : ... .