Is it obligatory for a beginner student of knowledge to adhere to a specific school of jurisprudence?
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The questioner : We hear some shaykhs there saying, before entering the subject, or perhaps they do not say it explicitly, that a student of knowledge must study a single school of jurisprudence, and then either they complete their statement or they cut it off. If they intend to complete it, they say that afterwards he may read whatever he wishes from the books of knowledge. Is this statement correct or not?
The Shaykh : Sometimes and sometimes.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Sometimes it is one way, and sometimes another. We are often asked this question, but to clarify the invalidity of this condition that applies in one case and not in the other: how did our righteous predecessors understand the religion of Allah the Exalted? Did they adhere to a specific school of jurisprudence? Of course, no one among them can say that they adhered to a specific school of jurisprudence. Is this clear up to this point?
The questioner : Very clear.
The Shaykh : Therefore, their claim that it is a condition for a student of knowledge to study a specific school of jurisprudence is invalid.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : But there is more to the discussion, because I said sometimes this and sometimes that. Now, the other case aligns with that condition. I said once: if there is a small village with a man who is a scholar, reading the Qur'an, reading the hadiths, and reading fiqh, and he was raised on one of the four schools of jurisprudence, then how can the residents of the village know what is forbidden and what is lawful, what is permissible and what is not, when they are all illiterate except for thisThe Shaykh : the village's shaykh, who is the scholar versed in one of the four schools of jurisprudence? If we keep in mind the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:286] the answer is very clear: these people of the village cannot understand their religion except through thisThe Shaykh : And that means through a school of jurisprudence.The Shaykh : It is clear.
The questioner : Clear.
The Shaykh : So this is necessary for this environment or for this example that I made very small. But let us move to another example: in a capital city, there are representatives of all the schools of jurisprudence and all the scholars. There are scholars of the four schools of jurisprudence: this one is a Hanafi, this one is a Shafi'i, this one is a Maliki, this one is a Hanbali, and perhaps a Shi'i, a Zaydi, and so on. There are also people of hadith who do not adhere to any of these schools of jurisprudence, because this is taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence), and taqlid in the religion of Allah is not permissible except out of dire necessity. We return to the example of the small village. But now we are in a large village, a capital, with scholars of various types, including people of hadith. Here we say that their previous condition is invalid, because here there are scholars of the Book and the Sunnah who have escaped the bonds of taqlid and stood with the evidence from the Book and the Sunnah. It is obligatory for these people to study knowledge and Islamic jurisprudence.
If we assume this village is now in the middle between the first small village and the other large village, let us assume a village with scholars of all the schools of jurisprudence except the Salafi school of hadith. Then the people of this town are compelled to study according to one of the schools of these scholars, because they have no way except that. The answer is clear, like this.
The Shaykh : Sometimes and sometimes.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Sometimes it is one way, and sometimes another. We are often asked this question, but to clarify the invalidity of this condition that applies in one case and not in the other: how did our righteous predecessors understand the religion of Allah the Exalted? Did they adhere to a specific school of jurisprudence? Of course, no one among them can say that they adhered to a specific school of jurisprudence. Is this clear up to this point?
The questioner : Very clear.
The Shaykh : Therefore, their claim that it is a condition for a student of knowledge to study a specific school of jurisprudence is invalid.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : But there is more to the discussion, because I said sometimes this and sometimes that. Now, the other case aligns with that condition. I said once: if there is a small village with a man who is a scholar, reading the Qur'an, reading the hadiths, and reading fiqh, and he was raised on one of the four schools of jurisprudence, then how can the residents of the village know what is forbidden and what is lawful, what is permissible and what is not, when they are all illiterate except for thisThe Shaykh : the village's shaykh, who is the scholar versed in one of the four schools of jurisprudence? If we keep in mind the saying of Allah the Exalted:
Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity
لا يكلف الله نفسا إلا وسعهاThe questioner : Clear.
The Shaykh : So this is necessary for this environment or for this example that I made very small. But let us move to another example: in a capital city, there are representatives of all the schools of jurisprudence and all the scholars. There are scholars of the four schools of jurisprudence: this one is a Hanafi, this one is a Shafi'i, this one is a Maliki, this one is a Hanbali, and perhaps a Shi'i, a Zaydi, and so on. There are also people of hadith who do not adhere to any of these schools of jurisprudence, because this is taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence), and taqlid in the religion of Allah is not permissible except out of dire necessity. We return to the example of the small village. But now we are in a large village, a capital, with scholars of various types, including people of hadith. Here we say that their previous condition is invalid, because here there are scholars of the Book and the Sunnah who have escaped the bonds of taqlid and stood with the evidence from the Book and the Sunnah. It is obligatory for these people to study knowledge and Islamic jurisprudence.
If we assume this village is now in the middle between the first small village and the other large village, let us assume a village with scholars of all the schools of jurisprudence except the Salafi school of hadith. Then the people of this town are compelled to study according to one of the schools of these scholars, because they have no way except that. The answer is clear, like this.
Source
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