What is the ruling on (worshipping) according to a specific school of jurisprudence?

The questioner : The first part is: the four schools of jurisprudence. Is it permissible for a person to act according to the four schools, or according to one school? For example, I am Hanbali, Hanbali, Shafi'i, Shafi'i. The second part is the pledge of allegiance. A believer or Muslim must die with a pledge of allegiance on his neck. If he does not find someone he trusts, we need you to clarify these two points, if you please.

The Shaykh : If Allah wills. Praise be to Allah.

The questioner : Health and well-being.

The Shaykh : There is Allah. The answer regarding the first question varies depending on the person who wants to follow a school of jurisprudence, first. And second, it varies depending on the academic environment in which he lives. Let us bring the issue closer with a very simple example. ThisThe questioner : or that person who asks such a question lives in a simple village with a small number of people, and there is a scholar there from one of the followed schools of jurisprudence. Suppose he is Hanafi or Shafi'i, it does not matter. The villagers, these farmers who know nothing of the knowledge of the Shari'ah, whom do they need to ask?

The questioner : They ask the scholar who is present.

The Shaykh : Is it possible for them to do otherwise?

The questioner : No

The Shaykh : No. A second village like it, or better, with more people, has a second scholar, but he follows a different school. What do they do?

The questioner : They ask the scholar.

The Shaykh : It is the same case. Now let us develop this. We will move to a third village with two scholars, one following one school and the other following another school. In that case, the individual in this village is not obligated to follow Zayd rather than 'Umar, right?

The questioner : Okay.

The Shaykh : Why? Because this one represents a school of the scholars of the Muslims, and so does that one. But I must stop here for a moment before we move to a third example, which will perhaps be the last or the second to last. One of the scholars in the village is a government employee, and the other is a free, independent scholar. And to add to the clarity, the government employee—no offense intended—is beardless, while the other has a beard. The beardless one is not known for his piety and righteousness, while the other is the opposite; he is known among the villagers for his righteousness. Whom will they ask?The questioner : Which of these two men?

The questioner : The one known for his righteousness.

The Shaykh : Is that not so? If that one becomes worthless, even though we are talking about a village with two scholars, in terms of the result, the matter returns to the positionThe questioner : that there is only one scholar in the village, correct?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : Good. Now let us return to the third example. There are three scholars: one Hanafi, one Shafi'i, and the third, of course, the examples repeat, but we must be concise. Instead of telling you a third village with a Hanafi, a Shafi'i, and a Maliki, and then a fourth village with the four schools, no, no, we will shorten the path to reach the goal by the shortest route. The third village has a Hanafi scholar, a Shafi'i scholar, and a Salafi scholar. What does it mean to be a Salafi scholar? It means he does not follow only one of the four schools. He does not put this before his eyes, seeing only a narrow path before him. Rather, just as our Lord created him, he looks from every side, from every direction. This Salafi scholar studies the Hanafi school, studies the Shafi'i school, and the rest of the schools, and then takes from them what is closest to the Book and the Sunnah. Which of these three scholars will be on the straighter path and the most upright in speech: the first, the second, or the third?

The questioner : The one whose ruling is closest to the Book and the Sunnah.

The Shaykh : Well done. So he asks the third one, not the first or the second, clear?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : Good. Now, this is how a Muslim must live in his academic life. You are now in Amman, and you may have been in Kuwait, and so on. In your mind, there is such-and-such a scholar and such-and-such a scholar, and so on. Each of these has followers, and they are recognized for their knowledge and virtue, and so on. So, if you are now in a position where your duty is to place the scale that we have brought you closer to in this topic. It is not just that they told you, "He is a scholar, a good scholar, I asked him about the issue you want." You must make a comparison. First, is he a pious scholar? Or is he not pious? We gave this in the previous example. Then, is he a school-bound scholar who looks with a very limited view, not the broad view? A limited scholar, but you have an absolute scholar. This absolute scholar, whom we call the Salafi, also in light of the previous interpretation, you need to look at two Salafi scholars: one who acts with his knowledge and the other who does not act with his knowledge. It is possible that he makes knowledge a trade, a position, a job. He is appointed to places, and when he enters a gathering, people stand up for him, and so on. All of this must be present in the mind of the individuals of the Muslims, the general Muslims, so that they can truly apply one text in the Noble Qur'an related to this topic, which is the saying of the Lord of the Worlds, Blessed and Exalted is He: .

The questioner : This is what prompted me to ask this question... and he says one must be on a school, either Hanbali or Shafi'i or... it is obligatory.

The Shaykh : No, that person is ignorant.

The questioner: Thank you

The Shaykh : The answer to the second question.

Another questioner : But our Shaykh, an interjection, may Allah reward you with good. Some people say, or some of them say, that the breadth of Islamic jurisprudence and the multitude of its issues and branches are not hidden. In accordance with what you have favored us with, some of the mentioned people of good who are far from fanaticism advise that a person should go through a specific school and stand on the heads of the issues, if not on their details, and go through Islam in general in all its rulings, and know the legal rulings according to this school with all its details. And if a text reaches him that contradicts what he read, he stops at the text and remains with what he is on, meaning that he is obligated to go through all of jurisprudence, and

The Shaykh : all of jurisprudence.

The questioner : all of jurisprudence. And without a doubt, school-based jurisprudence, in terms of going through the details and branches, is much easier than scrutinizing every issue with evidence and looking into it. And a person may not be able to do this, so he is given the choice to remain as they say, "Do not leave the majority of what you do not grasp in its entirety." What is your assessment of the one who calls for such a matter? May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : Naturally, I do not see this as a necessary requirement, but it is a good thing. Better than that is to move from one school of jurisprudence to a second, and better than that to a third and a fourth, even the Shi'ah school. But this—may Allah have mercy on you—is not a condition for a Muslim to be a jurist. As you indicated in your speech, it may facilitate for you reaching the truth in matters where people differ, but this is not the path to knowing the truth. If we allow ourselves to call it a condition, it is a condition of perfection, not a condition of validity. In reality, we are those upon whom Allah the Exalted has bestowed the favor of belonging to the school of the righteous Salaf. Our effort, to the extent of our ability, is to bring back, even a small community, to what the earliest Salaf were upon in all its details and particulars, within the limits of capability. The one you quoted from knows with certainty what we know, because it is not a matter that requires great knowledge that the Companions, after the death of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), had no school of jurisprudence except the Book and the Sunnah. There was no Bukhari school, or Umar school, or Uthman school, or Ali school. Rather, they applied the previous verse: . So none of them would wait until he gathered with Abu Bakr and asked him. If it was convenient for him to ask Ali, he would ask him; if it was convenient for him to ask someone below Ali, he would ask him, on the condition that he was convinced that the person was among the scholars of the Companions. We want to restore the first era, as we said, within the limits of our capability. So how is this restoration achieved? Is it by studying the traditional schools of jurisprudence, whose method is to present a summary of what knowledge has reached regarding that school only, without any evidence, except in the detailed and comprehensive books of jurisprudence, which only the very few reach, as the Sufis express it? So if we want to restore the first era, that will not happen except by linking the Muslims, scholars and those below them, directly to the Book and the Sunnah. As for the scholars, it is very clear. Instead of occupying himself for many, very long years studying a specific school of jurisprudence which certainly contains what contradicts the Book and the Sunnah, why do we not occupy him with studying the Book and the Sunnah in those long years? Then he will become a true jurist, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . As for this proposal, now let us enter into some detail. Whoever wants to apply that proposal which I preferred, and I expressed it loosely as a condition of perfection and not a condition of validity, how many years does it take from the life of the one who wants to adhere to this methodology? Give me an estimate from your side, with an underestimate, with an underestimate in the estimation.

The questioner : According to the researcher's intelligence.

The Shaykh : Yes?

The questioner : According to his intelligence, meaning it differs from person to person.

The Shaykh : It is correct, but I was with you in a broad sense. Give the lowest estimate.

The questioner : Meaning passing through the general principles, for example, reading *Kifayat al-Akhyar* for the Shafi'is, for example, it takes four months, for example.

The Shaykh: Okay

The questioner : Meaning at the beginning, and consequently knowledge of rulings, for example, regarding pledge, sale, debt, and similar matters, according to fixed rules that are not subject to change or alteration towards the text, unlike the one who has not organized his knowledge. Meaning, standing with the evidence is necessary and essential, but organizing the knowledge and precision in linking it to the Book and the Sunnah and the original source is without doubt, and this is legislation. But I want now a means by which I can benefit in organizing the information I have, meaning its arrangement and similar things.

The Shaykh : Is it correct or incorrect?

The questioner : It is correct without doubt. I am open to correction. I am still a student.

The Shaykh : Okay, is the correct understanding derived from reading any book?

The questioner : No, without doubt, it is not understood.

The Shaykh : So then?

The questioner : I do not settle for this. I say that this is only a primitive arrangement.

The Shaykh : In this stage, during this stage, you arranged it.

The questioner : I arranged it, yes.

The Shaykh : But not correctly.

The questioner : But I did not arrange it in a final way, meaning that the researcher must stand with the evidence and link it to this, and also he must read the words of others and look into the words of the investigators and listen to their opinions, and apply the rule of the Book and the Sunnah.

The Shaykh : Excuse me, that is for later.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : We are talking about the first stage proposed by this proposer. You say four months. How old is the one who wants to read this book in four months? And how much time has passed for him in studying other sciences? How old will he be?

The questioner : He has completed a certain educational stage.

The Shaykh : No problem, give me the age.

The questioner : In his twenties, meaning, in the early twenties.

The Shaykh : In his twenties.

The questioner : Early twenties.

The Shaykh : So if he reads in his twenties, say his age becomes 21 years and he read this book. Is this enough now?

The questioner : No

The Shaykh : I do not say it is enough to reach understanding of jurisprudence, meaning all its chapters and sections? Is it enough?

The questioner : It is not enough to understand it organized by chapters, meaning to understand the generalities of sales.

The Shaykh : Headlines, meaning.

The questioner : Headlines.

The Shaykh : The presentation was not like that, may Allah reward you. The presentation was to pass through the jurisprudence that reached us with its details. For example, does this person not want to pray?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : Okay, how does he understand it with details and not just in a general way? Similarly, for example, fasting, which is necessary for every person of legal age.

The questioner : Okay, our Shaykh, may Allah reward you with good. Many edited manuscripts in many chapters exist and are easy. For example, your book, may Allah reward you with good, on the manner of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) prayer is a long research and guides to it at the beginning due to its existence. But the talk is about what does not exist. Meaning, now we want a student of knowledge, and unfortunately, despite the vastness of the Islamic library, in many general chapters, many of our brothers and students ask us for advice, and we do not find for them, for example, a reference to advise them in transactions, in sales, for example, or even in zakah. We do not find a book on zakah to say to the beginner student of knowledge, and we cut off for him the long journey, as you mentioned, in the manner of prayer.

The Shaykh : This is an argument against the one who proposes that proposal. Do you know why? Because the preoccupation of these later generations with such a heritage is what created the deficiency that you are complaining about, is it not?

The questioner : Yes, in one aspect. But in reality, in the recent period, as is not hidden from you, people have abandoned jurisprudence and then paid attention to it again, meaning.

The Shaykh : Okay, and the past periods?

The questioner : That is what you mentioned.

The Shaykh : Okay, we are done. So what is the cure, may Allah reward you? The cure is not to wear people out with the study of traditional jurisprudence.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : But the matter returns to what I said about detail, if we do not have anyone to study except this jurisprudence. We say to the students, you must study this jurisprudence. But if the methodology of the one who wants to emerge, for example, as a professor in what is called today comparative jurisprudence, is to enter through this introduction, this is not correct. Rather, it must be, from the beginning, if this person reaches a certain level of general Islamic culture and awareness and understanding of the Book and the Sunnah, that he is linked directly to the Book and the Sunnah, and not to one of the traditional schools of jurisprudence. I said that what you mentioned is an argument against the one I referred to, because in reality, we see practically that those who study this study become confused towards the true school, which is following the Book and the Sunnah.The student : to a certain level of general Islamic culture, awareness, and understanding of the Book and the Sunnah directly, linking it to the Book and the Sunnah rather than to one of the traditional schools of jurisprudence. I said that what I mentioned is an argument against the one you referred to, because in reality, we see practically that those who study this type of study become confused regarding the true school, which is following the Book and the Sunnah.

The questioner : And if it is necessary to go into detail from the beginning

The Shaykh : It is this one.
Al-Halabi : Your answer to the question of our brother Abu Ubaydah reminds me of your answer when asked about the ruling on following a scholar without knowing his evidence. You say, we do not deny following a scholar without knowing his evidence, but we deny making following a scholar without knowing his evidence a religion.

The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
Al-Halabi : Making following a scholar without knowing his evidence a religion, meaning taking following a scholar without knowing his evidence as a religion, this is the forbidden thing.

Another questioner : Our Shaykh, if he goes back to read the book *Al-Majmu'*, how long will it take, our Shaykh? If he reads the book *Al-Majmu'*, it takes a hundred months.
Abu Layla : We return to the question of our brother Abu 'Amir, may Allah preserve you. The pledge of allegiance.