In his letter, he states that it is said there are several schools of jurisprudence in Islam, including the Shafi'i school, the Hanbali school, the Hanafi school, and the Maliki school.
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The questioner : In his letter, he states that it is said there are several schools of jurisprudence in the religion of Islam, including the Shafi'i school, the Hanbali school, the Hanafi school, and the Maliki school, and that there are other schools as well. Were those schools present during the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?
The Shaykh : These schools did not exist during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). In reality, these schools are nothing but the independent legal reasoning opinions of their imams (may Allah have mercy on them). Nevertheless, they are all unanimously agreed that when the evidence becomes clear, it is obligatory to follow it and set aside their opinions.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This is contrary to the fanatics who place the statements of these imams (may Allah have mercy on them) on the same level as the sacred texts, which must not be contradicted, and who consider contradicting them to be a wrong. This is forbidden for them and not permissible. Whoever finds the evidence clear and the Sunnah evident to him, it is forbidden for him to prefer the statement of anyone over it, no matter who that person is, even if it were Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, or 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with them all). It is obligatory, by the consensus of the scholars, for one to whom the Sunnah is evident to follow it, regardless of which school he follows. By this, we know that it is incumbent upon the scholars to make their greatest concern the diligent research into the sources of the Sunnah, indeed the sources of the Shari'ah, which are the Book and the Sunnah, in terms of knowledge, understanding, comprehension, and practice. This is so that people may return to what the righteous Salaf did, which is returning to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and so that agreement and unity may be achieved among them. It is impossible to achieve complete agreement and unity while there is contention in opinions and disagreement, even if it is in the jurisprudential matters they call secondary. There must be divergence and distance among Muslims if each one is fanatical about what his imam held, even though the imams (may Allah have mercy on them and reward them with good), the verified followers, and all the scholars hold that it is not permissible for anyone to whom the Sunnah is evident to contradict it with their statements. Yes.
The Shaykh : These schools did not exist during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). In reality, these schools are nothing but the independent legal reasoning opinions of their imams (may Allah have mercy on them). Nevertheless, they are all unanimously agreed that when the evidence becomes clear, it is obligatory to follow it and set aside their opinions.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This is contrary to the fanatics who place the statements of these imams (may Allah have mercy on them) on the same level as the sacred texts, which must not be contradicted, and who consider contradicting them to be a wrong. This is forbidden for them and not permissible. Whoever finds the evidence clear and the Sunnah evident to him, it is forbidden for him to prefer the statement of anyone over it, no matter who that person is, even if it were Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, or 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with them all). It is obligatory, by the consensus of the scholars, for one to whom the Sunnah is evident to follow it, regardless of which school he follows. By this, we know that it is incumbent upon the scholars to make their greatest concern the diligent research into the sources of the Sunnah, indeed the sources of the Shari'ah, which are the Book and the Sunnah, in terms of knowledge, understanding, comprehension, and practice. This is so that people may return to what the righteous Salaf did, which is returning to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and so that agreement and unity may be achieved among them. It is impossible to achieve complete agreement and unity while there is contention in opinions and disagreement, even if it is in the jurisprudential matters they call secondary. There must be divergence and distance among Muslims if each one is fanatical about what his imam held, even though the imams (may Allah have mercy on them and reward them with good), the verified followers, and all the scholars hold that it is not permissible for anyone to whom the Sunnah is evident to contradict it with their statements. Yes.