First, the issue of the tariqahs and the multitude of their shaykhs is such that it leaves a person in confusion about his affair. Is there a basis for these tariqahs, or if a person is on one of the four madhhabs, is he not required to concern himself with these tariqahs?

The questioner : Welcome, esteemed Shaykh Muhammad.

The Shaykh : Welcome to you.

The questioner : Esteemed Shaykh Muhammad, this message reached us from Sudan from the sender, 'Umar Uthman Abu Madaytah or Abu Madinah, a merchant in the market. He says: First, the issue of the tariqahs and the multitude of their shaykhs is such that it leaves a person in confusion about his affair. Is there a basis for these tariqahs, or if a person is on one of the four madhhabs, is he not required to concern himself with these tariqahs? Please issue a ruling for us, may Allah reward us with good.

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. We praise Allah the Exalted that we do not live with these tariqahs and their shaykhs, and we ask Allah the Exalted for steadfastness upon the truth for us and for our Muslim brothers. As for what concerns the brother's question, I will recite for him a verse from the Qur'an that clarifies the validity or invalidity of these tariqahs. Allah Blessed and Exalted is He says: a single path.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : And the sabil is the plural of sabil, meaning a path, and it refers to everything that contradicts the path of Allah Mighty and Majestic; it is a path that is forbidden and falls under the generality of His statement "the sabil." Then He said: These tariqahs to which the questioner refers must be presented to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the guidance of his Rightly Guided Successors. If they conform to them, they are truth; if they contradict them, they are invalid and must be rejected, no matter who the shaykh is who speaks of them, no matter how popular he is, and no matter how many his followers are. Do not be deceived, O questioner, by the large number of followers of these shaykhs, for Allah says: And your statement that one must adhere to one of the four madhhabs: the reality is that Islam is one madhhab, and these four madhhabs that people have followed are merely the opinions of mujtahids who seek thereby the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). They are not independent paths separate from the Islamic religion, for if they were, there would be no difference between them and the people of the tariqahs you mentioned. Rather, they seek to conform to the Book and the Sunnah and call for following the Book and the Sunnah, even if their own opinions contradict that. So you must, if you wish to be sincere to yourself and to have your religion upright, seek out the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Rightly Guided Successors, whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded to follow, as he said: And you must measure what these shaykhs and others are upon by the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and his Rightly Guided Successors. Yes.

The questioner : Yes.