{"_id":"674b0c620c0b320546445fad","title":"{\"ops\":[{\"attributes\":{\"background\":\"transparent\",\"color\":\"#000000\"},\"insert\":\"Why is it encouraged to follow one of the four major madhabs?\"}]}","question":"{\"ops\":[{\"attributes\":{\"color\":\"#000000\",\"background\":\"transparent\"},\"insert\":\"Can you explain the importance of why it is encouraged to follow one of the four major madhabs? I agree we should follow one of the major sunni schools of thought, but have difficulty explaining why. Oftentimes the statement is “I am just solely Muslim, not Hanafi/Shafi/etc.” Also, can you explain why we can't pick and choose, from the different madhabs (ie wudu from one and prayer from another)?\"}]}","answer":"{\"ops\":[{\"attributes\":{\"color\":\"#000000\",\"background\":\"transparent\"},\"insert\":\"A Muslim either has the necessary qualifications to derive rules from the sources of Sharia'h (Quran & Hadith) or they do not. Those that are able to do so are called Mujtahids and those that are not able to do so are called non-Mujtahids. For the Mujtahids, they have to follow their Ijtihad, and for the non-Mujtahids, they have to follow a Mujtahid. There is no other way.\"},{\"insert\":\"\\n\\n\"},{\"attributes\":{\"color\":\"#000000\",\"background\":\"transparent\"},\"insert\":\"The only question now is if you’re a non-Mujtahid, then which Mujtahid should you follow. There are two choices, you can follow one of the four schools of Fiqh that were established by the early generations of Muslims and have survived and thrived until present day, that were formulated on a set of principles with a systematic approach, have continued to evolve with input from scholars in every generation, all of them accountable to that system, contributing, refining, and growing the school to keep pace with the changing landscape, or you can follow a random person who claims to be an independent mujtahid that is truly “following the Kitab & Sunnah.” Either way, you are following someone else’s interpretation of the Sharia'h. \"},{\"insert\":\"\\n\\n\"},{\"attributes\":{\"color\":\"#000000\",\"background\":\"transparent\"},\"insert\":\"Regarding the statement, “I am just Muslim,” that’s what we should all be saying. Being Muslim is how we identify ourselves, not as Hanafi or Shafi'i, because the school of law you follow is just a means to practice your religion, i.e to being Muslims, it’s not a separate identity. So, if you say I am just Muslim and I don’t follow any school, then the question is how do you practice your religion? How did you learn to purify yourself, to pray, to fast, etc.? If you say from the Quran and Hadith, then you’re claiming to be a Mujtahid, which is fine, as long as you are qualified, and if you say from a book or video, then you are following the Ijtihad of someone else, which is exactly what anyone who says they’re Hanafi/Shafi'i is doing. \"},{\"insert\":\"\\n\\n\"},{\"attributes\":{\"color\":\"#000000\",\"background\":\"transparent\"},\"insert\":\"At the end of the day, as a non-Mujtahid, what is required from you is that what you do, e.g. Salah, is correct according to the opinion of a Mujtahid, for this reason, you cannot mix-and-match from different schools whereby no Mujtahid/school would validate what you’re doing. You cannot go into the lab like a mad scientist, mixing all kinds of formulas together and creating something that is unrecognizable by any of the Mujtahids. The Islamic term for this is Talfeeq. \"},{\"insert\":\"\\n\\n\"},{\"attributes\":{\"color\":\"#000000\",\"background\":\"transparent\"},\"insert\":\"I should point out that there are two opinions on what is considered Talfeeq. The first says that Wudu and Salah are together because one is a prerequisite for the other, so you have to follow the same school in both Wudu and Salah, while the other opinion says, they are separate and not ties together, so you can follow one school in Wudu and another in Salah. I advocate the latter opinion because it is the most forgiving in our time of widespread ignorance and confusion. \"},{\"insert\":\"\\n\\n\"},{\"attributes\":{\"color\":\"#000000\",\"background\":\"transparent\"},\"insert\":\"For further reading: \"},{\"attributes\":{\"link\":\"http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/ahm/newmadhh.htm\",\"color\":\"#1155cc\",\"background\":\"transparent\",\"underline\":true},\"insert\":\"http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/ahm/newmadhh.htm\"},{\"attributes\":{\"color\":\"#000000\",\"background\":\"transparent\"},\"insert\":\" & \"},{\"attributes\":{\"link\":\"http://masud.co.uk/why-does-one-have-to-follow-a-madhhab-2\",\"color\":\"#1155cc\",\"background\":\"transparent\",\"underline\":true},\"insert\":\"http://masud.co.uk/why-does-one-have-to-follow-a-madhhab-2\"},{\"insert\":\"\\n\"}]}","tags":[{"_id":"668d9ff90b76658b4c232aa0","tag":"Knowledge: Madhabs","count":65},{"_id":"674b0c620c0b320546445fab","tag":"Talfeeq","count":2}],"createdOn":"2024-11-30T13:00:18.462Z"}