#776: Ruling on following Two Madh`habs at the same time
776 QUESTION
“Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah dear sisters. May Allah honour you and increase your knowledge. Please I need clarification on an issue. In Islam, I can follow any madh-hab( school of law; Maliki, hanafi, shafi’i and hambali ) that I wish. But I can’t combine the opinions of two different madhaahib and be following, right? Jazaakumullahu khayran”
ANSWER:
Wa Alaykum Salām Warahmatullāh Wabarakātuh.
Alhamdulillāh.
As for Madhāhib, then know that they came about from differences in conceptualizing the text of the Qur’ān and the Sunnah, and the different applications of the Qawā’Īd of Fiq’h and Usūl. The explanation of these intricacies is far beyond the scope of this writing. It suffices to say that Shaykhu Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah authored a book to explain these reasons and titled it Raf’u Al-Malām ‘An Al-A’immati Al-A’alām and we have reviewed it in our Book Reviews on IslamNode. You may get snippets of the importance of this book by referring to it in our Book Reviews or attempt to be put through the book by a Teacher whose form grasp you trust.
When you understand the reasons for which the Madhāhib differed, it becomes clear to you that what is obligatory upon a Believer is to follow that which is backed by evidences and strengthened by the understanding of the Salaf in it’s accordance regardless of which Madh’hab that position favours. For the one who is not strong enough to grasp these differences and arrive at which is stronger and more backed by evidences in accordance with the understanding of the Predecessors, then let him/her follow a Shaykh that he trusts or a Student of Knowledge whose understanding and diligence him/her can rely upon. We have tried to help one another in this regard on IslamNode. But you should know that the Institition of the Madhāhib were set up to address the dilemma of the unlearned ones who are not able to discern the intricacies of these matters themselves. For this reason, the Ulamā agreed that it is permissible for the one who is not learned to stick to one Madh’hab as long as he is not learned enough to discern what is right and what is wrong from one position to the other.
Rather what is forbidden is to be following a position in a Madh’hab even after it is known to you that it is not backed with strong evidences.
May Allāh Grant us beneficial and illuminating knowledge, Amin.
Jazakumullāhu Khayran
Bārakallāhu Fīkum.
19th Sha’abān, 1440AH.
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