Salaams,

I just wanted to ask if anyone can help how do you find out which is best to follow.

sufi, salafi, hanafi(spelling?),hanabli(spelling?),shaafi', I don't know are there others?

Does it matter to be muslim do you need to follow one or do you just choose and how do you choose?

Aminah

As'salamualaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barkatuhu,

As far as i know we need not select a sect and follow it. Lets try to act according to the Teachings of Qur'an as well as the sunnah. See that whatever we do is acc to to it just to pleassse Allah ta'ala. B.cos on the day of judgement we are not judged based on the sect we belong to accordingly. I wish our other members too to highlight there answer here.

As'salamualaikum

I do agree with brother seekshidayath that just attempt to follow the Qurain and sunnah. No doubt that Hanfi, Malki, Shafi etc. were the prominent scholars and they did the lot of work on Islam, and they explain the things in details which are make easier to understand about the religious but as per my little knowledge it is not compulsory for some one to must be adopt one of these.

Bismillah ir Rahman ir Rahim,

Of all what you have named, none are sects.

Hanafi, Hambali, Shafii and Maliki are madhabs according to fiqh. The scholars of Sunni Islam say that you must be following any,  which ever is most convenient for you to do. This means you can choose the madhab, of your nearest community which preferably is also the madhab of the imam of your mosque. The advantage of doing this would be that you will find a number of people insha allah who can help you with the general fiqh rulings in it.

For every muslim there is a`certain knowledge which is obligatory.  It is neccessary for him to learn the rulings of which in order to make his worship sound. This is based on the sacred law, and varies according to the madhab, thus most convenient for a person is to learn and follow from those who already know it. Insha allah. It is usually cumbersome and time consuming for an ordinary muslim, especially a new muslim to learn all these rulings by himself, thus the surest way of geting started correctly is by learning the religion from a practicing muslim whose understanding is based on traditional Isalm.

Doing everything on your own is not possible. Plus the Quran says, if you know not then ask those who know. [surah an nisa]

As for the sufis and salafis, obviously follow the sufis, or will be thoroughly confused :p

If you have any followups, you can PM me

Khair insha allah!

Is it obligatory for every one to must follow one of each Madhab?

we assuming that if some one like one thing from Hanfi madhab he is adopting that and the same person other thing he likes from the Malki Madhab and he praticing that. Then will some thing wrong.

The theme of my question is this that a person can praticing more than one madhabs at the same time.

ASA,

Thanks

It may take me some time to sort out which is best for me. Really strange that you can follow more than one or none at all.

Aminah

I am reminded of a story about Ali-Ibn-Abitalib. I paraphrase the story since I do not have the source with me. During a time of strife and open civil war a man asked him �How do I know what haq is when so many worthies disagree about it and are at war with each other?�. Ali responded �Do not judge haq by the worthies that follow it. First know what haq is, and then judge the men that follow it as worthy�.

Follow the straight path (sirat-al-mostaghim) and you will not go wrong.

Bismillah irrahman irrahim

Assalamu alaykum

It is said that each imam has taken the law of deriving the laws from the Holy Quran. I am not sure about all four but i know of Imam Hanifa rahimullah alyh. Basic of his law is that as Sayyidina Muhammad sallallahu alyhi wassalam progressed with his prophethood, his sunnah acts got better and better and were perfect in the end. So He has taken sunnah of the last time period from the life of Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassalam. But there is a famous saying of his that he is not aware of all of the sunnah so if someone in future hears and learns about a matter which is contradicting to his ruling then he should follow the sunnah rather than his ruling.

Now about following an imam, it is how the early generations did that because it is common sense that not every one has capacity and capability to do everything in life. There has to be people in each walk of life who are going to be experts in their field. Now scholars of deen are people who spent their lives in searching for the truth and they know much more than common people. Thats where the necessity of following an imam came, now no body on purpose made these madhabs. It was just that great scholars had difference of opinion about something and they saw it in the basic law that they are given a leave of having this difference of opinion. For example breaking of wudu with bleeding, Imam hanifa said that if blood flows from one part to another then wudu breaks. He took it from the sunnah of the latter times or in normal circumstances. On the other hand imam shafi' rahimullah alyh said this does not break wudu as Sayyidina Muhammad sallallahu alayh wassalam and companions radhiAllah anh used to pray during wars with every other limb bleeding.

So thats how the difference of opinion arose but what brother Muhammad asked, i once asked a shiekh and his reply was that yes you can do that but it followed a lengthy explanation and conditions to go with that. Now each madhab has a strict point about a matter and a window for some conditions. If a person is following the strictest way of all the madhab and not just making an excuse for himself/herself then it is allowed for him/her to take the exception given by another madhab in the time of need. For example if a person had a small cut on his finger and a small amount of blood did go on the other part and this person is following hanafi madhab then his wudu is not valid anymore. He should do the wudu again and pray but if this person is not home and when gets back home and its only time to either pray or do wudu then you could pray. But now another thing with that is if the same person is going to rush for mosque and pray behind an imam who is following hanafi madhab then the condition of salah, wudu according to hanafi madhab is not valid so his salah would not be valid, Allahu alam.

But most of the scholars do say that if a person has learned about major madhabs and he/she is not going to cheat himself/herself by taking the easy way out each time then yes it is allowed but there are so many things to think about and need explanation. But then again if a person has knowledge of all major madhabs then he/she would have some knowledge of doing things in the right way.

wassalam

WAS,

Thank You Fatimah for the explanation.

Aminah

Bismillah irrahman irrahim

Assalamu alaykum

Aminah07 wrote: WAS, Thank You Fatimah for the explanation. Aminah

You are welcome sweety

Wassalam

To answer Muhammad's Question:

Source:http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=50 72&CATE=239

Why Is Talfiq Impermissible, When The Earlier Generations Seem To Have Done It?
Answered by Shaykh Gibril F Haddad

I understand the need of following qualified scholarship however I keep coming across a trend when I read about the earlier generations. It seems that the common masses would consult the scholars if they were unaware of a ruling however I can't see any specification involved. What I mean is that they would ask whichever scholar was available and there doesn't seem to be any consideration given to talfiq. So where does the idea of talfiq come from. Can I not just ask whichever mufti I happen to find on an issue why the need to only ask a scholar of my madhhab when historically this is not the case.

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful

Back then, just as now, the common masses are not considered to have any other madhhab than their imam and it is presumed back then just as now that a person will have more religion than to saunter from one mufti to another always asking the same question until he finally gets the answer he hankers for.

There was definitely due consideration and dire warning given against the latter scenario - inadmissible talfiq - which in the eyes of the early generations consisted in following poor methodology, perhaps motivated by deliberate evasion of strictures you don�t like in your own madhhab, so as to adopt dispensations in other madhhabs. This forms the context for the following sayings:

�Whoever pursues the rarities of hadith will lie.� (Abu Yusuf)

�Whoever holds on to the rare and unusual positions of the Scholars has left Islam.� (Al-Awza`i)

�Whoever pursues the rare and the un­usual has gathered up all evil.� (Sufyan al-Thawri)

�He is not an Imam in `ilm who follows anomalous positions (al-shadhdh).� (`Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi)

�If you take the dispensation (rukhsa) or error (zalla) of every `alim, you will become the gathering point of every evil.� (Sulayman al-Taymi)

Allah have mercy on them and illuminate our insights through the blessing of theirs.

Hajj Gibril

 

Please also see the following Frequently Asked Questions on the issue of Madhabs:

Talfiq

What is the proof for the unlawfulness of talfiq? And what is its exact definition?

Mixing Madhhabs - Talfiq

There is another Question on SunniPath QA answered by Sh. Faraz Rabbani on media player. I am unable to connect to it ... if anyone can acess, insha allah there will be something useful in it.

Is it permissible for one to select the rulings of another madhab in case of hardship or for another's benefit?
Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Is it permissible for one to select the rulings of another madhab in case of hardship or for another's benefit?

Source: http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=4891&CATE=23 - http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=4891& CATE=23

Please note that all 4 sunni madhab are authentic and one can follow any. However I know that hanafis do not regard picking and choosing different rulings from different madhab as a healthy practice. Not sure about other madhab though.

 

Subhan allah you guys made me learn something ...

While going through the Q/A section on SunniPath I found the following answer.

Insha allah it will be of benefit for many. Though please note that it can be difficult for someone who is a beginner, so go slow on your nafs insha allah. ... Posting some excerpts below:

Source:http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=50 2&CATE=2

The Path of Taqwa: Avoiding Differences of Opinion

"The way of the spiritual traveller is to avoid differences of opinion, and to stick to that which is agreed upon.� � Imam al-Barkawi

Ibn Abidin commented on this in his Radd al-Muhtar (also famous as, al-Hashiya, and al-Shami), considered the most important authority for the definitive positions of the Hanafi school:

�(His saying, �It is recommended��)

It is stated [by Umar ibn Nujaym] in al-Nahr: However, the degrees of recommendedness differ according to the strength or weakness of the evidence of the other school.

(His saying, �It is a condition, though��)

� Does [avoiding something] disliked [in one�s own school] include something slightly disliked? � It seems evident that it does, such as praying fajr when the sky is still dark (taghl�s), which is a sunna in the Shafi`i school, but the best in our school is to pray when there is light in the sky (isf�r), and it is not recommended [per se] to avoid the difference of opinion in it�.� [Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar `ala al-Durr al-Muhtar, Bab Sunan al-Wudu�]

Imam al-Suyuti said in his al-Ashbah wa al-Naza�ir, in Shafi`i fiqh,

�The Twelfth Principle: Avoiding differences of opinion is recommended�

There are conditions to this:

One, that avoiding a difference of opinion not lead to falling into another difference�

Second, that the difference of opinion not go against an established sunna [F: that is, it should not lead to leaving something recommended or doing something disliked in one�s school]

Third, that its evidence have some basis, such that it is not considered a mistake. This is why it is best to fast even while traveling for one able to do so without hardship, and the difference of Dawud [al-Zahiri, the Literalist] is not considered, because it is baseless.

In fact, Imam al-Haramayn [al-Juwayni] said regarding this issue,

�The scholars of discernment do not place any weight to the difference of opinion of the Literalists (Ahl al-Zahir).� [al-Suyuti, al-Ashbah wa al-Naza�ir, p. 137]

Imam al-Barkawi said in al-Tariqa al-Muhamadiyya, a manual on how to operationalize taqwa:

  �The way of the spiritual traveller is to avoid differences of opinion, and to stick to that which is agreed upon.�

Imam al-Khadimi commented on this in his al-Bariqa al-Mahmudiyya Sharh al-Tariqa al-Muhammadiyya: [2: 286-287]

  �� It is clear that the difference of other than the Hanafi imams is not of consideration [f: for a Hanafi] in terms of the legal ruling (fatwa). Rather, it is sought in terms of taqwa.,

The author pointed to this when he said,

(The way of the spiritual traveller) to Allah (is to avoid differences of opinion). This is because they consider the differences of opinion of all Imams� because though [according to the methodology of the school one follows] he considers them mistaken in their opinion, it is possible that they are right. This is because of what we hold that the madhhab of Abu Hanifa is correct with the possibility of being wrong, and the madhhabs of others are wrong with the possibility of being right. Thus, the cautious God-fearing person avoids this possibility as much as possible�

(and to stick to that which is agreed upon). Al-Bistami said in Hall al-Rumuz, �It is incumbent on the sufi to acquire enough knowledge to make his actions in accordance to the Sacred Law according to all four madhhabs. This is because if the sufi is Hanafi, for example, it is binding on him to exercise caution in the matters relating to his ritual ablutions (wudu�) and prayer and other acts of worship such that they are also in accordance with the madhhabs of Shafi`i, Malik, and Ahmad , because the way (madhhab) of the sufis is to join between the positions of the fuqaha. When this is not possible, they act on that which is religiously most precautious and most appropriate. This is because a Shafi`i would not question you why you did not perform ritual ablutions with two qullas (216 litres) or more of water [f: if filth fell in it, whereas this is not allowed for Hanafis], and a Hanafi would not question you as to why you performed ritual ablutions upon touching your private parts or a person of the opposite sex.

And it is incumbent on the sufi to love the follower of the four madhhabs, and to make dua for the good for all of them, and not to be fanatical at all.

As for dispensations, it is binding that he leave them at all cost.� (end of the quote from al-Bistami)

This is in terms of taqwa, because acting on dispensations is permitted according to the fuqaha (ahl al-fatwa)�� [al-Khadimi, al-Bariqa al-Mahmudiyya Sharh al-Tariqa al-Muhammadiyya:, 2: 286-287]

It should be noted, however, that this is a noble perfection. The first step towards it is to learn one�s own madhhab properly, and to do one�s best to apply its rulings in one�s life without exception, in all aspects of one�s life, being most careful about that which relates to the rights of others and to the halal and haram.

And Allah alone gives success.

Wassalam,

Faraz Rabbani.

Jazak allahu khair everyone for your questions and comments.

May allah give all of us the tawfiq to follow His deen and sharia for the sake of His countenance alone. Ameen.