The issue of allegiance to one school of Fiqh in its totality

by Mawlana Arafat Ali

If it was permissible to pick & mix it would render the Shari'a a plaything in the hands of the ignorant and no rule of Shari'a would remain immune of distortion. This is why pick & mix has been condemned by all of the renowned scholars of Islam. Ibn Taymiya,the famous hadith scholar (held in high esteem by salafi scholars) says in his famous fatawa Ibn Taymiya :

Some people follow at one time an Imam who holds marriage invalid , and at another time they follow an Imam who holds it valid.They do so only to serve their individual purpose and to satisfy their desires. Such an practice is impermissible according to the consensus of all the Imams (Fatawa Ibn Taymiya 2:285-286).

This was the basic cause for the policy adopted by the latter scholars & jurists, who made it necessary for the common people to adopt a particular school in its totality.If one prefers to adopt to the Hanafi school then one should adopt to it in all matters and with all of its details. The policy of allegience to a particular School of Fiqh was a preventive measure adopted by the Jurists and Sholars to prevent anarchy in the matters of Shariah .This policy is for those that don't have the prerequistes if Ijtihaad thus cannot evalulate the arguments advanced by all of the madhabs in support of their views. for such people the most best & safe approach is to follow one particlar school of Fiqh as a creditable interpretaion of the Quran & sunnah.

Some people who have no systematic knowledge of Islamic Sciences often become deluded by their superficial knowledge based on their self study of the translation of the Quran and a few Hadith translations assume themselves to be qualified ,masters of Islamic Sciences and begin criticizing former Scholars and Jurists. This attitude is based on ignorance and has no justification.

Truly and accurately said by a famous Scholar " As for would -be mujtahids who know some Arabic and are armed with Quran translation & a few Hadith books, they are like the would -be doctor who's on;y qualification is that he could read English and owned some medical books, we would certainly object to his practicing medicine ,even if it were no more than operating on someone's little finger". So what should be said who knows only Arabic and has some books of hadith, and wants to operate on your Akhira?

Who ever makes Ijtihaad without qualification is a criminal . The proof of this the Hadith that the Companion Jabir Ibn Abdullah said " We went on a journey, and a stone sruck one of us and opened a gash in his head. When he later had a wet-dream in his sleep, he then asked his companion, "Do you find any dispensation for me to perform dry ablution (tayammum)?". They told him, "We don't find any dispensation for you if you can use water."
So he performed the purifactory bath and his wound opened and he died. When we came to the Prophet (p.b.u.h), he was told of this and he said : "They have killed him , may Allah kill them. Why did they not ask?, for they didn't know. The only cure for someone who dosen't know what to say is to ask" (Abu Dawud,3.321).

This Hadith is well authenticated (Hasan). Every Muslim who has any taqwa should reflect on it carefully, for the prophet (p.b.u.h) indicated in it in the strongest language possible that to Judge on a rule of Islam on the basis of insufficent knowledge is a crime.