Yasar A Rahman@YasarARahman
O Maḏhab fanatics!
Is it from your nature to lie, fabricate, oppress, and twist words?!
Why — in your distorted understanding — does following a particular Maḏhab on a specific issue automatically mean:
1. Disrespecting or criticising other Maḏhabs or their Imāms
2. Arrogance
3. Being “anti-Maḏhab”
Is this not, in reality, the very definition of Maḏhab fanaticism?
Does this not resemble the arguments of the Mushrikīn who, when called to abandon calling upon the dead and seeking their intercession, accuse Ahl al-Sunnah of belittling the Awliyāʾ?
Since when did presenting the position of a Maḏhab — supported by its evidences — become an attack on other Maḏhabs, or a sign of arrogance?
This is exactly what the Imāms of the four Maḏhabs and other scholars warned against — this blameworthy fanaticism that only serves to divide the Muslims.
I have never claimed that a person cannot follow a Maḏhab. Rather, I affirm that following a Maḏhab is permissible when done correctly, as explained by the scholars. What I have consistently warned against is Maḏhab fanaticism — something unfortunately found among some who cannot distinguish between adhering to a Maḏhab and being fanatical towards it.
Furthermore, why is it a problem if someone who has been studying the religion — its various sciences, both academically and under scholars — for many years chooses an opinion from a Maḏhab or from well-grounded scholars that he holds to be stronger?
Subḥānallāh — you want every person to remain a muqallid for life. This is fanaticism.
Following a Maḏhab should be done in a structured manner that allows a student to develop through different stages, eventually becoming equipped to understand and weigh between scholarly opinions. As for blind adherence with no growth or development, then this is for the layperson who has not pursued knowledge. And by consensus of the scholars, taqlīd is not considered knowledge.
Alḥamdulillāh, I have studied fiqh primarily through classical Ḥanbalī texts such as Zād al-Mustaqniʿ and al-Rawḍ al-Murbiʿ, and for the past 10 years have been studying Dalīl al-Ṭālib with our Shaykh, Sulaymān al-Ruḥaylī.
So what I oppose is clear: Maḏhab fanaticism and unrestricted taqlīd — not the valid following of a Maḏhab. And this is what our scholars have taught us.
As Imām al-ʿUthaymīn said in Kitāb al-ʿilm:
“However, what is prohibited in taqlīd is for a person to bind himself to a specific Maḏhab in every situation, believing that this alone is his path to Allāh — such that he follows it even when it contradicts the evidence.”
But such words will never please the Maḏhab fanatics — because they want you to remain a muqallid no matter what. Do not oppose the Maḏhab. Do not even think about following a ḥadīth that clearly contradicts it. And who are you, in their eyes, to even look into the Qurʾān and the authentic Sunnah?
Finally, this trend of forcing blind-following in every matter and in every situation, while neglecting evidences, is not the way of the scholars. Rather, it is the way of the ignorant, pretenders to knowledge, and beginner students speaking about matters far beyond their level.
And Allāh knows best.