Since we have four madhhabs (schools of jurisprudence) and there are differences among them, which one I should follow? Should I adopt the one that my parents follow or study all of them and choose one according to my understanding, or should I consider all of them correct and try to adhere to the Qur’an and Sunnah as much as possible?

As you know this is a very common problem here in the United States as most Indo-Pakistani Muslims follow the Hanafi madhhab and our brothers and sisters from the Middle East and East Asia belong to other madhhabs. I think no one has the authority to say who is wrong and who is right, but what should I do? Which madhhab I should follow, and how should I know this?

All the four great imams tried their best to follow the Qur’an and Sunnah. They held different views among them either because they did not receive some hadiths, did not consider them authentic, or because they differed in their methods of interpretations. We trust and respect all of them. Many scholars in the past wrote books explaining the reasons that led to the differences of opinions among the imams. Imam Ibn Taymiyah wrote his famous book Raf` al-Malam `an al-A’immah al-A`lam. Shah Waliullah of Delhi wrote his great work Al-Insaf fi Bayan Asbab al-Ikhtilaf. There are also many other books that discuss this subject.

The Prophet’s Companions sometimes differed with one another. During their time, Muslims used to go to any one of them to seek his or her opinion and then would follow this opinion. In the early period, Muslims were quite flexible in the matters of madhhabs. In later centuries unfortunately, some rigidity entered the scene and Muslims from different madhhabs became so divided that they even used to pray separately. The Hanafi would not pray behind the Shafi`i and the Maliki would not pray behind the Hanbali. Al-hamdu lillah, we are slowly getting out of this rigidity.

We Muslims in America belong to various ethnic groups and madhhabs. We should be very tolerant of the differences of madhhabs and should not argue or fight each other on this subject. Those who are familiar with the sources of Islam and have thorough knowledge of the Qur’an and Sunnah may follow the Qur’an and Sunnah without adhering to any particular madhhab. We should try to study the Qur’an and Sunnah and should make every effort to learn about our religion.

There is also a need for ijtihad (personal reasoning) to be used to deal with many new issues. The door of ijtihad is not closed and can never be closed by anyone since Allah and His Messenger have opened it for Muslims. But ijtihad has its rules and qualifications. Do not perform ijtihad unless you are qualified to do so.

Muslims who are not well versed in Islamic sources should follow any imam and his madhhab. If there is a question on a particular issue, they may ask a knowledgeable and pious scholar whom they trust. Muslims should not be too strict in adhering to one particular madhhab. The loyalty of a Muslim should not be to a madhhab, but rather to the Qur’an and Sunnah.