Q589 :Every Muslim should follow the Prophet (peace
be on him), but is it also necessary that every Muslim should follow
one of the four schools of thought? If the answer is in the
affirmative, how do we account for this considering that these schools
of thought were established much later than the Prophet?
A589 : The short answer to this question is that it
is not necessary to follow any one of the four major schools of
thought. Nor is it done in practice except by a few people. If a
person has enough knowledge of Islam and how rulings are deduced from
texts of the Qur’an and the Hadith, he normally looks at every question
separately, choosing the ruling which he feels to be weightier
regardless of which school of thought subscribes to it. On the other
hand, if he has only scanty knowledge of fiqh, or Islamic
jurisprudence, then he follows whatever ruling is given by a scholar in
any particular matter. Take for example the readers of Arab News
who write to me. They take my advice without questioning me regarding
the school of thought which advocates that particular opinion. It is
true that some of them mention that they belong to a particular school
of thought and request an opinion on its basis. I try to acnetmodate
them as far as possible, but sometimes I prefer to give them the
opinion which is most suitable, or easiest to follow in their
particular circumstances. Sometimes I give an advice on a serious
question which is contrary to what all four schools of thought say. For
example, in the case of pronouncing divorce three times in one session.
I lean towards the opinion of Imam Ibn Taimiyah, who is no less an imam
than the founders of the four schools of thought. He states that such a
divorce counts as a single, revocable divorce. You will appreciate the
amount of misery that is avoided by following this ruling which is
supported by strong evidence from Hadith and by a growing number of
scholars and which has been incorporated in the family law of a number
of Muslim Countries. Only when a scholar has studied a particular
school of thought thoroughly and when he subscribes to its methodology
that we find a person strictly following that school of thought. He is
of course entitled to his decision. What we must not forget is that
the schools of thought are simply methods of deduction of various
rulings concerning the affairs of human life. They are all based on the
teachings of the Prophet and the practices of his netpanions and the
opinions learned from scholars in the early period of Islam.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )