Importance of Following a Madhab in Fiqh

Zayd Chowdhry,

As Muslims we have been provided with the perfect guidance, the Holy Qur’an. The Holy Qur’an is the speech of the most high, the all-knowing, and the most perfect. It is the speech of Allah سبحانه وتعالى, the most gracious. The Holy Qur’an is truly a miracle and a blessing from Allah سبحانه وتعالى and Muslims across the globe are guided through it. Along with the Holy Qur’an, Muslims have been blessed with another form of guidance through the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ.. Allah سبحانه وتعالى has commanded multiple times throughout the Holy Qur’an that:

“Obey Allah سبحانه وتعالى and the Messenger, so you may be shown mercy.“ [Surah Al-Imran 3:132]

Furthermore, Allah سبحانه وتعالى has also explained the reason for sending the Prophet ﷺ Allah سبحانه وتعالى says:

“We sent them with clear proofs and divine Books. And We have sent down to you O Prophet the Reminder, so that you may explain to people what has been revealed for them, and perhaps they will reflect.“ [Surah Al-Nahl 16:44]

The meaning from this is very clear that the main goal of the Holy Prophet ﷺ was to explain the Holy Qur’an and to interpret the revelations sent down to him. From this, the importance of following the Qur’an and Sunnah is understood; in order to be guided to the straight path then only the Qur’an and Sunnah should be followed. However, there are many verses in the Holy Qur’an and many Hadith which are very difficult to understand and comprehend. The meanings and commands of such verses are difficult to ascertain even by the most knowledgeable scholars. It is also not suitable to dismiss these verses or hadith as they are part of the Holy Qur’an and Sunnah. Therefore, as a layman, how should these verses and Hadith be approached and understood?

Fiqh and the Madhabs

Fiqh is the science of Islamic Jurisprudence. It is the science of extracting religious rulings from the detailed sources – from Qur’an and Sunnah. Scholars have studied these resources in detail and compiled the rulings of fiqh. They have done so through a process of Ijtihad which is a scientific process to reach the Shari’ah rulings from its sources. Ijtihad and its outcomes have been explained in the following hadith:

When a judge gives a decision, having tried his best to decide correctly and is right, there are two rewards for him; and if he gave a judgment after having tried his best (to arrive at a correct decision) but erred, there is one reward for him. [Sahih Muslim 1716]

From this, it is understood that those qualified scholars who strive to extract rulings from Qur’an and Sunnah will be rewarded greatly. Furthermore, the use of Ijithad is proven from another Hadith:

When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ intended to send Mu'adh ibn Jabal to the Yemen, he asked: How will you judge when the occasion of deciding a case arises? He replied: I shall judge in accordance with Allah's Book. He asked: (What will you do) if you do not find any guidance in Allah’s Book? He replied: (I shall act) in accordance with the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He asked: (What will you do) if you do not find any guidance in the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and in Allah’s Book? He replied: I shall do my best to form an opinion and I shall spare no effort. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then patted him on the breast and said: Praise be to Allah سبحانه وتعالى Who has helped the Messenger of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to find something which pleases the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. [Sunan Abu Dawud 3592]

Therefore, Prophet ﷺ approved Sayyiduna Muadh’s (RA) answer of “I shall do my best to form an opinion”. As a result of this process of attempting to extract rulings, 4 famous Imams have done Ijtihad, and this has resulted in the four famous Madhabs. The word Madhhab is derived from an Arabic word meaning "to go" or "to take as a way” and refers to a mujtahid's explanation of the Qur'an and Sunnah on a particular topic in order to derive a ruling. They have covered the majority of the topics of deen compiled rulings on all these topics.

The four famous Imams are:

• Imam Abu Hanifah – those who follow his fiqh are part of the Hanafi Madhab

• Imam Malik – those who follow his fiqh are part of the Maliki Madhab

• Imam Al-Shaf’i – those who follow his fiqh are part of the Shaf’i Madhab

• Imam Ahmad Ibn Hannibal – those who follow his fiqh are part of the Hanbali Madhab

These Imams learned fiqh from the Qur’an and Sunnah, and they are mujtahideen in this regard. These four separate Madhabs have come about as a result of the different ways the Imams have done their Ijtihad. It is important to note that the four Imams only have different opinions on very minor issues, and they are all agreed upon the core Aqeedah – beliefs. Their only differences are in small issues such as certain minor actions in salaah or wudhu. In this sense, the four Imams (and Madhabs, as a result) are part of the same group of Muslims: Ahlul Sunnah Wal Jama’at. These four Imams and those who follow their Madhab are all united as one group in following the Holy Prophet ﷺ and the Holy Qur’an, albeit with some minor difference of opinions.

The importance of following a Madhab

Qur’an and Sunnah are not things which should be taken lightly. Misinterpreting the Hadith and Qur’an and acting on that misinterpretation can result in committing bid’ah (Innovation), which is a major sin.

Many people say, “Qur’an and Hadith are sufficient” and some go even further and rely only upon Qur’an. This is not the correct approach for a Muslim who wants to adopt the path of guidance. Without a doubt, a layman could never even begin to understand the Holy Qur’an and Hadith using their own intellect and understanding. The greatest scholars of the past have not even done so; they have relied upon the understanding of their predecessors.

The Sahabah themselves would go to Prophet ﷺ for explanation of the Qur’an. There is no one left alive who could be more knowledgeable regarding the Qur’an than the Sahabah and yet even they did not rely on their own intellect and knowledge to interpret and explain the Qur’an. Therefore, it is completely inappropriate for a person in this time to claim that they can rely solely on Qur’an and Sunnah without following the understanding of those greater in knowledge. Allah سبحانه وتعالى has also commanded us in the Holy Qur’an on what we should do in this regard; He has said:

“So, ask the people (having the knowledge) of the Reminder (the earlier Scriptures), if you do not know. “ [Surah Al-Nahl 16:43]

Therefore, for those things that a layman may not know about or may not be qualified in, he should seek the opinion and knowledge of someone well versed in that subject. A person would not attempt to diagnose an illness or perform surgery after reading a mere textbook on the subject; a qualified doctor would be sought after. Similarly in the case of extracting rulings and explaining the Qur’an and Sunnah an unqualified person cannot do this after merely reading the translation. Only a qualified person may interpret the Qur’an and Sunnah and extract rulings from them and those who are unqualified should follow the opinions of those who are qualified. Therefore, Muslims in this age should follow the opinions of qualified scholars of the past; great scholars who were close to the time of the Holy Prophet ﷺ and who would have the best knowledge of the Deen. The scholars who fall into this category would be the 4

Imams mentioned above.

From this it is understood that following one of the four Madhabs is a necessity.

The concept of Madhabs has also been proven from the following Hadith of Prophet ﷺ On the day of Al-Ahzab (i.e., Clans) the Prophet ﷺ said,

"None of you Muslims should offer the `Asr prayer but at Banu Quraiza's place." The `Asr prayer became due for some of them on the way. Some of those said, "We will not offer it till we reach it, the place of Banu Quraiza," while some others said, "No, we will pray at this spot, for the Prophet ﷺ did not mean that for us." Later on, it was mentioned to the Prophet ﷺ and he did not berate any of the two groups. [Sahih Bukhari 4119]

It is clear from this Hadith that the two groups of Sahabah understood his saying differently, the two ways of understanding it were:

1. Literally, that, do not pray Asr until you reach Banu Quraiza, even if Maghrib time enters

2. To hasten with the journey to Banu Quraiza such that you try to reach there before Asr

Some Sahaba took the first meaning and did not pray until reaching Banu Quraiza and others took the second meaning; they hastened as much as they could but when they found that they could not reach Banu Quraiza before Maghrib they prayed Asr regardless.

There are three key learning points from this Hadith. Firstly, even the Sahabah who were most knowledgeable of the Deen and far more knowledgeable than any scholar after them, could have different opinions on what was meant by a saying of the Holy Prophet ﷺ. Therefore, the fact that the four Imams have different opinions is not something significant and should not be a reason to dismiss any particular Madhab.

Secondly, Prophet ﷺ did not berate either of the two groups. Therefore, both groups had done correctly since both meanings could be understood from the saying of Prophet ﷺ.

Finally, it proves that having a different opinion does not exclude you from being guided. Both groups of Sahabah remained as Sahabah and remained guided regardless of which opinion they adopted – both groups were followers of Prophet ﷺ. Similarly, all four Imams and all four Madhabs, despite having different opinions, they are all still guided and still followers of Prophet ﷺ. Furthermore, many of the most famous differences between the mujtahid Imams were actually the difference of opinions that existed amongst the companions.

Prophet ﷺ has also mentioned in a Hadith that:

"Indeed, Allah will not unite my Ummah upon misguidance, and Allah's Hand is over the Jama'ah, and whoever deviates, he deviates to the Fire." [Jami’ Al-Tirmidhi 2167]

Therefore, in order to be on the guided path, Muslims must follow the path of the majority because this is the path that the Holy Prophet ﷺ has promised will be the guided path. The majority of Muslims are part of the Ahlul Sunnah Wal Jama’at, meaning they follow one of the four Madhabs. To be a part of the majority, one of the Madhabs must be followed. This highlights the importance of following one Madhab.

Conclusion

For Muslims, in order to follow the path of guidance, those who are qualified and who are professionals in the field of Qur’an and Hadith must be followed; in other words, a Muslim must be part of one of the 4 Madhabs. Furthermore, following one Madhab avoids the confusion of what to do when faced with differing opinions on a given fiqh issue. It also trains the ego to submit to some higher authority, instead of the other way around. Islam is about submitting to Allah سبحانه وتعالى and His commands. Finally, it ensures that for any religious ruling we abide by, we will not be sinful in doing so because we are imitating legitimate and authoritative rulings given by qualified professionals, not out of our own desires. The Qur’an and Sunnah are both very complex and difficult to understand in full. As a result of this complexity, for the common Muslim, to apply the Holy Qur’an and Hadith in their lives they only need to follow one of the four Madhabs to avoid the dangers that come with trying to navigate something so vast and complex.

Allah سبحانه وتعالى knows best.

M Zayd Chowdhry

Alimiyyah Graduate, Accountant,

Student of Shaykh Faizulhaq Abdulaziz حفظه الله

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