Following a Madhhab: A Basic Explanation

All Muslims believe and accept that Muḥammad ﷺ is Allāh’s final messenger, who was appointed to deliver guidance to humanity. It was his mission, as the Qur’ān states, to “recite to them the verses of the Qur’ān, purify them [from idolatry and false beliefs], and teach them the Qur’ān and the commandments,” while “before they were in manifest error.” (Qur’ān, 3:164)

The guidance that the Prophet ﷺ left for the Ummah takes two forms: the words of revelation, the Qur’ān, and his own teachings and example, the Sunnah. The Qur’ān says: “This is a blessed book that We have sent down, so follow it.” (Qur’ān, 6:155) The Qur’ān also exhorts people to: “Believe in Allāh and His Messenger, the unlettered prophet…and follow him so that you may be guided.” (Qur’ān, 7:158) Hence, a Muslim’s obligation is to follow the Qur’ān, the divine words, and the Sunnah, the prophetic teachings.

Clear and Obscure Points of Religious Law

Many commandments are clearly articulated in the Qur’ān and/or Sunnah, like the obligation to pray five times a day and fast in the month of Ramaḍān or the prohibition of drinking wine and gambling.

However, there are issues in which there is no clear guidance in the Qur’ān and Sunnah. The task of discovering what Islām teaches on such issues falls on expert scholars, known as “mujtahids”. A mujtahid is someone qualified to assess the Qur’ān and Sunnah and use their judgement to arrive at what Islām teaches about obscure matters of religious law (Sharī‘ah). Many of the Ṣaḥābah (the direct companions of the Prophet ﷺ) were mujtahids. Mujtahids would often disagree, but disagreements were tolerated provided the mujtahids who opined them were truly qualified and able.

For example, some mujtahids among the Ṣaḥābah believed that consuming something that had been heated by fire would break one’s wuḍū’ (ablution) while others believed that it would not. Both teachings (that it would and would not break wuḍū’) are proven from the Prophet ﷺ. As it was a period of ongoing revelation, commandments would often be abrogated and revised in the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ, until they were finalised with the cessation of revelation and the demise of the Prophet ﷺ.

Thus, on this question, the Ṣaḥābah and those after them differed over which was the last and final teaching of the Prophet ﷺ. There were many other disagreements on obscure points of religious law. These disagreements were sometimes because of an uncertainty regarding which was the Prophet’s ﷺ final teaching, sometimes because of competing understandings of certain incidents, statements or texts, sometimes because of disputing whether something is proven from the Prophet ﷺ or not, and sometimes for other reasons.

In obscure points of religious law, every mujtahid was obligated to follow what they, in their expert judgement, believed to be the Sharī‘ah’s true intent.

Taqlīd: Following Qualified Religious Authorities

Most ordinary Muslims are not mujtahids. They are not qualified to assess the Qur’ān and Sunnah and come to a conclusion on an obscure point of religious law. The rule for them is, therefore, that they put their trust in a mujtahid and follow his judgement. This is known as “taqlīd”. Taqlīd is an ordinary part of human life; it simply means to defer to experts on matters that require expertise. A layman will not attempt to perform surgery, nor do the plumbing or other such delicate activities that require expertise. Similarly, the most delicate and sensitive of matters, deriving the judgement of Qur’ān and Sunnah on an obscure point of religious law, requires great expertise. It requires sound knowledge of Arabic, in-depth knowledge of the Qur’ān & Ḥadīth, their principles and commentaries, along with piety and scrupulousness. Such a combination of qualities is an extreme rarity.

Writing in the early sixth century after Hijrah (about nine hundred years ago), the famous imām, Qāḍī ‘Iyāḍ (476 – 544), states:
The knowledge of the early mujtahids is far superior to the knowledge of later Muslim theologians. This is not only because the early mujtahids lived closer to the time of revelation and witnessed the earliest Muslim communities practise Islām but also because, as foretold by the Prophet ﷺ, trustworthiness and devotion to religion became weaker after the earliest generations. Hence, even later Muslim theologians, like Qāḍī ‘Iyāḍ, followed the early mujtahids, like Imām Mālik.

The Four Madhhabs

Great mujtahids from the second, third and fourth generations of Muslims dedicated themselves to producing comprehensive codes of religious law, known as “madhhabs”. These were written down and recorded by the mujtahids themselves and/or their students.

Four madhhabs, in particular, became popular: the Ḥanafī, Mālikī, Shāfi‘ī and Ḥanbalī madhhabs, named after their founders:

• Imām Abū Ḥanīfah (80 – 150 AH) from Iraq
• Imām Mālik (93 – 179 AH) from Madinah
• Imām al-Shāfi‘ī (150 – 204 AH) from Makkah/Cairo
• Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (164 – 241 H AH) from Baghdad

Ibn Rajab al-Ḥanbalī, a scholar from about seven hundred years ago, explained that all people depend on these four imāms “for their legal doctrines and refer to them for knowledge of rulings”. (Majmū‘ah Rasā’il Ibn Rajab, 1:263)

Following One Madhhab

Muslim theologians also understood that once these comprehensive codes of religious law (madhhabs) became widespread and accessible, it would not be correct for an individual to select opinions on different points of law from different madhhabs. Rather, he or she should choose one madhhab and follow it in its entirety. One of the important reasons for this is that if an individual was left to choose opinions at will, it would lead to basing their judgement in matters of religion on their desires rather than a sincere wish to know what the religion teaches. On a point of dispute, a layperson who is exposed to two or more opinions, and told to pick any, may end up opting for whatever agrees with their desires. Thus, their motive for adopting an opinion becomes their desires. However, if an individual adopts a madhhab which they will follow in its entirety, their choice will not be dictated by their whims.

Imām al-Ghazālī (450 – 505), a major scholar from about nine hundred years ago, explains:
There are other reasons also (which the scholars have described in detail) for why it is necessary that a layperson adhere strictly to one madhhab rather than “mix and match”.

As mentioned earlier, a mujtahid must follow what they believe to be correct based on their judgement and may not follow the view of another mujtahid when they believe it to be mistaken. In the same way, a person doing taqlīd must follow the madhhab of the mujtahid they feel most inclined to and may not follow a different madhhab where it disagrees.

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For further reading, please refer to the following articles:

A Brief Explanation on Why it is Necessary to Follow One Madhhab

Imām Ghazālī: A Muqallid Shows Complete Deference to his Imām

Imām al-Shāṭibī’s Argument for the Necessity of Following One Madhhab in its Entirety

Ḥanafī Muftīs Today are Transmitters & not Capable of Tarjīḥ