Salamun Alaykum We should not dive headlong into the texts ourselves and formulate our own opinions. However, we can also look to how the Imams arrived at a certain conclusion. Then depending on the flexability of our madhab, follow that. This is where the Shafa'i madhab interests me, because it allows what is commonly know as "mixing and matching". Although, before i quote the evidence, modern scholarship opines that this is with everything except the faraawid (the fards). Nuh Ha Mim Keller quotes from Ibn Hajar Haytami who said : “There are a number of states one may have in following the legal position of an Imam other than ones own, among them: (1) to believe that the other Imam’s position is stronger, in which case it is permissible to follow him in deference to what one believes to be the sounder position; (2) to believe that the position of one’s own Imam is stronger, or not to know which Imam has the stronger position on the question, in both of which cases it is permissible to follow the position of the other Imam whether or not one thereby intends to take the way that is religiously more precautionary...” this can be found on p. 871 of umdat us salik.
Yes I agree....tis a bit scarey for laypersons like myself:-o But, it is always best to ask: Almighty Allah says: “Ask the followers of the Remembrance if ye know not!” (An-Nahl: 43). And the Messenger of Allah (salallahu alaihi wasallam) said concerning some people: “Why don’t they inquire if they know not, verily inquiry is the cure of ignorance.”
Brother NJ this type of thing scares me to death...that uneducated guys like myself can just pick up books that deal with complex issues and then formulate an opinion. You can't question a book and those who consider themselves to be intellectually able to grasp a certain issue are usually the one's who make the most mistakes. I believe alot of the trouble we see today is because of freely available translations of classical Islamic texts which, after being read, form the basis of arguements between brothers who really can't understand the basics. The neo-salafis pick up translations of Bukhari Shareef and start deducing rules themselves from ahadeeth and Sunnis now argue with eachother in masjid...one quoting from 1 text and the other from another...both labouring under the delusion that they're doing a service to Deen.
:s1: does it count as following the madhdhab if one reads one of the madhdhabs source texts and agrees with an opinion therein which is different from the commonly held opinion of the madhdhab which one has been taught? i ask this question because the large availability of texts now which previously only were meant for scholars allows anyone to read and form their own opinions due to the information age we live in...
