[abomokhtar]

Am I obliged to follow only one of the four Sunni legal schools of jurisprudence?
Answer
Regarding this issue, there is a difference between learning and applying. When it comes to applying, abiding by a certain legal school of jurisprudence for lay people is not obligatory in every matter as they are eligible to adopt the legal opinion of other juristic scholars and mujtahids. Therefore, lay people have no certain legal school of jurisprudence because they follow the juristic opinion of the scholar they ask.
This is the established opinion for the Hanafis. The renowned Hanafi scholar Ibn ‘Abdeen stated in his commentary in reference to Imam al Sharnibali that he said, “one does not have to abide by a certain legal school and he is permitted to follow an opinion which opposes the opinion of the juristic legal school which he follows. He is allowed to adopt two opposite opinions in two separate incidents that are not related to each other. He is not permitted to nullify an action he did by the virtue of following the juristic opinion of another scholar because engaging in an action is similar to passing a verdict by a judge with no appeal.
This opinion is supported with God as He asserted the obligation of following scholars in general with no specification or dedication to one scholar over the other. God says in the Quran, “So ask the people of knowledge if you do not know” 16:43. Also when people posed their questions at the time of the Prophet’s companions and the scholars of the next generation, they did not abide by a certain school but they rather asked eligible scholars without limiting themselves with the opinion of someone while denying the opinion of the other.
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