Question :
What is the difference between Ahli
Sunnah Wal Jammah & other mazhab[ shafeei, Maliki, etc? and can
a girl from Ahli Sunnah Wal Jammah marry a man without mazhab?.
Answer :
Praise be to Allaah.
Ahl al-Sunnah
wal-Jamaaah are not to be regarded as opposition to the Maalikis,
Shaafais, Hanbalis and the like, rather they are opposed to the
followers of innovated and misguided beliefs and ways such as
the Asharis, Mutazilis, Murjiis, Sufis and so on. The Hanafis,
Maalikis, Shaafais and Hanbalis are schools of fiqh, whose imams
are among Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamaaah, and indeed are among the
leaders of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamaaah. But unfortunately the
followers of most of those madhhabs and schools of fiqh have
begun to follow the people of innovation and misguidance in
their beliefs, so many of the Shaafais and Maalikis have become
Asharis, and many of the Hanafis have become Maatireedis. But
with regard to aqeedah, the Hanbalis apart from a very few have
been spared the change to something other than the aqeedah of
Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamaaah.
The basic principle
concerning the Muslim is that he adheres to the Quraan and
Sunnah according to the understanding of the companions of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and those
who followed them in guidance. As for following one of these
four madhhabs or any other, that is not obligatory or
recommended, and the Muslim does not have to adhere to any one
of them in particular. Rather the one who adheres to a
particular madhhab in every issue is being a partisan who is
guilty of blind following. End quote.
Hal
al-Muslim mulzim bi Ittibaa Madhhab muayyin min al-Madhhab al-Arbaah?
By al-Masoomi, p. 38.
There is nothing
wrong with following the four schools of fiqh if a Muslim does
not have sufficient knowledge to enable him to derive rulings
from the Quraan and Sunnah himself, but if it becomes clear to
him that the correct view is other than that of his madhhab,
then he must follow the correct view and not his madhhab.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn
Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
In the Quraan,
Allaah condemns the one who turns away from following the
Messengers and follows instead the religion invented by his
forefathers. This is imitation (taqleed) which is forbidden by
Allaah and His Messenger, i.e., following someone other than the
Messenger in matters that go against the Messenger. This is
haraam for everyone according to the consensus of the Muslims,
for there is no obedience to any created being if it involves
disobedience towards the Creator. Obedience to the Messenger is
obligatory for every one, elite and common folk alike, at all
times and in all places, both inwardly and outwardly, and in all
situations Allaah has enjoined obedience to the Messenger upon
all people, in approximately forty places in the Quraan.
It is permissible
for one who is unable to derive rulings to follow a scholar,
according to the majority of scholars the kind of imitation or
following that is forbidden by the texts and according to
scholarly consensus is that which goes against the words of
Allaah and His Messenger. end quote.
Majmoo al-Fataawa,
19/260-266
The followers of the
salaf are those who adhere to the Quraan and Sunnah in their
beliefs, fiqh and conduct and do not go against what is proven
in the Quraan and Sunnah and what is agreed upon by the salaf of
this ummah.
Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan
(may Allaah preserve him) said:
What is meant by the
salafi madhhab is the way of the salaf (early generations) of
this ummah, namely the Sahaabah, Taabieen and prominent imams
with regard to issues of aqeedah, sound method, sincere faith
and adherence to the beliefs, laws, etiquette and conduct of
Islam, unlike the innovators, deviants and those who are
confused.
Among the most
prominent of those who advocated the madhhab or way of the salaf
were the four imams, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah and his
students, Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhaab and his students,
and other reformers and renewers; there is no era when there was
not someone who is establishing evidence for the right way.
There is nothing
wrong with calling them Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamaaah, so as to
differentiate between them and the followers of deviant groups.
This is not praising oneself, rather it is distinguishing
between the people of truth and the people of falsehood. End
quote.
Al-Muntaqa
min Fataawa al-Shaykh al-Fawzaan,
1/question no. 206.
Based on this, if a man whose religious commitment and character
are good proposes marriage to a Muslim woman, then she should
accept him even if he does not belong to one of these madhhabs,
but if the one who proposes to her is a member of one of the
misguided and deviant groups, then she should not accept him.
And Allaah knows best.