Question about Madhabs ?

[lut]

I'm sorry if this sounds silly, but what is a madhab,

it's purpose,

what books are there about madhab rulings

and what madhab should I follow,

is it okay to follow all 4 madhabs as best as I can or can I follow only 1 ?

[Abdul1234]

Ashraf's Advice Upon the Four Great Imam and the Sharee' Concept of Taqleed

covers the same things as Mufti Taqi Uthmani's book, but in much simpler terms.

[Abdul1234]

For briefer explanations you may find these useful...

Sheikh Nuh Keller on why...

http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/nuh/madhhabstlk.htm

Sheikh Abdul Hakim Murad on why...

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2471760/AbdalHakim-Murad-Understanding-the-Four-Madhabs

[Abdul1234]

I'm sorry if this sounds silly, but what is a madhab,

it's purpose,

what books are there about madhab rulings

and what madhab should I follow,

is it okay to follow all 4 madhabs as best as I can or can I follow only 1 ?

All four Sunni madhabs are correct so you can follow that one of them that appeals to you most so long as it is possible to study it where you are in real or online etc.

Most traditional Sunni scholars prefer people to strictly follow whatever particular madhab they have learned,

yet some have allowed even laymen to borrow rulings from other madhabs, but even then they do not mean that an individual should do it in a piecemeal way or chop and change as it suits them (doing it one day according to one madhab as it suits them and then another day according to a different madhab as it suits them).

All of them warn against making the religion a plaything.