Good English Books on Explaining Madhabs

[Abu_Tamim]

Assalamalaikum wa rahtmullahi wa baraktuhu

I am also waiting to see some evidence/references form Quran and Sunnah to follow a madhab...................

Please see "The Legal Status of following a madhhab" by Mufti Taqi for your question.
Wasalam.

[Al-Faruqi]

Read online and/or download:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/16625601/L...owing-a-Madhab

[abulayl]

A Book was recommanded by respected mufti saab.

A close friend and colleague has authored a few really beneficial books, which - due to marketing problems- are relatively unknown beyond our South African shores.

His book on Istikhara is unmatched, while his book on Taqleed - Who are the Blind Followers?- is a very good read.

His books could be purchased via his blog: http://www.miftahuddinbooks.blogspot.com/

http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/newr...reply&p=291975

[masoodirafi]

Assalamalaikum wa rahtmullahi wa baraktuhu

I am also waiting to see some evidence/references form Quran and Sunnah to follow a madhab...................

Brother in Islam,
Assalamualaikum,
Here are some pages which may be of help.I request for Dua.

What is a Madhhab?
Why is it necessary to follow one?
©Nuh Ha Mim Keller 2000
The word madhhab is derived from an Arabic word meaning "to go" or "to take as a way", and refers to a mujtahid's choice in regard to a number of interpretive possibilities in deriving the rule of Allah from the primary texts of the Qur'an and hadith on a particular question. In a larger sense, a madhhab represents the entire school of thought of a particular mujtahid Imam, such as Abu Hanifa, Malik, Shafi'i, or Ahmad--together with many first-rank scholars that came after each of these in their respective schools, who checked their evidences and refined and upgraded their work. The mujtahid Imams were thus explainers, who operationalized the Qur'an and sunna in the specific shari'a rulings in our lives that are collectively known as fiqh or "jurisprudence". In relation to our din or "religion", this fiqh is only part of it, for the religious knowledge each of us possesses is of three types.
The first type is the general knowledge of tenets of Islamic belief in the oneness of Allah, in His angels, Books, messengers, the prophethood of Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace), and so on. All of us may derive this knowledge directly from the Qur'an and hadith, as is also the case with a second type of knowledge, that of general Islamic ethical principles to do good, avoid evil, cooperate with others in good works, and so forth. Every Muslim can take these general principles, which form the largest and most important part of his religion, from the Qur'an and hadith.
The third type of knowledge is that of the specific understanding of particular divine commands and prohibitions that make up the shari'a. Here, because of both the nature and the sheer number of the Qur'an and hadith texts involved, people differ in the scholarly capacity to understand and deduce rulings from them. But all of us have been commanded to live them in our lives, in obedience to Allah, and so Muslims are of two types, those who can do this by themselves, and they are the mujtahid Imams; and those who must do so by means of another, that is, by following a mujtahid Imam, in accordance with Allah's word in Surat al-Nahl,

" Ask those who recall, if you know not " (Qur'an 16:43),

and in Surat al-Nisa,

" If they had referred it to the Messenger and to those of authority among them, then those of them whose task it is to find it out would have known the matter " (Qur'an 4:83),

in which the phrase those of them whose task it is to find it out, expresses the words "alladhina yastanbitunahu minhum", referring to those possessing the capacity to draw inferences directly from the evidence, which is called in Arabic istinbat.

These and other verses and hadiths oblige the believer who is not at the level of istinbat or directly deriving rulings from the Qur'an and hadith to ask and follow someone in such rulings who is at this level. It is not difficult to see why Allah has obliged us to ask experts, for if each of us were personally responsible for evaluating all the primary texts relating to each question, a lifetime of study would hardly be enough for it, and one would either have to give up earning a living or give up ones din, which is why Allah says in surat al-Tawba, in the context of jihad:

" Not all of the believers should go to fight. Of every section of them, why does not one part alone go forth, that the rest may gain knowledge of the religion and admonish their people when they return, that perhaps they may take warning " (Qur'an 9:122).

The slogans we hear today about "following the Qur'an and sunna instead of following the madhhabs" are wide of the mark, for everyone agrees that we must follow the Qur'an and the sunna of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). The point is that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is no longer alive to personally teach us, and everything we have from him, whether the hadith or the Qur'an, has been conveyed to us through Islamic scholars. So it is not a question of whether or not to take our din from scholars, but rather, from which scholars. And this is the reason we have madhhabs in Islam: because the excellence and superiority of the scholarship of the mujtahid Imams--together with the traditional scholars who followed in each of their schools and evaluated and upgraded their work after them--have met the test of scholarly investigation and won the confidence of thinking and practicing Muslims for all the centuries of Islamic greatness. The reason why madhhabs exist, the benefit of them, past, present, and future, is that they furnish thousands of sound, knowledge-based answers to Muslims questions on how to obey Allah. Muslims have realized that to follow a madhhab means to follow a super scholar who not only had a comprehensive knowledge of the Qur'an and hadith texts relating to each issue he gave judgements on, but also lived in an age a millennium closer to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and his Companions, when taqwa or "godfearingness" was the norm--both of which conditions are in striking contrast to the scholarship available today.

While the call for a return to the Qur'an and sunna is an attractive slogan, in reality it is a great leap backward, a call to abandon centuries of detailed, case-by-case Islamic scholarship in finding and spelling out the commands of the Qur'an and sunna, a highly sophisticated, interdisciplinary effort by mujtahids, hadith specialists, Qur'anic exegetes, lexicographers, and other masters of the Islamic legal sciences. To abandon the fruits of this research, the Islamic shari'a, for the following of contemporary sheikhs who, despite the claims, are not at the level of their predecessors, is a replacement of something tried and proven for something at best tentative.

The rhetoric of following the shari'a without following a particular madhhab is like a person going down to a car dealer to buy a car, but insisting it not be any known make--neither a Volkswagen nor Rolls-Royce nor Chevrolet--but rather "a car, pure and simple". Such a person does not really know what he wants; the cars on the lot do not come like that, but only in kinds. The salesman may be forgiven a slight smile, and can only point out that sophisticated products come from sophisticated means of production, from factories with a division of labor among those who test, produce, and assemble the many parts of the finished product. It is the nature of such collective human efforts to produce something far better than any of us alone could produce from scratch, even if given a forge and tools, and fifty years, or even a thousand. And so it is with the shari'a, which is more complex than any car because it deals with the universe of human actions and a wide interpretative range of sacred texts. This is why discarding the monumental scholarship of the madhhabs in operationalizing the Qur'an and sunna in order to adopt the understanding of a contemporary sheikh is not just a mistaken opinion. It is s****ping a Mercedes for a go-cart.

[Maisha]

Asalaam Alaikum
I know that this is an old thread that I am reading, but the question of following a Madhhab and which one to choose is new to me. So thank you for your posts and information, Insha Allah I will be guided to the most appropriate. I understand now that it is a requirment on me as a Muslim to inform myself about the four schools of thought and to choose and follow one school. I also understand now why that is, after all how can I hope to increase my knowledge, comprehension and ultimatley my worship of my creator if I do not seek advise, knowledge and information from those who know more. So my search begins, Alhumdulilah. I would be interest to know, what criteria others used in choosing the Madhhab they now follow. If there is one thing that I have come to realise as a convert to Islam, is that there will always be more questions. I also realise as a convert how much information is out there, sometimes too much because it is so difficult to know what is valid and what is not so valid. Another reason for choosing a Madhhab? One question that I would seek advise on if anyone can clarify for me, the need to follow in addition to a Madhhab, a Sheik? Is this also a requirment? How do I go about finding one? Insha Allah my questions do not highlight my ignorance to the extreem.

[binte sulaiman]

Asalaam Alaikum
I know that this is an old thread that I am reading, but the question of following a Madhhab and which one to choose is new to me. So thank you for your posts and information, Insha Allah I will be guided to the most appropriate. I understand now that it is a requirment on me as a Muslim to inform myself about the four schools of thought and to choose and follow one school. I also understand now why that is, after all how can I hope to increase my knowledge, comprehension and ultimatley my worship of my creator if I do not seek advise, knowledge and information from those who know more. So my search begins, Alhumdulilah. I would be interest to know, what criteria others used in choosing the Madhhab they now follow. If there is one thing that I have come to realise as a convert to Islam, is that there will always be more questions. I also realise as a convert how much information is out there, sometimes too much because it is so difficult to know what is valid and what is not so valid. Another reason for choosing a Madhhab? One question that I would seek advise on if anyone can clarify for me, the need to follow in addition to a Madhhab, a Sheik? Is this also a requirment? How do I go about finding one? Insha Allah my questions do not highlight my ignorance to the extreem.

Wa alaikumus salaam
All 4 madhabs are valid, you can follow whichever you like. But it would probably be easier for you to follow that madhab which the scholars in your area follow so that if you ever have any question you can refer it to them.I don't have time to explain in detail at the moment so for the question about the shaikh visit http://tasawwuf.org/.

[Maisha]

Salaam Alaikum Sister

I appreciate your reply and the link that will Insha Allah answer my question.
Alhumdulilah

[Al-Faruqi]

Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu

All four madhhabs are valid to follow. Choose the one you have the easiest access to, e.g. for people in Germany and UK this would be the Hanafi madhhab because most Islamic publications/scholars/Muslims follow/teach the Hanafi madhhab. In other countries like France where there is a significant amount of Muslims who follow the Maliki madhhab you should follow the Maliki madhhab.

Concerning the your question with the spiritual guide (shaykh or 'sufi shaykh'), please open a new thread you will insha Allah get several useful answer from knowledgeable brothers and sisters on this forum.

The cure for ignorance is asking sister, do not feel ashame of asking questions. Just ask your as many questions as you want, we have many knowledgeable brothers and sisters on this forum - and even a few scholars and students of Islamic knowledge.

May Allah bless your endeavour for knowledge and make you strong with Islam. Amin.

[masoodirafi]

Asalaam Alaikum
I know that this is an old thread that I am reading, but the question of following a Madhhab and which one to choose is new to me. So thank you for your posts and information, Insha Allah I will be guided to the most appropriate. I understand now that it is a requirment on me as a Muslim to inform myself about the four schools of thought and to choose and follow one school. I also understand now why that is, after all how can I hope to increase my knowledge, comprehension and ultimatley my worship of my creator if I do not seek advise, knowledge and information from those who know more. So my search begins, Alhumdulilah. I would be interest to know, what criteria others used in choosing the Madhhab they now follow. If there is one thing that I have come to realise as a convert to Islam, is that there will always be more questions. I also realise as a convert how much information is out there, sometimes too much because it is so difficult to know what is valid and what is not so valid. Another reason for choosing a Madhhab? One question that I would seek advise on if anyone can clarify for me, the need to follow in addition to a Madhhab, a Sheik? Is this also a requirment? How do I go about finding one? Insha Allah my questions do not highlight my ignorance to the extreem.

Sister Maisha,
Assalamualaikum,
Assalamualikum:
While it is necessary for a Muslim to follow a recognised madhhab in order to practice Islam and avert the lethal danger of misinterpreting the sources, he must never fall into the trap of considering one school categorically superior to the others. All the four schools are equally permissible and genuine. However, the choice of a Madhhab needs to be made, and one would like to know about the criteria(determining factors) for making the appropriate choice. Let’s also remember the choice of just one Madhhab of the four is a matter of convenience.
I feel that the following factors should be considered at the time of making a choice of a Madhhab:
1. Accesibility: One should choose the Madhhab which is predominant in the area where one lives. This makes it possible to have the Ulema and the relevant literature available for guidance and enrichment. It also helps in harmonious spiritual development to live in an environment of ones choice. One also learns and improves by watching others through direct contact.
2. It is essential to know that following a Madhhab is requirement just for Fiqah. There is no need to follow the scholars of any particular school with regard to Quran, Hadith, Seerat etc.
3. Then there is the temperamental inclination. One may feel more consolation and comfortable if one follows a particular school.
4. Then there is the factor of ‘Swad- i- Aazam’. One would (and should) like to follow the majority of Muslims. It is better to follow the Madhab which is most predominant globally both at the level of the common Muslims and the Scholars.
I am a Hanafi. I feel fortunate that Allah has blessed me with a situation where in all the above mentioned factors apply. About 98% Muslims in my area are Hanafii’s. The majority of the Muslims in the world follow the Hanafi Madhhab and this majority includes the majority of the Muslim Scholars and Ulema.
Regarding the requirement of a Sheikh it'll be in the fitness of things to contact some trustworthy individual or forum in your vicinity.However, I shall continue to be on the look out for any proper agency to help us out in this regard.
Brother in Islam
Rafi Ahmad Masoodi