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Which Madhab (School of Thought) to follow?Madhab is an Islamic “School of Thought” on fiqh (religious jurisprudence) named after its founder (Imam). This jurisprudence, which broadly covers almost all walks of life, is solely based on the life model (Sunnah) of Prophet Muhammad, and hence can be considered as a "religious constitution" codified by each of these Imams. (This can also be somewhat compared to the gospels about Jesus in New Testament). Imams claimed that they were only following the model of the Prophet to the best of their knowledge and belief, never claimed infallibility for themselves and insisted that one should always prefer better knowledge over their own if any. Hence it is important to observe that Madhabs do not represent sects, rather "schools of thoughts". In the first 150 years of Islam, there were many such "schools" - in fact, several of the contemporary companions (Sahaba) of Muhammad, are credited with founding their own. However there are only four mainline schools of Sunni jurisprudence in vogue today. The Hanafi Madhhab: Imam Abu Hanifa, who was the 'founder' of the Hanafi school, lived in what is now modern-day Iraq, not long after the prophet Muhammad's death. It is reported that Imam Abu Hanifa studied under many teachers. He also met the "companion" (sahabi) Anas ibn Malik, making Imam Abu Hanifa one of the tabi'un, or second generation in oral transmission from Muhammad. The Maliki Madhhab: Imam Malik was born shortly thereafter in Medina. There are reports that they lived at the same time and, although Malik was much younger, their mutual respect is well-known. In fact, one of Abu Hanifa's main students, on whose teaching a lot of the Hanafi school is based, studied under Imam Malik as well. The Shafi'i Madhhab: Imam Shafi'i was also taught by both Abu Hanifa's students and Imam Malik, and his respect for both men is also well-documented. The Hanbali Madhhab: Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal studied under Imam Shafi'i, and consequently there are many similarities between the two madhhabs. The majority of Sunni Muslims believe that all four schools have "correct guidance", and the differences between them lie not in the fundamentals of faith, but in finer judgments and jurisprudence, which are a result of the independent reasoning of the imams and the scholars who followed them. Because their individual methodologies of interpretation and extraction from the primary sources were different, they came to different judgments on particular matters. For example, there are subtle differences in the methods of prayer among the four schools, yet the differences are not so great as to require separate prayers by the followers of each school. In fact, a follower of any school can usually pray behind an imam of another school without any confusion. The differences between Madhabs arose due to a variety of factors such as the divergence in the availability of Hadiths to their Imams, the differences in interpretation, and also the fact that Prophet Muhammad himself used to do things slightly differently at different times. So one can follow the methodology of any school of thought one has access to. But it must be kept in mind that 1) One should not give into, or accept as a matter of principle, blind and stubborn following for any school of thought, as it implies giving a status of lawgiver to the Madhab's Imam, and could (and in fact does) lead to sectarianism. 2) One should be ready to follow the view in any Madhab that best conforms to the Quran and the Sunnah, and which appears most convincing to one's own conscience and reason. Generally, Sunni Muslims prefer one madhhab out of the four. Some, however, reject the four schools. Others (most notably the Salafi movement) accept the four madhhabs as legitimate, but also stress that ijtihad (independent research) must be exercised by the contemporary scholars capable of doing so. The question may arise that what is the need for Madhabs if we have the Quran and the Sunnah as the divine sources of guidance, and if it leads to sectarianism. As can be easily appreciated it is not easy for the common people to do individual research in fiqh and reach the correct or best conclusions, considering that spiritual convictions tend to be highly subjective and ego-centric. The abundance of spurious hadiths compound this problem. So it was better for the common people to follow the established Madhabs, with the disclaimer that one should not give into its blind following (taqlid). Historically, the preference for Madhab was a regional one, and conformed to the preachers that originally spread Islam in that region. The Madhabs have played the beneficial role that interpretations in religion were limited to just four or few, rather than innumerable. Taqlid is an Arabic term meaning "to follow (someone)" or "to imitate". In Islamic legal terminology it refers to the practice of following the decisions of a religious authority without necessarily examining the scriptural basis or reasoning of that decision. In Islamic theology taqlid of someone regarded as a higher religious authority is acceptable in the details of religion, such as matters of worship and personal affairs, but not in the fundamentals of the faith.
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