Is there a difference between Fiqh based on a Madhhab vs. Fiqh directly from the Texts (Quran & Sunnah)?

Keys To Fiqh | T.me/K2Fiqh | #K2FiqhNotes3

❓This is an issue I misunderstood when I first accepted Islām. I was taught that there was a difference between the two. Meaning, we must follow the evidences & at the same time abandon anything besides that, especially in relation to blind following the Madhāhib (Schools of Thought in Fiqh).

On face value, this makes a-lot of sense. However, as I learned Arabic, studied a bit, & gained direct access to past & present scholarly lessons & works, I learned that there is an issue with its application. 

❔For example: how do I know that I have gathered all of the Quranic verses, aHadith, & narrations of the Sahābah on a subject? Once I have collected the Texts, how do I analyze those evidences properly? What are the guidelines and methods of deduction? Or can I just extract rulings based on what made sense to me? I mean, I wouldn’t be blind following anyone at that point, right? I’m following the “Dalil”! 

🔎 Unfortunately it doesn’t work like that. A regular Bakr can’t just open the Quran & Sunnah and start deriving benefits based on their own desires. One has to learn Usul al-Fiqh, principles that teaches the proper understanding & interaction with Islamic texts. The outcome of this strenuous Usul al-Fiqh process generates the fiqh issues we have today (i.e. A is haram or haram/valid or null because of X, Y & Z). This whole system has already been completed by the Madhāhib.

And as it turns out, all Usul al-Fiqh books are based on a school of thought! There is no independent Usul al-Fiqh book that teaches you how to comprehend the Texts without relying on what has been compiled in a Madhhab. It doesn’t exist. (Refer to #K2FiqhNotes1)

We also have to understand that these Madhāhib weren’t developed haphazardly. They have been gathered over centuries & their issues have been debated, corrected, edited, & refined by among the best of this Ummah. The end product reflects & returns to the Sahābah’s رضي الله عنهم understanding of the Texts. 

✅ Thus, the Fiqh of the Madhāhib are truly the Fiqh of the Quran & Sunnah. There is no difference between them; they are one of the same.

*Doubt #1* 

But what if I just follow Ibn al-Uthaymīn’s, Shawkāni’s, Ibn Taymiyyah’s رحمهم الله or another trusted Mujtahid’s scholarly works? That wouldn’t be considered blind following, right? Well, that is the exact definition of blind following…Additionally, their statements all return to what is based on and already found in the Madhāhib.

*Doubt #2*

Yes, there may be some issues in a Madhhab where there is clear contradiction of what is in the Texts. In that case, we give preference to the Texts. That doesn’t mean we throw the whole entire madhhab/s out the window. 

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✍️ Abu Awzaa’ee Abdus-Salaam al-Makki al-Hanbali

🕋 Makkah al-Mukarramah حرسها الله

🗓 16th of Sha’baan, 1441 (4/8/2020 CE)

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