Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam
Question: Is it important to follow only one school of thought, even though all four are valid?
Answer: Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,
The basis is that you have one legal school of interpretation which you follow in the interests of clarity, consistency, and as a standard for your religious practice. However, you can also take sound positions from other schools when there is a need or benefit in doing so, as long as you apply the conditions and integrals of that school, and ideally, after having verified the ruling with a reliable scholar of that school.
Thereafter, please see the following detailed articles: A Reader On Following Schools of Thought (Madhabs)
And Allah Most High alone knows best.
wassalam,
[Ustadh] Tabraze Azam.
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadh Tabraze Azam holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Leicester, where he also served as the President of the Islamic Society. He memorised the entire Qur’an in his hometown of Ipswich at the tender age of sixteen, and has since studied the Islamic Sciences in traditional settings in the UK, Jordan and Turkey. He is currently pursuing advanced studies in Jordan, where he is presently based with his family.