Is it necessary to follow one of the four imams, but is it necessary to stick to one imam at one time in all the ahkam. Example if you are following the hanafi maslaq in most matters then will it be wrong to follow shafi maslaq in one or two other problems. If yes ,why is that. If all the imam r right then what is wrong in following one imam in e.g. salat matter and other imam in divorce matter. After all all imams r on the path of truth then why cannot we follow two or more imams at the same time. I am confused.
Scholars have stated that all four imams are on the truth but we should follow any one of them. If a person decides to follow one imam in certain affairs and the other in other affairs this would be on the basis of his intellect. Which means he didn’t follow any one imam but his own intelligence. One of the main reasons for following an imam is that we should not let our whim dictate our religious life otherwise our religion would not be pure. We are told to follow our religion sincerely. This is why we should follow one imam. If we choose one imam’s statement and leave another imam’s statement, this process involves our own desire and whim. It’s only that way we are able to prefer one to the other. If we claim to do this on the basis of knowledge than it’s even worst, it’s like saying I know more than both of these scholars. This is absurd because even the biggest scholars don’t have this assumption that they are near these noble scholars. This is why one should trust one imam and follow him in his understanding of Quran and Hadith and implement what he says.
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