Why Can't I Take Aqida And Tasawwuf From The Four Imams?
Question:
In a previous answer it says: "The way of Sunni Islam is to take the branch of Islam from living jurists who follow one of the four Sunni schools of fiqh: the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali schools; the branch of Iman from living scholars belonging to one of the two Sunni schools of 'aqida: the Ash'ari and Maturidi schools; and the branch of Ihsan from living masters of one of the many Sufi orders that have emerged over the centuries, such as the Qadiri, Naqshbandi, Shadhili, Chishti, and Rifa'i tariqas."
Why should I take the branch of Islam only from the four Madhhabs of Hanafi, Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali? Why should not I take the branches "Iman" and "Ihsan" from them? Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Shafi'i, Imam Malik and Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (May Allah's Mercy Be on Them All) were the Four Great Scholars of their time, were they weak in the scholarships of the branches of Iman and Ihsan or were they not reliable? Did they ever teach about Iman and Ihsan to their students or did they just keep quite throughout their lives about these two very important categories of our Faith?
Answer:
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
Most or all of the great authorities named above touched on all three types of knowledge; however, the classification you are quoting refers to specialization. The specialty of the Four Imams is Fiqh and this is what they are known for the most, although they are accomplished in Iman and Ihsan as well; the specialty of Ash'ari and Maturidi was doctrine and most or rather all the extant narrations we have from them relate to that science although they show complete mastery of the branches of fiqh in their respective Madhhabs and familiarity with the ethics of ihsan; and the specialty of the Imams of tasawwuf was the purification of the soul and ihsan, even if many of them were also bright luminaries in fiqh and doctrine. It also stands to reason to follow certain well-tended and proven paths that countless Believers have taken before us successfully rather than question them
without good reason, even if, in reality, �the paths to Allah are as numerous as the breaths of creatures.�
Wassalam
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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