Al-La Madhhabiyya

Author: Shaykh Muhammad Sa´id Ramadan al-Buti.

Translated by M. Merza, M.A. Absi & S. Abdul Aziz

2nd edition, 2017 (2007). Paperback, 160 pages, 220 grams.

This book addresses one of the most debated topics in the modern Islamic world: the question of the traditional schools of thought (madhahib) and the call to abandon them.

In the last century, a movement has emerged that has encouraged Muslims to abandon the established schools of thought under the pretext of solely following the Quran and Sunnah. This approach, which scholars have termed al-la madhhabiyya (rejection of the madhhab system), has caused great confusion among ordinary Muslims.

One of the books that contributed to the spread of this way of thinking was written by Muhammad al-Ma‘sumi al-Khajnadi and was later published in English under the titles Should a Muslim Follow a Particular Madhhab? and The Blind Following of Madhhabs.

In response to these claims, the renowned Syrian scholar Shaykh Muhammad Sa‘id Ramadan al-Buti wrote this groundbreaking work. Later editions were expanded with discussions and responses to the debates in which Shaykh al-Buti participated with his opponents, including responses to well-known Salafi scholars such as Shaykh Nasir al-Din al-Albani and others.

The book constitutes a thorough and well-argued defense of the four Sunni schools of thought and explains their significance in preserving Islamic knowledge and practice. At the same time, it refutes the arguments used to encourage Muslims to abandon the madhhab tradition.

This book is therefore essential reading for anyone who wants a deeper understanding of Ahlul Sunnah wal Jama'ah's view on madhhabs, taqlid, and Islamic jurisprudence.