Oleh kerana kesungguhan para Imam yang agung dalam memperingatkan murid-murid mereka agar tidak bertaqlid buta, para ulama terdahulu itu tidak pernah ragu-ragu untuk menolak apa yang diajarkan oleh Imam mereka apabila hadith-hadith baharu tersedia. Abu Yusuf dan Muhammad bin al-Hasan berbeza pendapat dengan guru mereka Abu Hanifah dalam kira-kira sepertiga daripada hukum-hukum mazhab mereka,213 dan begitu juga al-Muzani serta yang lain berbeza pendapat dengan guru mereka ar-Rasyid asy-Syafi'i dalam banyak hukum.

Because of the care which the great Imaams took in warning their Students away from blind initation, those early scholars never hesitated to reject what the Imaams taught when new Hadeeths became available. Abu Yoosuf and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan differed from their teacher Abu Haneefah in about one third of the rulings of their Madh-hab,213 and similarly, al-Muzanee and the others differed from their teacher rash-Shaafi’ee on many rulings.

Di atas tadi hanyalah sebahagian kecil daripada banyak kata-kata Imam-imam yang empat dan murid-murid mereka, yang menuntut supaya berpegang teguh kepada Hadis-hadis dan melarang taqlid buta terhadap pendapat mereka, semoga Allah meredai mereka. Kenyataan mereka sangat jelas dan tidak memberi ruang untuk salah faham atau penjelasan yang bersifat membela diri. Oleh itu, sesiapa yang berpegang kepada Sunnah, walaupun dia mendapati dirinya bercanggah dengan sebahagian pendapat Imam mazhabnya, tidaklah dia menentang semangat mazhab tersebut, selagi dia kukuh berpegang "pada tali Allah". Sebaliknya, menolak sesetengah Hadis yang sahih semata-mata kerana ia bertentangan dengan sebahagian pendapat Imam-imam, bermakna bertentangan sepenuhnya dengan pendirian yang diambil oleh Imam-imam itu sendiri. Lebih-lebih lagi, menolak Hadis-hadis yang sahih adalah bertentangan dengan Allah dan Rasul-Nya214, sebagaimana jelas dalam firman Allah dalam Al-Qur'an kepada Nabi-Nya (s.w.),

The above mentioned quotations were only a few of the many sayings of the Four Imaams and their students in which they demanded strict adherence to the Hadeeths and prohibited the blind imitation of their opinions, may Allaah be pleased with them. Their statements are perfectly clear and leave no room for misinterpretation or apologetic explanations. Therefore, whoever adheres to the Sunnah, even if he finds himself in conflict with some of the opinions of the Imaam of his Madh-hab will not be opposed to the spirit of that Madh-habs simultaneously with a firm grip “on the rope of Allaah”. Conversely, to discard certain reliable Hadeeths simply because they contradict some of the opinions of the Imaams, is to be in total opposition to the position taken by the Imaams themselves. Moreover, the rejection of reliable Hadeeths is in opposition to Allaah and His messenger214 as is evident in Allaah’s statement in the Qur’aan to His Prophet (s.w.),

Sebagai contoh, Imam Muhammad ibn al-Hasan dalam riwayatnya terhadap kitab Imam Malik, al-Muwatta, menyalahi gurunya Imam Abu Hanifah dalam kira-kira 20 hukum yang berbeza. Antaranya ialah kes berikut, di mana Imam Muhammad berkata, "Abu Hanifah tidak berpendapat bahawa terdapat solat yang disyariatkan untuk Istisqa' (solat meminta hujan)216, tetapi pada pendapat saya, Imam hendaklah mengetuai orang ramai dalam dua rakaat solat (untuk Istisqa'), membaca Du'a'217 dan membalikkan jubahnya."218 Contoh lain ialah hukum pusaka datuk apabila bapa si mati juga telah meninggal dunia. Abu Yusuf dan Muhammad kedua-duanya menolak pendirian Abu Hanifah dan menyertai pendirian tiga Imam yang lain, dengan memberikan datuk satu perenam daripada harta pusaka, iaitu bahagian yang sepatutnya diterima oleh bapa jika dia masih hidup.

For example, Imaam Muhammad ibn al-Hasan in his narration of Imaam Maalik’s book, al-Muwatta, contradicted his teacher Imaam Abu Haneefah in about 20 different rulings. Among them was the following case in which Imaam Muhammad said, “Abu Haneefah did not feel that there was any ordained Salaah (prayer) for Istisqaa, 216 but in my opinion, the Imaam should lead the people in two units of Salaah, (for Istisqaa) make a Du’aa217 and reverse his cloak,”218 Another example is that of the inheritance of the grandfather if the father of the dead person is also dead. Abu Yoosuf and Muhammad both rejected Abu Haneefah’s position and joined the position of the other three Imaams, giving the grandfather a sixth of the inheritance which would have gone to the father were he alive.

'Isaam Ibn Yoosuf al-Balakhee, yang merupakan murid Imam Muhammad ibn al-Hasan dan pengikut rapat Abu Yoosuf, sering membuat hukum-hukum yang berbeza daripada Abu Haneefah dan dua sahabatnya, kerana mereka tidak mengetahui dalil-dalil tertentu yang kemudiannya sampai kepadanya.219 Sebagai contoh, beliau mengangkat kedua-dua tangannya sebelum dan selepas Rukoo' (tunduk dalam Solat),220 sebagaimana yang diriwayatkan dalam Hadith-hadith sahih oleh ramai Sahabat, walaupun ketiga-tiga Imam utama mazhabnya memutuskan sebaliknya.

‘Isaam Ibn Yoosuf al-Balakhee, who was a student of Imaam Muhammad ibn al-Hasan and a close follower of Abu Yoosuf, used to make a lot of rulings which differed from those of Abu Haneefah and his two companions, because the latter were not aware of certain evidence which later became available to him.219 For example, he used to raise his hands before and after Rukoo’ (bowing in Salaah),220as described in authentic Hadeeths by host of Sahaabah, even though the three main Imaams of his Madh-hab ruled otherwise.

Allah juga memberi peringatan kepada mereka yang menolak Sunnah Nabi-Nya (s.w.), dengan firman-Nya,

Namun begitu, larangan terhadap Taqleed tidak bermakna bahawa setiap orang mesti kembali kepada sumber sebelum melakukan apa-apa, dan tidak bermakna bahawa semua karya para ulama terdahulu harus ditolak atau diabaikan, kerana hal itu tidak praktikal dan dalam kebanyakan keadaan mustahil. Walau bagaimanapun, ia bermakna bahawa mereka yang mempunyai ilmu yang mencukupi dalam pelbagai cabang ilmu-ilmu Islam tidak seharusnya ragu-ragu untuk merujuk kepada sumber-sumber serta pendapat semua ulama, tanpa mengira Madhhab mereka. Seorang ulama hendaklah berfikiran terbuka dalam pencarian ilmunya, jika tidak, hukum-hukumnya berkemungkinan besar akan berat sebelah dan berpuak-puak. Janganlah kita lupa bahawa walaupun dalam menelusuri sumber-sumber, dia tetap wajib bergantung kepada karya-karya besar para ulama terdahulu dalam satu cara atau yang lain. Dalam Fiqh, pemikiran yang benar-benar bebas daripada sebarang pengaruh adalah mustahil dan usaha untuk mencapainya adalah tidak diingini, kerana ia cenderung membawa kepada penyimpangan dan bid'ah. Mengenai sesuatu isu tertentu, ulama yang benar cenderung sama ada mengikuti satu hukum daripada salah seorang ulama terdahulu, atau membuat kesimpulan hukumnya daripada salah satu kesimpulan mereka. Dengan demikian, dia secara langsung atau tidak langsung mengikuti salah seorang Imam terdahulu. Namun, bentuk mengikuti ini tidak dianggap sebagai Taqleed (tiruan buta yang kaku), yang telah kami tunjukkan dilarang secara mutlak oleh para Imam. Bentuk ini dinamakan Ittibaa', di mana Hadith-Hadith yang sahih mengatasi semua pendapat, atau sebagaimana kata Abu Haneefah dan ash-Shaafi'ee, "Jika Hadith didapati Sahih, maka itulah Madhhab saya."

Nevertheless, the prohibition of Taqleed does not mean that everyone must return to the sources before doing anything and it does not mean that all the work of the earlier scholars should be rejected or neglected, for that would be impractical and in most cases impossible. It does, however, mean that those who have sufficient knowledge of the various branches of Islamic sciences should not hesitate to took at the sources as well as the opinions of all the scholars, regardless of their Madh-hab. A scholar should be openminded in his search for knowledge otherwise his rulings are likely to be biased and sectarian. Let us not forget that even in searching through the sources he is obliged to rely on the great works of the earlier scholars in one way or another. In Fiqh, totally independent thought is impossible and efforts to achieve it undesirable, as it tends to lead to deviation and heresy. On any particular issue the true scholar is likely to either follow a ruling of one or another of the early scholars, or deduce his ruling from one of their deductions. In so dong, he will be following one of the early Imaams directly or indirectly. However, this form of following is not to be considered Taqleed, (blind rigid imitation), which we have shown was forbidden categorically by the Imaams. This form is called Ittibaa’ wherein reliable Hadeeths take precedence over all opinions, or as both Abu Haneefah and ash-Shaafi’ee said, “If the Hadeeth is found to be Saheeh, it is my Madh-hab”.

1. Kebanyakan orang Islam tidak menyedari hakikat bahawa mengikut mazhab secara membuta tuli (taqlid) bertentangan secara langsung dengan pendirian dan ajaran para pengasas mazhab-mazhab tersebut.

1. Most Muslims are unaware of the fact that blind following of a Madh-hab (Taqleed is diametrically opposed to the position and teachings of the founders of the Madh-habs.

2. Semua Imam dan murid-murid mereka tercatat menentang taqlid buta terhadap pendapat mereka. Sebaliknya, mereka berulang kali menekankan pentingnya merujuk kepada sumber-sumber utama, iaitu al-Qur'an dan as-Sunnah, sebagai asas bagi hukum-hukum fiqh.

2. All of the Imaams and their students were on record as being opposed to the blind following of their opinions. Instead they repeatedly emphasized the importance of referring to the primary sources, the Qur’aan and the Sunnah, as the basis of legal rulings.

3. Para imam dan murid-murid mereka sentiasa menekankan bahawa hukum-hukum mereka terdedah kepada kesilapan.

3. The Imaams and their students continuously emphasized the fact that their rulings were subject to error.

4. Hadith-hadith yang sahih diutamakan oleh para Imam berbanding pendapat mereka sendiri. Berdasarkan hadith-hadith sahih yang tidak sempat diketahui oleh para Imam, murid-murid mereka kemudian membatalkan beberapa keputusan hukum yang pernah dibuat oleh para Imam.

4. Authentic Hadeeths were given precedence by the Imaams over their own opinions. On the basis of authentic Hadeeths not available to the Imaams, their students later overruled several rulings previously made by the Imaams.

5. Mengutamakan pendapat sesuatu mazhab berbanding hadis sahih adalah hampir kepada syirik, kerana sikap mengutamakan itu bertentangan dengan ketaatan yang wajib diberikan kepada Allah dan utusan-Nya yang terpilih.

5. Giving preference to the opinion of a Madh-hab over an authentic Hadeeth borders on Shirk since preference contravenes the allegiance owed to Allaah and His chosed messenger.

6. Semua umat Islam wajib mengikut dengan hujah (Ittibaa') hukum-hukum para ulama terdahulu, demi memelihara kemurnian Islam sebagaimana yang diwahyukan kepada Nabi ﷺ dan disampaikan kepada para sahabatnya.

6. All Muslims are repaired to follow with reason (Ittibaa’) the rulings of the early scholars in order to preserve the pristine purity of Islaam as revealed to the Prophet (s.w.) and conveyed to his companions.