or—in the name of “public interest,” as they claim. How apt are the words of Sulaymān al-Taymī, may Allah have mercy on him:

“If you gather the dispensations of every scholar, every form of evil will come together in you.”

Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr related this report (2/91–92) and then remarked, “This is a point of consensus; I know of no disagreement about it.”

That, then, is precisely what we reject—and, as you can see, it accords with the consensus. By contrast, returning to the imams’ statements, benefiting from them, and drawing on them to discern the truth in questions over which they differed—matters for which no explicit text exists in the Qur’an or the Sunnah, or texts that require clarification—is something we do not censure. In fact, we encourage and urge it, for such study is profitable to anyone who seeks guidance from the Book and the Sunnah.

Al-ʿAllāmah Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, may Allah have mercy on him, said (2/172):

“So, my brother, devote yourself to preserving the foundational texts and giving them due care. Know that whoever busies himself with memorising the Sunnah and the rulings explicitly laid down in the Qur’an, then examines the statements of the jurists—making those statements an aid to his own ijtihād, a key to the pathways of reasoning, and an explanation of concise reports that can bear several meanings—while not blindly following any one of them with the sort of unquestioning conformity that is owed only to the Sunnah, which must be obeyed in every circumstance without scrutiny, and while not exempting himself from what the scholars themselves undertook of safeguarding and contemplating the Sunnah; rather, he follows their example in investigation, understanding, and reflection, thanks them for their efforts and for what they clarified, praises them for their correctness—which constitutes the greater part of their statements—and does not declare them free of error, just as they did not absolve themselves—such a person is the true seeker who is holding fast to what the righteous predecessors were upon. He is the one who has secured his portion, clearly perceives his right guidance, and follows the Sunnah of his Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and the guidance of his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them.

But whoever denies himself study, turns away from what we have mentioned, and sets the Sunnah in opposition to his own opinion…"