Question:
Assalamu alaikum,
Is being a Sunni and choosing a Madhab a Naqshbandi-Haqqani requirement? Can someone not follow a specific Madhab or not be a Sunni at all and still be an honorable member of Naqshbandi-Haqqani? Is it allowed for someone to rely entirely on the Quran and the teachings/practices of the Naqshbandiyya-Haqqaniyya Sufi Tariqa as their sole tools on their path to Allah?
Thank you for your time.
Answer:
Wa`alaykumussalam,
All the Grandshaykhs of the Naqshbandi Golden Chain until our beloved Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim al-Haqqani (may Allah grant him long life) are great scholars of the external and internal knowledge of Islam. All of them follow the ‘Aqidah of Ahl al-Sunnah wa l-Jama’ah (Ash’ari/Maturidi) and are themselves masters of the four Sunni schools of Fiqh (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i & Hanbali), and they themselves follow one school in their worship.
To not follow any Madhhab for a lay person is Bid’ah (innovation) in the eyes of Shari’ah, and this will lead one to become deviant in his worship. If anyone insists, let them know we are not responsible for their misdeeds, and our Shuyukh are free of this ill-will.
May Allah Guides us in the best and easiest manner through those whom
He has guided!
Abdul Shakur
