Question:
Assalamo alaikum
I asked a respectable mufti about some problem and obeyed his answer till someone told me that another respectable mufti (both hanafi) gave a different answer to the same problem, e.g one said you should repeat salah in xyz scenario and the other said you don’t have to repeat salah. Why is there so much difference in Islam? It is making deen a burden for me.
Answer:
Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Raheem, was-salaat was-salaam `ala sayyidina Muhammadin wa `ala aalihi wa saahbihi ajma`een.
Differences among scholars are common and are a blessing for the ummah. The Prophet (saw) said that the differences among the scholars are a mercy. Among the many wisdoms of this is that answers can be applied to the conditions and culture of the people and it won’t be restrictive onto others. Looking at religion monolithically could actually harm the dynamics of Islamic Law. Since Allah (swt) mentioned that Man is created between each other, flexibility is more conducive to their nature. It is a good chance that the differences you are seeing is based on the level of the scholars understanding.
And Allah knows best.
Ismaeel Dhul-Qarnayn
