Fatwa ID: 07915

 

 

Answered by Aalimah Khadija Tarwala

 

 

Question:

 

 

If one was on , for example following the Shafi’i madhab and all the rulings according by it, then becomes a Hanafi for a legitimate reason such as moving to a place which is almost entirely hanafi, would all of the actions they did, that were invalid according to the hanafis when they were shafi’i, be corrected. For example if they cleaned an impurity in the shafi’i way( that would still be deemed impure according to the hanafi school) is that thing now impure for them?

 

JazakAllah

 

 

 

 

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

 

 

Answer:

 

 

When a person transitions from one madhab to another for a legitimate reason, such as moving to a place where the main madhab is Hanafi, their past actions are not automatically seen as invalid. The actions they performed according to the previous madhab are still valid within the context of that madhab. It is only future actions that need to be aligned with the rulings of the new madhab they are following.

 

For example, if someone performed ghusl in accordance with the Shafi’i madhab, and this method would be considered inadequate under the Hanafi madhab, it does not mean that their past ghusl is invalid.

 

What matters is that from the moment they change, they follow the rulings of the Hanafi madhab in their actions.

 

Therefore, changing madhabs does not invalidate previous actions, it simply means that the individual will need to follow the rules of the new madhab from that point onward.

 

 

Only Allah knows best.

Written by Aalimah Khadija Tarwala.

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah.

Darul Ifta Birmingham.

 

 

References

 

 

كتاب الجواهر من فقه الحنفية [سعد غدبوش] ص: 284 قال العلامةُ ابنُ عابدينَ في حاشيته ردّ المحتار (٤/ ٨٠) Dar al-Samman – Istanbul : إذا ارتحلَ إلى غيرِ مذهبِهِ، يُعزِّرُ، أي: إذا كانَ ارتحالُهُ لا لغرضٍ محمودٍ شرعًا، لما في

التتارخانيّة: حُكِيَ أنَّ رجلًا من أصحابِ أبي حنيفةَ…