Praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds.
It is normal to have difference in Fatwa among scholars since the Companions (May Allah be pleased with them) have differed about some issues. For one who is familiar with Islamic Jurisprudence and its principles, this difference brings goodness and blessings for the Muslim nation, because it is restricted to one of the following:
1- The interpretation of a certain Quranic verse or Hadith.
2- The authenticity of some Hadiths.
3- The angle from which a jurist perceives a certain issue.
4- The customary practices upon which a ruling is based in different times. Those are the key reasons for difference of Fatwa among scholars, but this isn`t a serious matter because the Muslim nation is agreed about the Usul (Pillars of faith, pillars of Islam and major acts of worship) and the disagreement is merely about the ancillary branches of religion (Furu). Different Iftaa` houses/organizations adhere to certain Madhabs (Schools of thought) of the people of Sunnah and Jama`ah as reference for their Muftis. In the meantime, they respect other Madhabs. For example, the Hanbali Madhab is followed in Saudi Arabia while Hanafi Madhab is followed in Syria. In Jordan, we opted for following the Shafie Madhab because it is the Madhab of the majority of Jordanians and the people of Hadith. Actually, the six canonical books of Hadith are Shafi and so are the senior scholars of Hadith. This inclination is also because the Shafi Madhab has combined knowing the Prophetic tradition with transmitting it. If there is no answer for a certain question in our Madhab, we turn to another Madhab. For example, the Shafie Madhab allows performing Tayammum only with clean earth, but if someone is in hospital and can`t find clean earth, then we follow the Fatwa of the Hanafi Madhab which allows doing Tayammum with a wall. The idea, here, is delivering one Fatwa about the same subject. We confirm our profound respect to all schools of thought because they follow the teachings of the Prophet (PBUH). In Jordan, professors teaching at Sharia faculties, in addition to other scholars of religious sciences, deliver Fatwas on basis of what they have learnt and taught and we have no objection to that. Moreover, it is permissible for a Muslim to follow the opinion of any Sunni school of thought. And Allah The Almighty Knows Best.
