Question
Is there anything in Islam that prevents children from taking the religion from other than their parents or sources their parents have approved? My parents do not care for Aqidah, nor Madhabs, are not cautious about the Shias (my dad finds warnings against them stupid, and blames Salafis for it), and they have the tendency to pick and choose from whatever sources. Not only this; they take from unreliable ‘scholars’ and expect me to do the same. I have refused to comply, and because of this, they call me a bad Muslim. Am I right to disobey them in this matter, or am I as they say?
Answer
1. Obeying Parents
Allah commanded the Muslim men and women to obey their parents in absolute terms. The Prophet said: ‘Shall I not inform you of the greatest of major sins? … To join partners in worship with Allah and being undutiful to one’s parents.’ [Bukhari 5976]
Allah then restricted His command to obey parents to only mean that which involves obedience to Allah. The Prophet said: ‘There is no obedience to any human being if it involves disobedience to Allah’ [Musnad Ahmad 1065; Sahih]
So if your parents command you to do anything which doesn’t involve obedience to Allah, you must obey them. And if they command you to do anything which involves disobedience to Allah, you must not obey them, but still honor them. Allah said: ‘And We have enjoined on man to be good and dutiful to his parents; but if they strive to make you join with Me (in worship) anything (as a partner) of which you have no knowledge, then obey them not. Unto Me is your return and I shall tell you what you used to do’ [29:8]
2. How to Seek Knowledge
The correct way to seek knowledge, especially learning Aqidah, is by learning it from those who adhere to the path of the Prophet and his Companions. The Messenger of Allah said: ‘My Ummah will split into seventy-three sects. All of them are in the Fire Except one.’ Some people said: ‘And which is it O Messenger of Allah?’ He said: ‘What I am upon and my Companions.’ [Tirmidhi 2641; Hasan
To know who are upon what the Prophet and his Companions were upon, you need to find those who call towards their path, and these are two who Allah restricted to take knowledge from.
- The first is that scholar who acts upon what he preaches from Allah’s Book. Allah said: ‘It is not for a human that Allah should give him the Scripture and authority and Prophet-hood, and then he would say to the people: ‘Be servants to me rather than Allah,’ but [instead, he would say]: ‘Be learned men of your Deen who practice what they know and also preach to others because of what you have taught of the Scripture and because of what you have studied.’ [3:79]
- The second is that scholar who speaks about Allah’s Deen on the basis of evidence. Allah said: ‘So ask the people of knowledge to answer on the basis of knowledge [i.e. the Qur’an and the Sunnah] if you do not know.’ [16:43-44
The people who fit the description of these two callers are those who study the Qur’an and the Sunnah, teach the Qur’an and the Sunnah, and act upon the Qur’an and the Sunnah in their speech, actions, beliefs, studies, sermons, lectures and verdicts. These are the people from whom knowledge should be sought, especially in matters of Aqidah. Allah said: ‘It is not for a human that Allah should give him the Scripture and authority and Prophet-hood, and then he would say to the people: ‘Be servants to me rather than Allah,’ but [instead, he would say]: ‘Be learned men of your Deen who practice what they know and also preach to others because of what you have taught of the Scripture and because of what you have studied.’ [3:79]
And the Messenger of Allah said: ‘The Qur’an and its people who act according to it will be brought on the Day of Resurrection, with Surah Al-Baqarah and Surah Aal-Imran arguing on behalf of those who acted upon them.’ [Muslim 805]
So Allah restricted seeking knowledge of Islam from these people. If your parents insist that you take knowledge from anyone other than whom Allah commanded you to take knowledge from, then they will not be obeyed in this. The Prophet said: ‘There is no obedience to any human being if it involves disobedience to Allah’ [Musnad Ahmad 1065; Sahih]
And upon you is to convey Allah’s ruling on this topic to your parents. Abdullah bin Amr narrated that the Prophet said: ‘Convey from me, even if it is one Verse.’ [Bukhari 3461]
And Zayd bin Thabit narrated that the Prophet said: ‘May Allah brighten the face of a person who hears a Hadith from us, then memorizes it and conveys it to others.’ [Abu Dawud 3660, Tirmidhi 2658; Sahih]
3. Following Madhabs or Sects
As for the Madhabs, be it Salafism, Sufism, Shia’ism, Sunnism, Ash’arism, Zahiriyyah, Maturidiyyah, Kharijism, etc., then these are all prohibited to follow without any distinction, because Allah legislated the Deen of Islam for the Muslims, and he did not legislate for them any Madhab. Allah said: ‘He has prescribed for you [believers] the same religion which He enjoined upon Nuh, and that which We have revealed to you [O Prophet] and that which We enjoined upon Ibrahim, Musa, and Isa: ‘You should uphold the religion and make no divisions therein.’ [42:13]
For more details on this issue, please go through this article on the difference between Islam and the Madhabs.