How do we know which madhab/opinion is correct?
Salam alaykum everyone,
I’m a Muslim girl. I was born into a Muslim family, so growing up I was taught to pray, fast, and believe in Allah SWT and His Prophet ﷺ. My family was never very strict — for example, they never forced hijab on me or anything like that — but they would support me if I chose it myself.
Alhamdulillah, I pray 5 times a day, do my adhkar, and read Quran sometimes. But recently I realized that I never truly researched or tried to deeply understand Islam and deen as a discipline. I just believed in Allah and Islam naturally, without really studying it.
Lately I’ve been feeling confused and kind of lost. I saw videos on social media saying that hadiths are not 100% reliable, and it made me question things because so many Islamic rules come from hadiths. I fully believe in the Quran and trust it completely, but when it comes to hadiths, madhabs, and different opinions, I get overwhelmed.
I’m Sunni and Maliki because that’s what most people in my country follow, but sometimes I wonder: how do we know which madhab is the “right” one? Hanafi, Shafi’i, Maliki, Hanbali… why are there so many differences if we are all Muslim? And how do we trust narrations written and transmitted so long ago without worrying that something may have changed?
I don’t think I’m leaving Islam or rejecting it at all. Actually, it’s the opposite — I love Islam and I want to understand my religion more deeply, strengthen my faith, and become closer to Allah SWT. I think maybe I’m just at a stage where I’m asking questions for the first time instead of blindly following things.
Please don’t hate on me or judge me. I’m genuinely trying to learn and understand with sincerity. If anyone has advice, books, videos, or ways to start learning deen properly without feeling overwhelmed, I would really appreciate it.
Jazakum Allahu khayran 🤍