Answer
Salam Dear Sister,
Thank you for this interesting question and for bringing up this important issue.
A lot of new Muslims have the same dilemma.
While they feel they need a spiritual leader, they also worry about following the wrong one, and I completely support them in that feeling. It’s dangerous to follow the wrong ideas.
So what can we do?
One True Leader: Prophet Muhammad
Basically, all Muslims should follow one leader: Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
We are not required to be part of a sect or a school of thought. Islam is simple enough for the average person to understand, appreciate, and apply.
There is no priesthood in Islam, which means that there is no special cast of people who are authorized to speak for or about Islam exclusively. No one has a monopoly on Islam or Islamic thought.
So all you need to do is to get yourself a good translation of the Quran with commentary, a good biography of the Prophet (peace be upon him), and a book or two of hadith to start your self-education.
In parallel, check out reliable sources of mainstream Islam, such as our website.
Trust Your Instincts
Go with your gut feeling at first. What’s right feels right and what’s odd feels wrong.
That’s what Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) teaches us, that Islam is simply the religion of pure nature or “fitra” and that your pure nature will be able to recognize halal (lawful) and haram (unlawful). In most cases, they’re very distinctly different from each other.
In time, you will be able to develop a clear idea of basic Islamic principles.
All Opinions are Opinions
Anything you hear from anyone, no matter how well educated, is just a human opinion. The only absolute truth is available to you in the Quran. And the only advantage that a person has over you from an Islamic perspective is spending longer time and putting in harder work at learning.
Any one of us could be an Islamic scholar if we put our minds to it and dedicate enough time and sincerity.
Consequently, no organization or institution can be the only source of authentication on Islamic knowledge. It’s only an indication of how long and how hard that particular individual (man or woman) has invested in Islamic learning.
The only important case however, is when that scholar will give legal opinions on specific matters (fatwa) in which case he/she must be qualified because it’s a huge responsibility, just like being a judge.
Remain United as Muslims
The worst thing Muslims are doing to each other nowadays is being split into sects and groups that are at odds with each other. I completely agree with you that it is unity we need, particularly while being a minority, as in new Muslims in non-Muslim societies.
I simply call myself “a Muslim” without any descriptive terms to go with it such as Sunni, Salafi, Sufi, Shia, etc… because like you, I believe that Islam is one and should stay that way.
As for the 73 groups that you mention, some of them surely exist in our time; however, I don’t think it would be appropriate to list them and talk about their shortcomings.
What is important for us is to know where we stand and what do we believe in.
Going back to your main question “which scholar to follow”, my advice is to follow the one you feel most comfortable with while avoiding disparaging other scholars.
Look at the diversity of opinions among Muslim scholars to be just like dresses that suit different women differently. Keeping in mind that there shouldn’t be differences in opinion when it comes to the Islamic creed such as the five pillars of Islam and the six articles of faith.
I hope this helps answer your question.
Salam and please keep in touch.
This is from Ask About Islam’s archives and was published earlier.
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