Acting on Another Imam’s Madhhab in Some Issues: Was Shah Waliullah a Muqallid?

Question

If a person who calls himself a Hanafi acts, in some disputed issues, on the rulings of the Shafi‘is and Hanbalis on the basis of his own research, does he thereby leave the Hanafi madhhab or not? — whereas Imam Waliullah writes in Anfas al-‘Arifin, p. 70: [ar]مخفی نماند که حضرت ایشان — ای عبدالرحیم صاحب دهلوی — در اکثر امور موافق مذهب حنفی عمل می‌کردند، الا بعض چیزها که بحسب حدیث یا وجدان بمذهب دیگر ترجیح می‌یافتند؛ از آن جمله آنست که در اقتداء سورهٔ فاتحه می‌خواندند و در جنازه نیز[/ar] “Let it not remain hidden…

Answer

If some Hanafi, on account of the breadth of his view, the excellence of his understanding, the purity of his inner self or some other strong motive, considers the proof of another imam to be stronger and acts upon it, such a person does not leave the Hanafi madhhab; in proportion to the strength of the motive he will be excused, but it is not permissible for others to follow…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.