The Definition of Sunni, Hanafi and Wahhabi

Question

(1) Who is called a Sunni and a Hanafi? Kindly explain from authoritative books. (2) What is the Wahhabi madhhab, and what is the meaning of the word “Wahhabi”? The Barelvi ulama and illiterate people, in their own terminology, regard “Wahhabi” as something worse than a kafir and a mushrik; on that basis, whomever they consider to be against their principles they brand with the fatwa of “Wahhabi” and expel from Islam, boycott him, and cut off salam and conversation with him.

Answer

In reality, a Sunni is one who follows the way of the Noble Prophet ﷺ and the Rightly Guided Caliphs ﵃ — in beliefs, in character and in deeds alike: [ar]هُمْ مَا أَنَا عَلَيْهِ وَأَصْحَابِي[/ar] “They are upon what I and my Companions are upon” (hadith). A Hanafi is one who, in the issues of fiqh, is a muqallid (follower) of Hazrat Imam A‘zam Abu Hanifa ﵀. (2)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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