Dr. Omar Abdul Fattah, Professor of Fiqh Fundamentals at the Faculty of Islamic Shariah, said that the existence of four Sunni Schools of thought (madhhabs) as well as various Fiqhi opinions are evidence of moderation in Islam.
He highlighted, in a lecture given to Libyan Imams as part of the training course held by the World Organization for Al-Azhar Graduates, that having various Fiqhi opinions and four schools of thought is regarded as a sign of mercy to the Ummah and a proof of principals of easiness and facilitation that our religion urged us to follow based on the Prophetic Hadith “Whenever the Prophet (PBUH) was given an option between two things, he used to select the easier of the tow as long as it was not sinful.” At the end of the lecture, he called upon imams and preachers to follow the four schools of thought as they are considered a well-guided reference that protected minds of Muslims throughout many centuries from deviation with regard to understanding Quran and Sunnah or interpreting lawful texts; the matter that we suffer from nowadays because of extremists and terrorists who falsely interpret lawful texts.
