By Mufti Zameelur Rahman Imām Abū Isḥāq al-Shāṭibī (d. 790) makes a powerful uṣūlī argument in his al-Muwāfaqāt for the necessity of following one madhhab in its entirety. However, his language and style of speech is difficult. Hence, rather than producing a translation, I will provide an overview of some of the salient points in his discussion below. One will notice that many of his arguments and counter-arguments are relevant to contemporary discussions on the issue. His full discussion can be found in the “third issue” related to ijtihād and taqlīd (al-Muwāfaqāt, Dār Ibn ‘Affān, 5:59 – 113). Any comments from…