Re: What is the difference between 'deen' and 'Mazhab'?
In a business there are two sets of governance documents which operate at different levels.
We have the Strategic Level of documents, which include the plans and policies ... but we also have the Tactical Level of documents called the processes and procedures ...
Deen is a strategic and holistic tag given to our Order or Way of Life ... When we say "Yawm-u-Deen" it means Day of Judgement - in the sense that it collects the aggregate score our lives have accumulated - an assessment of our achievements and failures. The mazdhab is the methodology - where careful consideration has been given to calibrate and harmonise beliefs, actions, rites, behaviours and attitudes in to congrugent packages.
Think of a computer store - it has a section for processors, motherboards, memory, graphics cards, cases, power supplies and peripherals ... A mazhab tries to put together a ready made system complete with compatible processors with their motherboards and the FSB on the RAM modules. The store is like the Deen of Islam ... and the Madzhab is a compatible "methodology" of these parts that makes for a fully functioning internally consistent expression.
Everything is built up from the motherboard - so similarly all components of a mazdhab are built upon their core beliefs. Sometimes beliefs can be different, they can be the similar with different interpretations or they can be the same but with different levels of emphasis in the overall groups of beliefs.
So Mazdhab should not be seen as something that is separate from Deen. That error would be the same as the one who says the ready-built computer system is different from the collection of computer components in the store, but it was made from the components in the store ...
Using these two analogies that we can see that following a madhzab (a functioning system) is necessary ... some people treat the store known as Deen not a computer component store, but as a pick'n'mix store ... where they will take a selection of their favourite sweets and leave the ones they don't like so much ... not entirely a functioning system - but that is how it is interpreted by them. Whatever store type - we should realise that the Deen is the garden that we can play inside within its boundaries ... but the games we play inside the garden are the mazdhabs - Any game that forces us to step outside the garden may be a game that should not be allowed. But to be in the garden without playing a game sure enough means we are still in the garden - but we are not having fun either ... here "fun" is analogous to the score that we need to be making to take back with us on the Yawm-u-Deen ...
The importance of having a mazdhab is like the importance of having a game to play to keep us having fun in the garden. Additionally the game would be no game and sometimes no fun - if we keep changes the rules. Games need rules ... gardens need boundaries ...
Mazdhabs have rules and the Deen has a boundary.