Reference: http://www.alfawzan.af.org.sa/node/15726
Question: Is adhering to and following one of the [four] madh.habs (schools of Islaamic jurisprudence) considered to be extreme?
Response: No my brother; the layman and a beginner student of knowledge don’t have any choice but to adhere to and follow, [otherwise] what [do you expect] them to do? Should they just make ijtihaad? [No] he does not have the ability to make ijtihaad, [instead] he should adhere to and follow the people of knowledge. Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala says:
{Then ask the people of knowledge if you do not know} [and] why should he ask them? [He should ask them] in order to adhere to and follow what they say; Adhering to and following [them] is [done] out of need and necessity.
[Since] he who does not have the ability to extract legal Sharee’ah-based rulings from their [authentic] evidences, then he is required to adhere to and follow the [recognised] people of knowledge, [as Allaah says]:
