Muḥammad Sulṭān al-Maʿṣūmī, may Allāh have mercy on him: (A question was presented to me from the Muslims of the land of Japan, meaning Japan, from the towns of Tokyo and Osaka in the Far East, the essence of which was: What is the true nature of the religion of Islam? Then, what is the meaning of a madhhab, and is it necessary for someone who embraces the religion of Islam to follow one of the four madhhabs, that is, to be Mālikī, Ḥanafī, Shāfiʿī, or otherwise, or is it not necessary? This is because a great disagreement and severe dispute arose here when several enlightened individuals from the men of Japan wished to enter the religion of Islam and honor themselves with the dignity of faith, so they presented this to the Muslim association located in Tokyo. A group from the people of India said: They should choose the madhhab of Imām Abū Ḥanīfah because he is the lamp of the ummah. A group from the people of Indonesia (Java) said: It is necessary to be Shāfiʿī. When the Japanese heard their words, they were very astonished and bewildered about what was intended.)