Is it permissible for an unspecialized person to adopt any opinion in matters of scholarly dispute?

An ordinary person does not imitate every saying he hears; rather, he imitates those he trusts among the well-known and trustworthy people of knowledge. It is permissible to follow any of the four Imams, whose madhhab (school of thought) has been preserved, documented, and whose conditions are known. It is also permissible to switch from one madhhab to another, but it is not permissible to seek out concessions (talfīq al-rukhas).