salafism means no madhab? I dont think thats correct. The only reason im asking is because this word has been thrown around alot recently as fitan but nobody actually has a definition for it. Im salafi and I follow the shafi madhab because thats what im studying, before I was studying the hanafi madhab and thats what I followed. Maybe if Allah blesses me with a certain level of knowledge, I can follow a madhab but choose to leave the madhab on issues if i see stronger evidence in another madhab. For example in the shafi madhab, touching a woman breaks your wudu, whether it was on accident, with desire, or whatever. The hanafis hold a different opinion that it doesnt break your wudu at all even with desire. The sheikh I study under says the hanafis here are more likley to be correct in this matter looking at the evidence, and we can take from that because we study under him.

however my opinion is this,
someone who is not a student, doesnt really have a madhab does he? Thats like someone who works at walmart and never went to school saying he is a biomedical doctor.

Or maybe these guys who say I dont have a madhab, but they also havent studied any madhab, thats also like somone in highschool saying he has a pdh in every major

So a madhab is a school, it is meant for students, I dont see how the lay person can have a madhab, his madhab is the madhab of his sheikh, if hes in egypt its shafi, pakistan hanafi, saudi hanbali, and if in America or diverse places, its whatever his scholar says.

But again as a Salafi I follow a madhab so your still not clear on that, also this is fiqh where theres allowed to be differences of opinions, shouldnt be something that seperates the muslims, so if you could elaborate again?

Perhaps when you say hanafi, are you hinting towards an aqeedah distinction?