Do I have to follow one madhhab, and who should I take my religion from when everyone tells me something different?

You are not obliged to bind yourself to one of the four madhhabs; what is obligatory is to follow Allah and His Messenger, and Allah commanded that when people dispute they refer the matter back to the Qur'an and the Sunnah (Quran 4:59). As a beginner you cannot weigh evidences yourself, so Allah tells you to "ask the people of knowledge if you do not know" (Quran 16:43) — it is perfectly valid, and for most beginners it is best, to learn the practical rulings of prayer and purification from one trustworthy scholar or one madhhab-based book so your worship is orderly, while accepting clear proof from the Qur'an and Sunnah whenever it becomes evident to you. Be careful whom you learn from: Muhammad ibn Sīrīn said, "This knowledge is religion, so look carefully at whom you take your religion from" (reported by Imām Muslim in the introduction to his Ṣaḥīḥ), and the Prophet ﷺ warned that Allah does not remove knowledge by snatching it away, but by the death of the scholars, until people take ignorant leaders who give verdicts without knowledge and so go astray and lead others astray (Sahih al-Bukhari 100). Stick to recognised, qualified scholars and their students rather than social-media personalities, and do not let the differences of the scholars shake you — the core of Islam that you must act on is agreed upon.

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