Madhhab

"Ancient" schools

According to John Burton, "modern research shows" that fiqh was first "regionally organized" with "considerable disagreement and variety of view." In the second century of Islam, schools of fiqh were noted for the loyalty of their jurists to the legal practices of their local communities, whether Mecca, Kufa, Basra, Syria, etc. (Egypt's school in Fustat was a branch of Medina's school of law and followed such practices—up until the end of the 8th century—as basing verdict on one single witness, not two, and the oath of the claimant. Its principal jurist in the second half of the 8th century was al-Layth b. Sa'd.) Al-Shafiʽi wrote that, "every capital of the Muslims is a seat of learning whose people follow the opinion of one of their countrymen in most of his teachings". The "real basis" of legal doctrine in these "ancient schools" was not a body of reports of Muhammad's sayings, doings, silent approval (the ahadith) or even those of his Companions, but the "living tradition" of the school as "expressed in the consensus of the scholars", according to Joseph Schacht.

Al-Shafi‘i and after

It has been asserted that madhahib were consolidated in the 9th and 10th centuries as a means of excluding dogmatic theologians, government officials and non-Sunni sects from religious discourse. Historians have differed regarding the times at which the various schools emerged. One interpretation is that Sunni Islam was initially split into four groups: the Hanafites, Malikites, Shafi'ites and Zahirites. Later, the Hanbalites and Jarirites developed two more schools; then various dynasties effected the eventual exclusion of the Jarirites; eventually, the Zahirites were also excluded when the Mamluk Sultanate established a total of four independent judicial positions, thus solidifying the Maliki, Hanafi, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools. During the era of the Islamic Gunpowders, the Ottoman Empire reaffirmed the official status of these four schools as a reaction to Shi'ite Persia. Some are of the view that Sunni jurisprudence falls into two groups: Ahl al-Ra'i ("people of opinions", emphasizing scholarly judgment and reason) and Ahl al-Hadith ("people of traditions", emphasizing strict interpretation of scripture).

10th century Shi'ite scholar Ibn al-Nadim named eight groups: Maliki, Hanafi, Shafi'i, Zahiri, Imami Shi'ite, Ahl al-Hadith, Jariri and Kharijite. Abu Thawr also had a school named after him. In the 12th century Jariri and Zahiri schools were absorbed by the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools respectively. Ibn Khaldun defined only three Sunni madhahib: Hanafi, Zahiri, and one encompassing the Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali schools as existing initially, noting that by the 14th-century historian the Zahiri school had become extinct, only for it to be revived again in parts of the Muslim world by the mid-20th century.

Historically, the fiqh schools were often in political and academic conflict with one another, vying for favor with the ruling government in order to have their representatives appointed to legislative and especially judiciary positions.

Modern era

The transformations of Islamic legal institutions in the modern era have had profound implications for the madhhab system. Legal practice in most of the Muslim world has come to be controlled by government policy and state law, so that the influence of the madhhabs beyond personal ritual practice depends on the status accorded to them within the national legal system. State law codification commonly utilized the methods of takhayyur (selection of rulings without restriction to a particular madhhab) and talfiq (combining parts of different rulings on the same question). Legal professionals trained in modern law schools have largely replaced traditional ulema as interpreters of the resulting laws. Global Islamic movements have at times drawn on different madhhabs and at other times placed greater focus on the scriptural sources rather than classical jurisprudence. The Hanbali school, with its particularly strict adherence to the Quran and hadith, has inspired conservative currents of direct scriptural interpretation. Examples of the latter approach include networks of Indonesian ulema and Islamic scholars residing in Muslim-minority countries, who have advanced liberal interpretations of Islamic law.

Schools

Generally, Sunnis will follow one particular madhhab which varies from region to region, but also believe that ijtihad must be exercised by the contemporary scholars capable of doing so. Most rely on taqlid, or acceptance of religious rulings and epistemology from a higher religious authority in deferring meanings of analysis and derivation of legal practices instead of relying on subjective readings.

Experts and scholars of fiqh follow the usul (principles) of their own madhhab, but they also study the usul, evidences, and opinions of other madhahib.

Sunni

The four main schools of jurisprudence of Sunni Islam are the Hanafi, Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali schools. There is also the Zahiri school, but it has less followers. Historically, there were other schools of jurisprudence but they became extinct which include the Jariri, Awza'i, Laythi, Thawri and Qurtubi schools. The reason for the survival and dominance of the main schools was because of a number of factors including state support for specific scholars, dominance in debates and student numbers. Sunni schools take their name from the classical jurist who founded them.

Hanafi

The order of priority for deducing law by the Hanafi school is:

1. Quran
2. Sunnah
3. Ijma of the Sahaba
4. Individual opinions of the Sahaba
5. Qiyas
6. Istihsan
7. Urf

Maliki

The order of priority for deducing law by the Maliki school is:

1. Quran
2. Sunnah, a hadith would be rejected if it contradicted the practice of the people of Medina
3. ʻAmal, the practice of the people of Medina
4. Ijma of the Sahaba
5. Individual opinion of the Sahaba
6. Qiyas
7. Isolated customs and practices of pockets of Medinans were also given some weight
8. Istislah
9. Urf

Shafi'i

The order of priority for deducing law by the Shafi'i school is:

1. Quran
2. Sunnah
3. Ijma
4. Individual opinions of the Sahaba
5. Qiyas

Hanbali

The order of priority for deducing law by the Hanbali school is:

1. Quran
2. Sunnah
3. Ijma of the Sahaba, but not the ijma after that period
4. Individual opinions of the Sahaba
5. Weak hadith unless its weakness is attributed to transmission by degenerates or liars
6. Qiyas (sometimes)

Zahiri

The order of priority for deducing law by the Zahiri school is:

1. Quran
2. Sunnah
3. Ijmah of the Sahaba
4. Religious Inference (some scholars)

Shia

The Twelver school of jurisprudence is known as the Ja'fari school. The other two schools are the Zaydi and Ismaili schools.

Ja'fari

The Ja'fari school was named after the sixth Imam, Ja'far al-Sadiq. The order of priority for deducing law by the Ja'fari school is:

1. Quran
2. Sunnah
3. Ijtihad of the Imam

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

• Branon Wheeler, Applying the Canon in Islam: The Authorization and Maintenance of Interpretive Reasoning in Ḥanafī Scholarship, SUNY Press, 1996.

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