Amadhhab (Arabic:مَذْهَب,romanized: madhhab,lit. 'way to act',IPA:[ˈmaðhab], pl.مَذَاهِب,madhāhib,[ˈmaðaːhib]) refers to anyschool of thought withinIslamic jurisprudence. The majorSunnimadhhab areHanafi,Maliki,Shafi'i andHanbali.[1] They emerged in the ninth and tenth centuries CE and by the twelfth century almost allIslamic jurists aligned themselves with a particularmadhhab.[2] These four schools recognize each other's validity and they have interacted in legal debate over the centuries.[2][1]Rulings of these schools are followed across the Muslim world without exclusive regional restrictions, but they each came to dominate in different parts of the world.[2][1] For example, the Maliki school is predominant in North and West Africa; the Hanafi school in South and Central Asia; the Shafi'i school in East Africa and Southeast Asia; and the Hanbali school in North and Central Arabia.[2][1][3] The first centuries of Islam also witnessed a number of short-lived Sunnimadhhabs.[4] TheZahiri school, which is considered to be endangered, continues to exert influence over legal thought.[4][1][2] The development ofShia legal schools occurred along the lines of theological differences and resulted in the formation of theJa'farimadhhab amongstTwelver Shias, as well as theIsma'ili andZaidimadhhabs amongstIsma'ilis andZaidis respectively, whose differences from Sunni legal schools are roughly of the same order as the differences among Sunni schools.[4][3] TheIbadi legal school, distinct from Sunni and Shiamadhhabs, is predominant in Oman.[1] Unlike Sunnis, Shias, and Ibadis,non-denominational Muslims are not affiliated with anymadhhab.[5][6][7]
The transformations of Islamic legal institutions in the modern era have had profound implications for themadhhab system. With the spread of codified state laws in the Muslim world, the influence of themadhhabs beyond personal ritual practice depends on the status accorded to them within the national legal system. State law codification commonly drew on rulings from multiplemadhhabs, and legal professionals trained in modern law schools have largely replaced traditionalulama as interpreters of the resulting laws.[2] In the 20th century, some jurists began to assert their intellectual independence from traditionalmadhhabs.[8] With the spread ofSalafi influence andreformist currents in the 20th century; a handful of Salafi scholars have asserted independence from being strictly bound by the traditionallegal mechanisms of the four schools. Nevertheless, the majority of Sunni scholarship continues to upholdpost-classical creedal belief in rigorously adhering (Taqlid) to one of the four schools in all legal details.[9]
TheAmman Message, which was endorsed in 2005 by prominent Islamic scholars around the world, recognized fourSunni schools (Hanafi,Maliki,Shafi'i,Hanbali), twoShia schools (Ja'fari,Zaidi), theIbadi school, and theZahiri school.[10] Schools of Islamic jurisprudence are located in Pakistan, Iran, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Egypt, Turkey, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, China, the Philippines, Algeria, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and multiple other countries.
According toJohn Burton, "modern research shows" thatfiqh 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, whetherMecca,Kufa,Basra, Syria, etc.[11] (Egypt's school inFustat 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.)[Note 1]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".[15][16] The "real basis" of legal doctrine in these "ancient schools" was not a body of reports ofMuhammad's sayings, doings, silent approval (theahadith) or even those ofhis Companions, but the "living tradition" of the school as "expressed in the consensus of the scholars", according toJoseph Schacht.[17]
It has been asserted thatmadhahib were consolidated in the 9th and 10th centuries as a means of excluding dogmatic theologians, government officials and non-Sunni sects from religious discourse.[18] Historians have differed regarding the times at which the various schools emerged. One interpretation is that Sunni Islam was initially[when?] split into four groups: theHanafites,Malikites,Shafi'ites andZahirites.[19] Later, theHanbalites andJarirites developed two more schools; then various dynasties effected the eventual exclusion of the Jarirites;[20] eventually, the Zahirites were also excluded when theMamluk Sultanate established a total of four independentjudicial positions, thus solidifying the Maliki, Hanafi, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools.[18] During the era of theIslamic Gunpowders, theOttoman Empire reaffirmed the official status of these four schools as a reaction to Shi'ite Persia.[21] Some are of the view that Sunni jurisprudence falls into two groups:Ahl al-Ra'i ("people of opinions", emphasizing scholarly judgment and reason) andAhl al-Hadith ("people of traditions", emphasizing strict interpretation of scripture).[22]
10th centuryShi'ite scholarIbn al-Nadim named eight groups: Maliki, Hanafi, Shafi'i, Zahiri,Imami Shi'ite, Ahl al-Hadith, Jariri andKharijite.[20][23]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.[24]Ibn Khaldun defined only three Sunnimadhahib: Hanafi, Zahiri, and one encompassing the Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali schools as existing initially,[25][26] noting that by the 14th-century historian theZahiri school had become extinct,[27][28] only for it to be revived again in parts of the Muslim world by the mid-20th century.[29][30][31]
Historically, thefiqh 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.[21]
The transformations of Islamic legal institutions in the modern era have had profound implications for themadhhab 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 themadhhabs beyond personal ritual practice depends on the status accorded to them within the national legal system. State law codification commonly utilized the methods oftakhayyur (selection of rulings without restriction to a particularmadhhab) andtalfiq (combining parts of different rulings on the same question). Legal professionals trained in modern law schools have largely replaced traditionalulema as interpreters of the resulting laws. Global Islamic movements have at times drawn on differentmadhhabs 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.[2] In the 20th century many Islamic jurists began to assert their intellectual independence from traditional schools of jurisprudence.[8] 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.[2]
Some regions have a dominant or officialmadhhab; others recognize a variety.[32]
Generally, Sunnis will follow one particularmadhhab which varies from region to region, but also believe thatijtihad must be exercised by the contemporary scholars capable of doing so. Most rely ontaqlid, 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.[33][34]
Experts and scholars offiqh follow theusul (principles) of their ownmadhhab, but they also study theusul, evidences, and opinions of othermadhahib.
Main schools of thought within Sunni Islam, and other prominent streams.
The four main schools of jurisprudence of Sunni Islam are theHanafi,Shafi'i,Maliki andHanbali schools.[35] There's also theZahiri school but it is not significant. Historically, there were other schools of jurisprudence but they became extinct which include theJariri,Awza'i,Laythi,Thawri andQurtubi schools.[36] 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.[37] Sunni schools take their name from the classical jurist who founded them.[36]
The Hanafi school was founded byAbu Hanifa. It is primarily found in the Levant, South Asia, Central Asia, Turkey, the Balkans, Iraq, Trinidad, Guyana and Suriname. The order of priority for deducing law by the Hanafi school is:[36][38]
The Maliki school was founded byMalik ibn Anas. It is primarily found in North Africa, West Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait. Historically, it was also followed by Muslims inhabiting parts of Europe under Islamic rule specificallyAl-Andalus andSicily. The order of priority for deducing law by the Maliki school is:[36][38]
Quran
Sunnah, a hadith would be rejected if it contradicted the practice of the people of Medina
The Shafi'i school was founded byAl-Shafi'i. It is primarily found in East Africa, Yemen, South East Asia, Jordan, Palestine, Kurdistan, Sri Lanka and parts of India. The order of priority for deducing law by the Shafi'i school is:[36][38]
The Hanbali school was founded byAhmad ibn Hanbal. It is primarily found in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and minority communities in Syria and Iraq. The order of priority for deducing law by the Hanbali school is:[36][38]
Quran
Sunnah
Ijma of the Sahaba, but not the ijma after that period
Individual opinions of the Sahaba
Weak hadith unless its weakness is attributed to transmission by degenerates or liars
^It is usually assumed that no regional school developed in Egypt (unlike in Syria, Iraq and the Hijaz).Joseph Schach states that the legal milieu ofFustat (ancient Cairo) was a branch of the Medinan school of law.[12] Regarding judicial practices, the qadis (judges) of Fustat resorted to the procedure called "al-yamin ma'a l-shahid", that is, the ability of the judge to base his verdict on one single witness and the oath of the claimant, instead of two witnesses as was usually required. Such a procedure was quite common under the early Umayyads, but by the early Abbasid period it had disappeared in Iraq and it was now regarded as the'amal ("good practice") of Medina. Up until the end of the 8th century, the qadis of Fustat were still using this "Medinan" procedure and differentiated themselves from Iraqi practices. From a doctrinal point of view, however, the legal affiliation of Egypt could be more complex. The principal Egyptian jurist in the second half of the 8th century is al-Layth b. Sa'd.[13] The only writing of his that has survived is a letter he wrote to Malik b. Anas, which has been preserved by Yahya b. Ma'in and al-Fasawi. In this letter, he proclaims his theoretical affiliation to the Medinan methodology and recognizes the value of the'amal. Nevertheless, he distances himself from the Medinan School by opposing a series of Medinan legal views. He maintains that the common practice in other cities is also valuable, and thus implicitly defends the Egyptians' adherence to their own local tradition. Thus it is possible that, even though it did not develop into a formal school of law, a specific Egyptian legal milieu was distinct of the Medinan School in the 8th century.[14]
^abVikør, Knut S. (2014)."Sharīʿah". InEmad El-Din Shahin (ed.).The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Politics. Oxford University Press. Archived fromthe original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved3 September 2014.
^abcCalder, Norman (2009)."Law. Legal Thought and Jurisprudence". In John L. Esposito (ed.).The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Archived fromthe original on 21 November 2008.
^Tan, Charlene (2014).Reforms in Islamic Education: International Perspectives. A&C Black.ISBN9781441146175.This is due to the historical, sociological, cultural, rational and non-denominational (non-madhhabi) approaches to Islam employed at IAINs, STAINs, and UINs, as opposed to the theological, normative and denominational approaches that were common in Islamic educational institutions in the past
^Rane, Halim, Jacqui Ewart, and John Martinkus. "Islam and the Muslim World." Media Framing of the Muslim World. Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2014. 15-28
^Obydenkova, Anastassia V. "Religious pluralism in Russia." Politics of religion and nationalism: Federalism, consociationalism and secession, Routledge (2014): 36-49
^abMessick, Brinkley; Kéchichian, Joseph A. (2009)."Fatwā. Process and Function". In John L. Esposito (ed.).The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Archived fromthe original on 20 November 2015.
^Auda, Jasser (2007). "5: Contemporary Theories in Islamic Law".Maqasid al-SharÏah as Philosophy of Islamic Law: A Systems Approach. 669, Herndon, VA 20172, USA: The International Institute of Islamic Thought. pp. 143–145.ISBN978-1-56564-424-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
^J. Schacht,The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1950), p. 9
^R.G. Khoury, "Al-Layth Ibn Sa'd (94/713–175/791), grand maître et mécène de l’Egypte, vu à travers quelques documents islamiques anciens",Journal of Near Eastern Studies 40, 1981, p. 189–202
^M. Mahmood,The Code of Muslim Family Laws, pg. 37. Pakistan Law Times Publications, 2006. 6th ed.
^Hassan Ahmed Ibrahim, "An Overview of al-Sadiq al-Madhi's Islamic Discourse." Taken fromThe Blackwell Companion to Contemporary Islamic Thought, pg. 172. Ed. Ibrahim Abu-Rabi'.Hoboken:Wiley-Blackwell, 2008.ISBN9781405178488
