The Four Schools of Jurisprudence
Introduction:
Muslims
gathered around the Prophet, were sincere in their religion for Allah, and
succeeded in forming a new society that is ruled by the Book and the Sunnah.
Then, they
went on to spread the light of Allah everywhere and could remove the two
largest corrupt states at that time: the Persians and the Romans. Also they
could remove the despots in the north of the Arabian Peninsula who follow them
like AL-Manaadhirah
and AL-Ghasaasenah.
Muslim armies
were accompanied by jurists from the Prophet’s Companions who studied under him
and went on to teach people provisions of Islam and regulate their lives in
which ways of living differed from one region to another.
This was
followed by the appearance of schools of giving legal opinions (Iftaaᶦ):
❶Imam Abu-Hanifah School.
❷Imam Malik ibn Anas School.
❸Imam Shafii School.
❹Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal School.
These schools
were not the only ones that appeared in the early times, but there were more
than eighty independent famous jurists, such as AL-Layth ibn Saᶦd in Egypt, Imam
ibn Taymiyah in Damascus and his student ibn AL-Qayeem, also ibn Hazm
AL-Andalusi.
¨The Prophet’s message has spread to the world by two
groups of the Companions:
①A group stayed in AL-Madinah, to whom people went and
asked for legal opinions.
②And a group went off with the conqueror Muslim armies to
teach people provisions of the religion.
Causes of emergence of these schools:
1) The death of the Prophet, i.e., he was no longer alive
to answer Muslims’ questions and give them legal opinions.
2) The death of the Prophet’s Companions who lived with
the Prophet and gave people legal opinions.
3) Appearance of new issues due to Muslims’ new life.
4) The presence of a number of the Companions in
AL-Madinah made it difficult for people to travel to them.
Some of the most important famous scholars
❶Imam Abu Hanifah
He
is AL-Nuᶦmaan
ibn Thabit. He was born in Kufa, in 80 A.H.
He
lived for fifty years under the Umayyad Caliphate and for twenty years under
the Abbasid Caliphate.
He was famous for wisdom and self-esteem and was fond of
debates and thought. He had followers and students who disseminated his
opinions in many Muslim countries.
He established his school in Kufa.
He
tends to juristic deduction and depends to a lesser extent on the Prophetic
tradition. The Shariᶦah
Judiciary and educational books in Egypt depend on his school.
He
died in 150 A.H., under the Caliph Abu-Gaᶦfar AL Mansour.
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❷Imam Malik ibn Anas
He was born in
AL-Madinah AL-Munawwarah in 93 A.H.
He learned in it
among the Companions and the Successors of the Companions.
He became the
leader of the jurisprudents of AL-Hejaz so that it was said: “NO one is asked
to give a verdict while Malik is in AL-Madinah.”
He was called
“Imam of Dar AL-Hijrah (AL Madinah).”
His school
combines between tradition, jurisprudence, interpretation, and history.
He disagreed with
Abi Jaᶦfar AL-Mansour who ordered to flog him. But the Caliph AL Mahdi got
close to him and narrated his book “AL-Muwatta”.
Malik ibn Anas
School spread in Morocco and Andalusia. His book “AL-Muwatta” has gained a
great fame. He wrote it in forty years. He has combined between jurisprudence
and tradition in it.
The Abbasid
Caliphs suggested to publish his book and commit people to it, but he refused
this suggestion. Imam Shafii is one of his students.
Malik ibn Anas
died in AL Madinah in 179 A.H. under the Caliph Haroun AL Rasheed.
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❸Imam Shafii
He is Muhammad
ibn Idrees.
He was born in Shafiᶦ in Ghazah in 150 A.H. ,i.e., in the same year
of Abi Hanifah’s death.
His descent is the same as that of the Prophet in
Hashem ibn Abd Manaaf.
He learned
language and literature in Makkah.
He memorized the Qurᶦan at the age of seven,
and studied under Imam Malik so that he memorized “AL-Muwatta” at the age of
ten.
He became a jurisconsult at the age of fifteen. Then he went to Iraq where
he met Abu-Hanifah’s friends, thus he combined between acquaintance of the
scholars of tradition (Imam Malik), and the scholars of juristic deduction
(Abu-Hanifah).
He took over some
administrative acts in the Yemen under Haroun AL-Rasheed.
His
school spread in Egypt, Damascus, and Iraq.
Imam
Shafii is famous for his fluency and intelligence. He has set a good example
for that. He has composed many poems in wisdom and preachment.
He has
established two schools. The first of them is in Iraq.
On his last days, he
moved to Egypt in 199
A.H. and lived in AL-Fustat (ancient Cairo). Then he started to teach people in
Amr ibn EL-ᶦAas
Mosque. As he realized that the living conditions of people in Egypt differed
from that of people in Iraq, he established his new school.
He
wrote 113 books and established the science of jurisprudence principles.
He
died in Egypt in the month of Rajab in 204 A.H. He was buried in Egypt near his
mosque in the time of the Caliph AL-Mamoun.
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❹Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal
He
was born in Baghdad in 164 A.H.
He
met Imam Shafii and studied under him, then he moved to Damascus and AL-Hejaz.
He
is one of the most adherent people to the Holy Qurᶦan and the Prophetic Tradition.
Bukhari and Muslim are
of his students.
He has written his book “AL-Musnad AL-Kabeer” which includes
40000 traditions.
He
died in 241 A.H. under the Caliph AL-Mutawakkil.
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A comment on the Schools
Diversity of schools is a mercy for people
and not a contradiction as the stupid claim.
Some of those scholars have taken the prudent
opinion, and the others have taken the easiest opinion.
This diversity does not
affect the principles of the faith or the worship. There are red lines that any
independent jurist cannot cross.
For example: NO one can give a legal opinion
that makes sunset prayer of two prayer units instead of three, makes morning
prayer of three units instead of two, or omits any verse or Chapter of the Holy
Qurᶦan.
This diversity is due to that the Holy Qurᶦan and traditions are in Arabic Language. And
Arabic Language vocabularies allow deduction in some of its expressions.
