6. Four Sunni Schools of Thought PDF

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Four sunni school of law if subject islamic jurispudance ....

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Four Sunni Schools of Thought

The main cause of the division among Sunnis is probably there different degrees of stress on one or more sources of law, though the text of Holy Quran and Sunnah is accepted by all these. The sub-division among Sunnis took place due to different interpretations put on law by the founders of the sub-schools.

Part I: The Origin of These Schools 1. The Hanafi School:-

The oldest of the orthodox schools of law is that of the Hanafīs. This school is regarded the most prominent among the four schools. The Hanafī school was founded by the Imam Abu Hanifa , a tabi‘i1 whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani. A characteristic of Hanafī doctrine is the use of analogy (qiyas). In cases where pursuing analogy strictly would lead to a result that did not seem to be entirely just, Abu Hanifa made his decisions on the basis of discretion or considerations e x aequo et bono 2; that procedure was called “istihsan ” (to consider better). It was justified by the argument that, with istihsan, a custom (urf) applied in all areas of the Islamic world was included in the process of searching for an appropriate determination. Ultimately, this was nothing else than acknowledging r a’y3 as an independent source of law. It gave the Hanafis the chance to find flexible judgments which were not strictly attached to the wording of the Quran. 1 a Muslim who: Saw at least one of the companions of Muhammad, Was rightly guided, One who died in that state. 2 Latin for "according to the right and good" or "from equity and conscience" 3 subjective opinion, decision based on personal judgment rather than the Qur’an.

2. The Maliki School:-

The Mālikī school of law owes its name to the Medinan scholar Mālik bin Anas . It relies on the Quran and hadiths as primary sources. This school also considers the Ijma (consensus of the people of Medina ) to be a valid source of Islamic law . Maliki school's sources for Sharia are hierarchically prioritized as follows: ● Quran ● Sunnah(sayings, customs and actions of Hazrat Muhammad ;(‫ ص لى‬฀ ‫و س لم ع ل يه ه ل ل‬ ● Amal (customs and practices of the people of Medina), ● Ijma (consensus of the companions of Muhammad .(‫ ص لى‬฀ ‫و س لم ع ل يه ه ل ل‬ ● Individual's opinion from the Sahabah, ● Qiyas (analogy), ● Istislah (interest and welfare of Islam and Muslims), ● Urf (custom of people throughout the Muslim world if it did not contradict the hierarchically higher sources of Sharia).

3. The Shafi School:-

The Shafi‘i school one of the four schools of Islamic law in Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Arab scholar Al-Shafi‘i , a pupil of Malik, in the early 9th century. The Shafi school predominantly relies on the Quran and the Hadiths for Sharia . Where passages of Quran and Hadiths are ambiguous, the school first seeks religious law guidance from Ijma – the consensus of Sahabah (Muhammad's companions). If there was no consensus, the Shafi‘i school relies on individual opinion (Ijtihad) of the companions of Muhammad, followed by analogy. 4. The Hanbali School:

This school named after its founder Imam Abu Abdullah Ahmad-ibn-Hanbal .The Hanbali school is the smallest of four major Sunni schools. Hanbali school derives Sharia predominantly from the Quran, the Hadiths (sayings and customs of Muhammad ‫ ل ىص‬฀ ‫)و س لم ع ل يه ه ل ل‬, and the views of Sahabah (Muhammad's companions). In cases where there is no clear answer in sacred texts of Islam, the Hanbali school does not accept jurist discretion or customs of a community as a sound basis to derive Islamic law, a method that Hanafi and Maliki Sunni fiqhs accept.

Part II: Differences with one another Sunni school 1) Hanafi School

The Hanafi School is the first of the four Sunni schools of law. It is distinguished from the other schools through following reasons: ● It’s less dependence on oral traditions as a source of legal knowledge. ● It developed the interpretation of the Quran through a method of analogical reasoning known as Qiyas. ● It also established the principle that the universal consensus of the Islamic community on a point of law constituted evidence of the will of God. This process is called Ijma, which means the consensus of the scholars. It puts more emphasis on Qiyas. ● The school definitively established the Qur'an, the Traditions of the Prophet, Ijma' and Qiyas as the basis of Islamic law. ● In addition to these, Hanafi accepted local customs as a secondary source of the law. 2. Maliki School:-

The Malikis' concept of Ijma differed from that of the Hanafis and other schools due to following reasons. ● They understood it to mean the consensus of the community represented by the people of Medina. (Overtime, however, the school came to understand consensus to be that of the doctors of law, known as Ulama.) ● Imam Malik's major contribution to Islamic law is his book al-Muwatta. The Muwatta is a code of law based on the legal practices that were operating in Medina. ● It covers various areas ranging from prescribed rituals of prayer and fasting to the correct conduct of business relations. The legal code is supported by some 2,000 traditions attributed to the Prophet.

3. Shafi School:-

Shafi was the third school of Islamic jurisprudence. Following are the reasons that differentiate Shafi school of thought from other school: ● According to the Shafi School the principal sources of legal authority are the Qur'an and the Sunnah. ● Of less authority are the Ijma of the community and thought of scholars (Ijtihad) exercised through Qiyas. ● Shafi School of thought stands in between the Maliki and Hanafi schools i.e. less in the way of Qiyas and personal opinion. ● It excels in the technique of deductive reasoning for reaching a judgment. 4. Hanbali School The Hanbali School is the fourth school of law within Sunni Islam. Its distinguishing features are the following: ● It derives its decrees from the Qur'an and the Sunnah, which it places above all forms of consensus, opinion or inference. ● The school accepts as authoritative an opinion given by a Companion of the Prophet, providing there is no disagreement with another Companion. In the case of such disagreement, the opinion of the Companion nearest to that of the Qur'an or the Sunnah will prevail. ● Unlike other Schools of thought, Hanbali School has almost no use for Qiyas (Analogy) or personal opinion, to such an extent that they even prefer narration of weak Hadith over Qiyas.

Conclusion The four schools discussed throughout this essay have proved to be equally respectful to ijma (the consensus of the Muslim community). All of the schools have the objective to apply and instill the will of Allah in all of their legal work, by staying close to the holy texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ‫ ص لى‬฀ ‫ه ل ل‬ ‫و س لم ع ل يه‬. Their individual interpretations of the holy texts and principles can all be considered equally valid and important, and their methods of reasoning can be seen in the same light. Ultimately, all of those schools belong in the orthodox Islamic thought. Any follower of Islam has the right to choose and join the school of' their choice, and also change their adherence to a specific school according to their wish and without hindrances....