Madhhab

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A madhhab (

Arabic: مَذْهَب, romanizedmadhhab, lit.'way to act', IPA: [ˈmaðhab], pl. مَذَاهِب, madhāhib, [ˈmaðaːhib]), is a school of thought within Islamic jurisprudence
.

The major

non-denominational Muslims are not affiliated with any madhhab.[5][6][7]

The transformations of Islamic legal institutions in the modern era have had profound implications for the madhhab system. With the spread of codified state laws in the Muslim world, 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 drew on rulings from multiple madhhabs, and legal professionals trained in modern law schools have largely replaced traditional ulama as interpreters of the resulting laws.

post-classical creedal belief in rigorously adhering (Taqlid) to one of the four schools in all legal details.[9]

The

Zahiri school.[10] The Muslim schools of 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.

"Ancient" schools

According to

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 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.[17]

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.

Islamic Gunpowders, the Ottoman 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) and Ahl al-Hadith ("people of traditions", emphasizing strict interpretation of scripture).[22]

10th century

Zahiri 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, 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.

Al-Muqaddasi once satirically categorized competing madhahib with contrasting personal qualities: Hanafites, highly conscious of being hired for official positions, appeared deft, well-informed, devout and prudent; Malikites, dull and obtuse, confined themselves to observance of prophetic tradition; Shafi'ites were shrewd, impatient, understanding and quick-tempered; Zahirites haughty, irritable, loquacious and well-to-do; Shi'ites, entrenched and intractable in old rancor, enjoyed riches and fame; and Hanbalites, anxious to practice what they preached, were charitable and inspiring.[32] While such descriptions were almost assuredly humorous in nature, ancient differences were less to do with actual doctrinal opinions than with maneuvering for adherents and influence.[citation needed
]

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

Wahhabi movements.[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]

Schools

Some regions have a dominant or official madhhab; others recognize a variety.[33]

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.[34][35]

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

Thawri
schools have become extinct.

The extant schools share most of their rulings, but differ on the particular practices which they may accept as authentic and the varying weights they give to analogical reason and pure reason.

Orthodox Sunni schools

The 4 major and 1 minor schools of thought are accepted by all main scholars in most parts of the world.

Hanafi

The

Deobandi
, which are concentrated in South Asia.

Maliki

The

Maliki school is based on the jurisprudence of Imam Malik ibn Anas. It has also been called "School of Medina" because the school was based in Medina
and the Medinian community.

It is followed by Muslims in Nigeria, Algeria, North Africa, West Africa, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Upper Egypt, and in parts of Saudi Arabia.

The Murabitun World Movement follows this school as well. In the past, it was also followed in parts of Europe under Islamic rule, particularly Islamic Spain and the Emirate of Sicily.

Shafi'i

The

Shafi'i school is also large in Iraq and Syria
.

Hanbali

The

Hanbali school is based on the jurisprudence of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal who had been a student of Imam al-Shafi
.

It is followed by Muslims in

Hanbali fiqh such as Salafism and Wahhabism concentrated in Saudi Arabia
.

Zahiri

The

Zahiri school was founded by Dawud al-Zahiri. It is followed by minority communities in Morocco and Pakistan. In the past, it was also followed by the majority of Muslims in Mesopotamia, Portugal, the Balearic Islands, North Africa and parts of Spain
.

Shia

Ja'fari

intellect instead of analogy when establishing Islamic laws, as opposed to common Sunni practice.[citation needed
]

Subgroups

Ismaili

Ibadat
in the light of guidance provided by the Ismaili Imams. The book emphasizes what importance Islam has given to manners and etiquette along with the worship of God, citing the traditions of the first four Imams of the Shi'a Ismaili Fatimid school of thought.

Subgroups

Zaidi

better source needed
]

Ibadi

The

Ibadi Islam is mostly practiced in Oman, with Oman being the only country in the world where Ibadis form a majority of the population. Other populations of Ibadis also reside in Libya, Algeria, Tunisia and Zanzibar in Tanzania.[40]

Amman Message

The

jihadist groups to justify jihad against rulers of Muslim-majority countries. The Amman Message recognized eight legitimate schools of Islamic law and prohibited declarations of apostasy against them.[41][42][10]

  1. Sunni
    )
  2. Sunni
    )
  3. Sunni
    )
  4. Sunni
    )
  5. Shia
    )
  6. Shia
    )
  7. Ibadiyyah
  8. Zahiriyah

The statement also asserted that fatwas can be issued only by properly trained muftis, thereby seeking to delegitimize fatwas issued by militants who lack the requisite qualifications.[42]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ It is usually assumed that no regional school developed in Egypt (unlike in Syria, Iraq and the Hijaz). Joseph Schacht states that the legal milieu of Fustat (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]

Citations

  1. ^ .
  2. ^ .
  3. ^
    Emad El-Din Shahin (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Politics. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original
    on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  4. ^ a b c Calder, Norman (2009). "Law. Legal Thought and Jurisprudence". In John L. Esposito (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008.
  5. . 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
  6. ^ Rane, Halim, Jacqui Ewart, and John Martinkus. "Islam and the Muslim World." Media Framing of the Muslim World. Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2014. 15-28
  7. ^ Obydenkova, Anastassia V. "Religious pluralism in Russia." Politics of religion and nationalism: Federalism, consociationalism and secession, Routledge (2014): 36-49
  8. ^ a b Messick, 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 from the original on 20 November 2015.
  9. ISBN 978-1-56564-424-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link
    )
  10. ^ a b "Amman Message – The Official Site".
  11. ^ Burton, Islamic Theories of Abrogation, 1990: p.13
  12. ^ J. Schacht, The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1950), p. 9
  13. ^ 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
  14. ^ Mathieu Tillier, "Les "premiers" cadis de Fusṭāṭ et les dynamiques régionales de l'innovation judiciaire (750–833)", Annales Islamologiques, 45 (2011), p. 214–218
  15. ^ Schacht, Joseph (1959) [1950]. The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence. Oxford University Press. p. 246.
  16. ^ Shafi'i. Kitab al-Umm vol. vii. p. 148. Kitab Ikhtilaf Malid wal-Shafi'i.
  17. ^ Schacht, Joseph (1959) [1950]. The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence. Oxford University Press. p. 98.
  18. ^ a b "Law, Islamic". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
  19. ^ Mohammad Sharif Khan and Mohammad Anwar Saleem, Muslim Philosophy And Philosophers, pg. 34. New Delhi: Ashish Publishing House, 1994.
  20. ^ a b Christopher Melchert, The Formation of the Sunni Schools of Law: 9th–10th Centuries C.E., pg. 178. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 1997.
  21. ^
  22. ^ Murtada Mutahhari, The Role of Ijtihad in Legislation, Al-Tawhid volume IV, No.2, Publisher: Islamic Thought Foundation Archived 14 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ Devin J. Stewart, THE STRUCTURE OF THE FIHRIST: IBN AL-NADIM AS HISTORIAN OF ISLAMIC LEGAL AND THEOLOGICAL SCHOOLS, International Journal of Middle East Studies, v.39, pg.369–387, Cambridge University Press, 2007
  24. . Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  25. ^ Meinhaj Hussain, A New Medina, The Legal System, Grande Strategy, 5 January 2012
  26. . Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  27. . Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  28. ^ M. Mahmood, The Code of Muslim Family Laws, pg. 37. Pakistan Law Times Publications, 2006. 6th ed.
  29. ^ Louis Massignon, The Passion of al-Hallaj: Mystic and Martyr of Islam. Trans. Herbert W. Mason. Pg. 130. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994.
  30. ^ Jurisprudence and Law – Islam Reorienting the Veil, University of North Carolina (2009)
  31. ^ "Salafi Publications | on Ijtihad and Taqlid".
  32. ^ "On Islam, Muslims and the 500 most influential figures" (PDF).
  33. ^ Article by Sayyid 'Ali ibn 'Ali Al-Zaidi, التاريخ الصغير عن الشيعة اليمنيين (A short History of the Yemenite Shi‘ites, 2005)
  34. .
  35. .
  36. .
  37. ^ "UNHCR Web Archive".
  38. ^ Hendrickson, Jocelyn (2013). "Fatwa". In Gerhard Böwering, Patricia Crone (ed.). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought. Princeton University Press.
  39. ^ a b Dallal, Ahmad S.; Hendrickson, Jocelyn (2009). "Fatwā. Modern usage". In John L. Esposito (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 20 November 2015.

Sources

Further reading

External links

  • Media related to Madhhab at Wikimedia Commons