Madhhab (Arabic: مذهب‎ maḏhab, IPA: [ˈmæðhæb], "doctrine"; pl. مذاهب maḏāhib, [mæˈðæːhɪb]; Turkish: mezhep; transliterated Urdu: mazhab or mezheb) is a Muslim school of law or fiqh (religious jurisprudence). In the first 150 years of Islam, there were many such "schools". In fact, several of the Sahābah, or contemporary "companions" of Muhammad, are credited with founding their own. The prominent Islamic jurisprudence schools of Damascus in Syria (often named Awza'iyya), Kufa and Basra in Iraq, and Medina in Arabia survived as the Maliki madhhab, while the other Iraqi schools were consolidated into the Hanafi madhhab. The Shafi'i, Hanbali, Zahiri and Jariri schools were established later, though the latter school eventually died out.

Development [link]

It is claimed that the schools of thought were developed in the 9th and 10th centuries as a means of excluding dogmatic theologians, government officials and non-Sunni sects from religious discourse.^[1] Historians have differed regarding the time at which each of the various schools had emerged. It is said that Sunni Islam was initially split into six schools (Maliki, Hanafi, Shafi'i, Hanbali, Zahiri, Jariri) before various ruling dynasties later narrowed the number down to four, with the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt eventually creating four independent judicial positions, thus solidifying the Maliki, Hanafi, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools.^[1] Conversely, some view that Sunni jurisprudence falls into two groups: Ahl al-Ra'i, or people of opinions, due to their emphasis on scholarly judgment and reason; and Ahl al-Hadith, or people of traditions, due to their emphasis on restricting juristic thought to only what is found in scripture.^[2]

Ibn Khaldun, on the other hand, defined the Sunni schools as three: the Hanafi school, the Zahiri school, and a broader, middle school encompassing the Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali schools.^[3] Shi'ite historian Ibn al-Nadim, on the other hand, divides the Islamic schools of thought into eight groups: Maliki, Hanafi, Shafi'i, Zahiri, Imami Shi'ite, Ahl al-Hadith, Jariri and Kharijite.^[4]

Established schools [link]

While most madh'hab are present in various regions, some regions has specific madh'hab school as their dominant or even official madh'hab.

The four mainstream schools of Sunni jurisprudence today, named after their founders (sometimes called the A’immah Arba‘a or four Imaams of Fiqh^[5]), are not generally seen as distinct sects, as there has been harmony for the most part among their various scholars throughout Islamic history.

Generally, Sunni Muslims prefer one madhhab out of the four (normally a regional preference) 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.^[6][7]

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

Amman message [link]

The Amman message, a three-point ruling issued by 200 Islamic scholars from over 50 countries, recognizes the following legal schools of thought:^[8]

1. Hanafi
2. Maliki
3. Shafi'i
4. Hanbali
5. Ja'fari
6. Zaidi
7. Ibadi
8. Zahiri

Ruling on following a madh'hab [link]

The establish ruling in the Orthodox Sunni tradition is that it is obligatory for all non-mujtahids (which includes all Muslims of today) to follow one of the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence.^[9]

See also [link]

• Islamic law
• Sunni view of the Sahaba
• Shia view of the Sahaba

Footnotes [link]

Further reading [link]

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