The Four Mathahib in Islam Hanafi Hanbali Mathahib

The Four Mathahib in Islam

Hanafi Hanbali Mathahib Shafi Maliki

Hanafi • This is the oldest and the most liberal of the four Sunni schools of legal thought. It was developed in Iraq by Abu Hanifah (699 -767) and put more emphasis on ra’y—private opinion or human reason. It is dominant in Turkey, Albania, Central Asia, Afghanistan, the Indian subcontinent, and Iraq.

Maliki • This school is based on the works of a judge of Medina, Malik ibn Anas (715 -795). Apart from the hadith and ijma (consensus of the scholars), it used citizens of Medina as a source also. It is dominant in North and West Africa.

Shafi • The third important school was that founded by Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi’i (767 -820), who was a disciple of Malik. It is more conservative than the Hanafite and Malikite schools. Although it accepts the authority of four sources of jurisprudence (the Quran, hadith, ijma, and qiyas, or analogy), it downgraded provisions for ra’y, private judgment. It is dominant in Egypt, some parts of India, Somalia, Yemen, Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Malaysia.

Hanbali • This school, founded by Ahmad ibn-Hanbal (780 -855), is the most conservative of the four. It accepts only those traditions that are in accordance with the Quran and hadith, and insists on following religious duties and responsibilities as defined by the Sharia. It was dominant in Iraq and Syria in the 14 th century, and was revived again in the 18 th century with the rise of Wahhabism in Arabia.