Understanding Fiqh Revision 2 The schools of Fiqh

Understanding Fiqh Revision #2 The schools of Fiqh and the four Imams Hanaa Salah

What is the Arabic word for” School of Jurisprudence? Mathhab

What are the names of the four main schools of Fiqh? � The Hanafi School. � The Maliki School. � The Shafi’ee School. � The Hanbali School.

What is the full name of Imam Abu Haneefah? � An-Nu’man Ibn Thabit Ibn Zuta Ibn Mah.

When and where was he born? � He was born in the year 80 A. H (699 AD. ) � His birth was in the city of Al-Koofah in Iraq, during the time of the Umayyad Khaleefah Abd-ul-Malik ibn Marwan.

Where is he originally from? � His Father, Thabit ibn Zuta, a trader originally from Kabul, Afghanistan. � His grandfather Zuta was captured during the Muslim conquest of Afghanistan. � The historian Al-Khatib-ul-Baghdadi records a statement from Imam Abu Haneefah’s grandson, Ismail Ibn Hammad, who claimed that Abu Haneefah’s lineage was of Persian origin.

What was his profession? � He was a successful business man. operated a business that dealt in silk and clothing.

Who was his principal teacher? � Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman who taught him for eighteen years.

Where was his journey outside Iraq to? � He left Iraq for Makkah in 130 A. H. (751 A. D. ) to seek knowledge and to avoid the persecution of some Omayyad leader who wanted to hire him in a government position, like a judge. � He returned to Iraq in 146 A. H. (767 A. D. ), after the Abbasid Khilafah was overthrown and replaced the Omayyads.

When did he pass away? And how old was he? � In 150 A. H. (767 A. D. ) � He was 70 years old.

Where did he die? And in what situation? � He died in prison. � When Abu Ga’far Al-Mansoor became the Khaleefah, he offered Abu Haneefah the post of Chief Judge of the Muslim Khalifah in the new capital, Baghdad. The Imam declined the offer, choosing to remain an independent scholar. � Al-Mansoor arrested the Imam, locked him in prison and even tortured him.

What was the title and the subject of his main book? � He wrote his famous book Al-Fiqh Al-Akbar (The Greater Understanding). � The book was on matters of faith and creed, which is the most important subject of Islam.

List some of Imam Abu Hanifah’s teachers and mentors. Muhammad al-Baqir. � Ja’far al-Sadiq. � Zayd ibn Ali. � Hammad ibn Sulayman. �

Discuss the Hanafi School sources of Islamic ruling? � The Holy Qur’an. � The authentic hadeeth. However, Imam abu Hanifah was so cautious to accept the hadeeth narration, especially when no authentic collections of Hadeeth were available at that time. � Ijmaa’; The consensus of the Muslim community (Ijmaa). He used to recognize and follow the consensus of Sahabah, or scholars of his time in certain Fiqh issues.

� Qiyas; analogical reasoning. � Imam Abu Haneefah is regarded by many scholars as the first to formally adopt and institute analogical reason as a part of Islamic Law. � Istihsan; juristic discretion. In Arabic: istihsan means “to approve, ” or “to sanction”. It is the use of one’s own judgment to determine the best solution to a religious problem that cannot be found in the Qur’an and Sunnah. � ‘Urf; the customs of the local population enacting said law with the condition that it does not violate the Qur’an or Sunnah.

Imam Malik

What were the advantages of Imam Malik’s stay in Madina on his school of fiqh? � Madina was the center of knowledge and he was able to study amongst a thousand scholars and almost 300 tabi’een.

His Life Facts � Full name: Malik ibn Anas Ibn Malik Ibn Amer Al. Asbahi � He was born in Madina in 93 A. H. � As a profession, he was the second of the four major Imams � The title of his main book was called Muwatta which means “the approved” � His main teachers were: ◦ Imam Abu-Haneefah ◦ Gafar Al. Saadiq ◦ Az-Zuhri � Passed away at 179 A. H. at the age of 86 in Madina � His grave can be found near Masjid Al Nabawiya

List five of Imam Malik’s Teachers and Mentors: ◦ ◦ ◦ Imam Abu-Haneefah Gafar Al. Saadiq Az-Zuhri Ibn Hurmuz Rabee’ah Ibn Abdurrahman

What is the importance of Al Muwatta’? � It is the first Hadeeth collection ever. � Imam Malik collected in it some of the most important narrations of hadeeth and opinions of companions in the different categories of Fiqh. (about 1800 sound narrations)

Was Imam Malik persecuted? Elaborate. � Yes he was, During his career he made certain statements and took some position that were used against him by the governor of Madina Ja’far Ibn Sulayman, who imprisoned Imam Malik and tortured him until he harmed his shoulder and almost paralyzed his hand. It is narrated that the Khaleefah Abu Ja’far Al-Mansoor apologized to Imam Malik and claimed that he didn’t know about his persecution nor ordered it, and that he punished the governor of Madina before he was forgiven by Imam Malik.

Discuss the Maliki School Sources of Islamic Ruling? � The Qur’an. � The prophets traditions (Hadeeth). � Concencus ( )ﺇﺟﻤﺎﻉ. The Malikis used to specify the consensus as that of scholars of Madina. � The Statements and opinions of Sahabah.

� Analogy (Qiyas) � Common interest( )ﺍﻹﺳﺘﺼﻼﺡ ﺃﻮ ﺍﻟﻤﺼﺎﻟﺢ ﺍﻟﻤﺮﺳﻠﺔ Scolars may come up with solutions that serve the common interest of the Muslim society if they don’t find clear instruction in Qur’an or sunnah. � Blocking Harms ( )ﺳﺪ ﺍﻟﺬﺭﺍﺋﻊ � Scholars may prohibit some originally lawful actions if they may lead to harms against Muslim individuals or groups, like barring women from going out at night to insecure areas to protect them.

Imam Ashafi’ee and his school

What is the full name of Imam Ash -Shafi’ee? � His full name is Muhammad Ibn Idrees As. Shafi’ee.

When and where was he born? � He was born in the year 150 A. H. (676 AD) which was the same year of Imam Abu Hanifa’s death. He was born in Gaza, Palestine.

Where is he originally from? � He is originally from Yemen but his familly was living in Makkah, where his mother took him to live there when he was very young after his father’s death.

What was his profession? � He was a student who worked towards scholarship, he was giving permission to give fatwa when he was fifteen years old. He became one of the world’s most knowledgeable scholars before reaching thirty years old. He was hired as a Judge in Yemen. � � His mother was a poor lady, but she guided him to seek Islamic knowledge and work towards scholarship. He was taught by scholars in Makkah the Holy Qur’an, Hadeeth, Arabic grammar, literature and history. He became known as an expert in Arabic, literature, and Islamic law (which he learned under the Mufti of Makkah, Muslim ibn Khalid Al-Zanji. ) When he was thirteen, he moved to Madina to study under Imam Malik himself who supported him financially to ensure his consistency on the study of fiqh.

Who was his principal teacher? � His principal teacher was Imam Malik himself in Al Madina (for about 16 years (163 -179 A. H. ). � � In Makkah he studied under the Mufti of Makkah, Muslim ibn Khalid Al-Zanji. He studied also under the scholars of Al-Masjid-un-Nabawy. In Madina he studied under Imam Muhammad Ibn-ul-Hassan Ashaybani, one of the greatest students of Imam Abu hanifah. In Baghdad he studied under Imam Muhammad Ibn-ul-Hassan Ashaybani for the second time and under Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal (though he was younger than Ash-Shafi’ee but he considered him one of his teachers. )

Where was his journey outside Makkah to? � He went to Madina when he was 13 years old. � His first professional trip was to Yemen when he was hired as a judge by Abbasid governor. � He was arrested and carried in chains to Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate with falsified charge of supporting Shi’a rebels in Yemen. � Khaleefah Haroon Al Rashid met him and admired him. He was encouraged to stay in Baghdad to contribute to the Islamic knowledge in the region in the academic field only.

� During his thirties and forties, Imam Shafi’ee traveled throughout bilad-ush-Sham (Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon) and the Arabian Peninsula. He gave lectures and adressed large group of students and taught them his new school of jurisprudence. � Imam Ash-Shafi’ee returned to Baghdad but he found the new khalifah, Al-Ma’mun, had followed a deviated path of Al-Mu’tazila, and persecuted those who disagreed with him, so he made his final move to Egypt. � He crystallized his school of Fiqh in Egypt and left his legacy.

When and where did he pass away? And how old was he? � He passed away in Egypt in 204 A. H. � He was 54 years old.

What were the titles of his main books and what were their subjects? � Imam Ash’shafi wrote “Al-Umm” which is a huge collection on fiqh in Egypt. � He wrote a book called Al-Risalah which was in usul-ul-Fiqh which provides scholars and students the knowledge and skills to derive and extract Islamic rules from the Qur’an, Sunnah and ijtihad through logical skills which Allah ordered Muslims to exert for reaching the truth.

Was Imam Ash-Shafi’ee persecuted? Elaborate. � When he was hired as a judge in Yemen by Abbasid governor, he couldn’t stand the political environment which was impure, compare to the academic atmosphere he had in Makkah and Madina. � He was firm on his high principles and refused to compomise to some corrupted politicians and business people. He insisted to be fair and honest in his rules as a Muslim judge, therefore, people managed to cause him trouble and remove him from his post. � He was arrested and carried in chains to Baghdad with falsified charges of supporting Shi’a rebels in Yemen.

Discuss the Shafi’ee School sources of Islamic ruling? � The khaleefah Harun Al-Rashid met Ash-Shafi’ee and was impressed by his eloquent and persuasive defense and couraged him to stay in Bagdad as a great scholar. � Imam Ash-Shafi’ee strived to reconcile between two competing methodologies of Islamic Law. The first one was the methodology of Ahl-ur-Rai, or the people of reason which was advocated by Imam Abu Hanifah, the other one is the methodology of Ahl-ul-Hadeeth, who focused more on the letter of the Hadeethand actual practice of the Prophet Muhammad. This methodology is advocated by Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal.

� In his book, Al-Risalah, Imam Al Shafi’ee delineated his methodology of deriving Islamic rules. He outlined only four sources of Islamic law: 1. The Qur’an. 2. The Sunnah. 3. Ijmaa’, or consensus among the Muslim community. 4. Qiyas, or analogical deduction.

The Hanbali School of Fiqh Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal

What is the full name of Imam Ahmad? � Ahmad Ibn Hanbal Al-Shaybani.

When and where was he born? � He was born in the year 164 A. H. (778 AD) in Baghdad.

Where is he originally from? � He was originally from The Arab. � His family was originally from Basra in Iraq. � His father and his grandfather worked in Khurasan, and after his father’s death, his mother moved to Baghdad while she was pregnant. � Then Imam Ahmad was born in Baghdad.

What was his profession? � He had to work in a post office to help support his family when he was young boy. � He also inherited a house that gave him some income which helped him to be independent.

Who was his principal teacher? � He learned the basic of Fiqh with Imam Abuhanifah’s foremost students, Abu Yousuf. � He studied with Hadeeth scholars such as: � Haitham ibn Bishr and Yahya ibn Ma’een. � He initially learned Fiqh from Ashafi’ee but he studied with more than a hundred scholars including: � Sufyan ibn Uyaynah, Yahya Ibn Sa’eed al. Qattan, Wakee’ Ibn-ul-Jarrah, Imam Abu Yousuf, Abdurrhman ibn Mahdi and many others.

Where was his journey outside Iraq to? � After studying in Baghdad, he traveled Makkah, Where he met Imam Ash-Shafi’ee, Madinah, Yemen, and Syria

When and where did he pass away? And how old was he? � He passed away at the age of seventy seven in Baghdad in 241 A. H. (855 AD. ) History books report that around one million people participated in his funeral and that all Baghdad shops closed that day.

What was the title of his main book? � Al-Musnad. � It is Hadeeth collection which has 40000 hadeeth. � The Imam organized the book around the Sahabah who narrated the Hadeeth of the Prophet. � He listed all the Ahadeeth of each Sahabi or Sahabiyyah.

Discuss Imam Ahmed’s persecution? Elaborate.

� Al-Ma’mun imposed this new and dangerous belief system on everyone in the Islamic world under his rule including scholars. � Imam Ahmed, the chief scholar of Baghdad, refused to compromise. � He was tortured and imprisoned for 28 months. He was whipped like criminals until he fainted. � Imam Ahmad persevered and stood firm on his true beliefs like a mountain for almost thirty years under three Khaleefas who supported the Mu’tazili ideas, specially in the issue of “creation of the Qur’an. ”

� In the end, khaleefah Al-Mutawakkil came to power in 232 A. H. (847 A. D. ) and decided to ban the Mu’tazili propaganda, and restored Imam Ahmad as the Imam of Baghdad and made him resume his lessons in the Main Masjid.

Discuss the Hanbali School sources of Islamic ruling?

Why is Ijmaa’ not considered as one of the sources of Islamic ruling in Hanbali school’s methodology? � Imam Ahmad contended that it is impossible for all scholars of any generation to agree on a judgment concerning an emerging issue that is not addressed by the Qu’an and Sunnah.