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Madh'hab: Difference between revisions
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===The Hanafi madh'hab (Sunni)=== | ===The Hanafi madh'hab (Sunni)=== | ||
The Hanafi madh'hab was founded by Imam Abu Hanifah al-Nu'man (d. 767) in Kufa, Iraq. The Hanafi madh'hab is adhered to in the Levant, Central Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, the largest part of Egypt, Iraq, Turkey, the Balkans, and by large parts of the Muslim populations of Russia and China. Large religious movements that exist within the Hanafi sphere are the Barelvi and Deobandi movements. Altogether, Hanafis form a plurality of Muslims world wide (roughly 30% of all Muslims). | The Hanafi madh'hab was founded by Imam Abu Hanifah al-Nu'man (d. 767) in Kufa, Iraq. The Hanafi madh'hab is adhered to in the Levant, Central Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, the largest part of Egypt, Iraq, Turkey, the Balkans, and by large parts of the Muslim populations of Russia and China. Large religious movements that exist within the Hanafi sphere are the Barelvi and Deobandi movements. Altogether, it is estimated that Hanafis form a plurality of Muslims world wide (roughly 30% of all Muslims). | ||
The Hanafi madh'hab is descended from the ''Ahl al-Rai''' (the so-called "partisans of reason") of Iraq from the early Muslim community, of which Abu Hanifah was a part. As such, the interpretive methodology of the Hanafis can be broadly described as favoring reasoning over an uncritical regurgitation of scripture. In more concrete terms, this means allowing reasoning by analogy (''qiyas'') on legal/moral matters where scriptures are absent (the other madh'habs would come to adopt this concept to some degree, but the Hanafis adopted it first and arguably employ it most liberally). Another manifestation of this general preference for reasoning over, say, resorting to relying on [[Hadith (definition)|weakly authenticated scripture]] (as the Hanbalis generally do), is the legal principle of ''Istihsan'', or juristic preference. ''Istihsan'' is the practice of favoring an epistemologically and methodologically weaker opinion simply for the sake of "public interest" or ''maslaha''. | The Hanafi madh'hab is descended from the ''Ahl al-Rai''' (the so-called "partisans of reason") of Iraq from the early Muslim community, of which Abu Hanifah was a part. As such, the interpretive methodology of the Hanafis can be broadly described as favoring reasoning over an uncritical regurgitation of scripture. In more concrete terms, this means allowing reasoning by analogy (''qiyas'') on legal/moral matters where scriptures are absent (the other madh'habs would come to adopt this concept to some degree, but the Hanafis adopted it first and arguably employ it most liberally). Another manifestation of this general preference for reasoning over, say, resorting to relying on [[Hadith (definition)|weakly authenticated scripture]] (as the Hanbalis generally do), is the legal principle of ''Istihsan'', or juristic preference. ''Istihsan'' is the practice of favoring an epistemologically and methodologically weaker opinion simply for the sake of "public interest" or ''maslaha''. | ||
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Unique to the Maliki madh'hab is its non-exclusive reliance upon Islamic scriptures and some degree of reason. Imam Malik, living in a Medina that had just a few generations ago hosted Muhammad and his companions, thought it was prudent to observe and emulate the religious practices and beliefs of his contemporaries, even if they could not marshal a hadith narration to justify themselves. This was because Imam Malik believed strongly in what some have dubbed the "living" tradition in addition to the "written" or "memorized" scriptural tradition. As a result, the Maliki madh'hab is the only school of Islamic law to rely o on what is known as ''<nowiki/>'Amalu ahl al-Madinah'' (or, "the actions of the people of Medina"). The Maliki madh'hab is also distinguished by its relative cosmopolitanism and leniency compared to competing schools of Islamic law (thus making it particularly popular among Western converts to Islam today, most famously Hamza Yusuf) due to Imam Malik having allegedly received questioners from all over the Islamic empire and this needing to accommodate a wide variety of cultural and social milieus in his legal judgements. | Unique to the Maliki madh'hab is its non-exclusive reliance upon Islamic scriptures and some degree of reason. Imam Malik, living in a Medina that had just a few generations ago hosted Muhammad and his companions, thought it was prudent to observe and emulate the religious practices and beliefs of his contemporaries, even if they could not marshal a hadith narration to justify themselves. This was because Imam Malik believed strongly in what some have dubbed the "living" tradition in addition to the "written" or "memorized" scriptural tradition. As a result, the Maliki madh'hab is the only school of Islamic law to rely o on what is known as ''<nowiki/>'Amalu ahl al-Madinah'' (or, "the actions of the people of Medina"). The Maliki madh'hab is also distinguished by its relative cosmopolitanism and leniency compared to competing schools of Islamic law (thus making it particularly popular among Western converts to Islam today, most famously Hamza Yusuf) due to Imam Malik having allegedly received questioners from all over the Islamic empire and this needing to accommodate a wide variety of cultural and social milieus in his legal judgements. | ||
''<nowiki/><nowiki/>'' | ''<nowiki/><nowiki/><nowiki/>'' | ||
It is said that of all of the four madh'habs, the Maliki and Hanafi madh'habs are most similar methodologically, as the Maliki madh'hab employs the principle of ''Istislah,'' also translatable as "public interest" (comparable to and in many ways indistinguishable from the Hanafi principles of ''Istihsan'' and ''Mashlaha''). The primary difference is that whereas the Hanafi madh'hab prefers ''qiyas'', or analogy'','' to ''istihsan'', the Maliki madh'hab prefers ''istislah'' to ''qiyas''. The Maliki madh'hab also prefers the practices of the people of Medina as well as the ''Ijma'' or consensus of Muhammad's [[companions]] over ''qiyas,'' but allows ''qiyas'' as well. | It is said that of all of the four madh'habs, the Maliki and Hanafi madh'habs are most similar methodologically, as the Maliki madh'hab employs the principle of ''Istislah,'' also translatable as "public interest" (comparable to and in many ways indistinguishable from the Hanafi principles of ''Istihsan'' and ''Mashlaha''). The primary difference is that whereas the Hanafi madh'hab prefers ''qiyas'', or analogy'','' to ''istihsan'', the Maliki madh'hab prefers ''istislah'' to ''qiyas''. The Maliki madh'hab also prefers the practices of the people of Medina as well as the ''Ijma'' or consensus of Muhammad's [[companions]] over ''qiyas,'' but allows ''qiyas'' as well. | ||
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The most important book in the development of the formal Maliki madh'hab is Imam Malik's own collection of Hadith, ''<nowiki/>'Amal'', and fiqh commentary called the ''Muwatta''. The other key source in the Maliki tradition is the ''Mudawwana'' which was a compilation, for the most part, of the views of Imam Malik as compiled by his important students Ibn Qasim and Sahnun. In addition to the views of Imam Malik, the two compilers occasionally include their own reasoning (using Imam Malik's principles) on legal matters on which Imam Malik did not himself opine. As with the other madh'habs, the Maliki madh'hab is internally diverse. | The most important book in the development of the formal Maliki madh'hab is Imam Malik's own collection of Hadith, ''<nowiki/>'Amal'', and fiqh commentary called the ''Muwatta''. The other key source in the Maliki tradition is the ''Mudawwana'' which was a compilation, for the most part, of the views of Imam Malik as compiled by his important students Ibn Qasim and Sahnun. In addition to the views of Imam Malik, the two compilers occasionally include their own reasoning (using Imam Malik's principles) on legal matters on which Imam Malik did not himself opine. As with the other madh'habs, the Maliki madh'hab is internally diverse. | ||
''<nowiki/><nowiki/>'' | ''<nowiki/><nowiki/><nowiki/>'' | ||
===The Shafi'i madh'hab (Sunni)=== | ===The Shafi'i madh'hab (Sunni)=== | ||
The Shafi'i madh'hab was founded by Imam ibn Idris al-Shafi'i (d. 820), who, after being born in Gaza, would travel to Mecca, Medina, Yemen, Cairo, and Baghdad. | The Shafi'i madh'hab was founded by Imam Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi'i (d. 820), who, after being born in Gaza, would travel to Mecca, Medina, Yemen, Cairo, and Baghdad. The Shafi'i madh'hab is adhered to in parts of Saudi Arabia, parts of Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Jordan, Palestine, the Philippines, Singapore, Somalia, Thailand, Yemen, Kurdistan, and parts of India. | ||
The Shafi'i and Hanbali madh'habs, compared to the earlier Hanafi and Maliki madh'habs, generally disprefer and often disallow reasoning, qiyas, and public interest as a basis for legal rulings in favor of a more literal adherence to the words of scripture. Both the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools are, in this light, seen as descendants of the ''Ahl al-Hadith'' (lit. "partisans of hadith", translatable as "partisans of tradition") trend among early Muslims. | |||
In Shafi'i methodology, blatant ''istislah'' or ''istihsan'' or anything that would amount to preferring a less methodologically or scripturally reliable opinion "merely" for the sake of "public interest" or "well-being" is prohibited, as it is seen as human interference in the derivation of a law code that must be strictly divine. While ''qiyas'' is allowed, it is relegated to fifth position and is preceded and often overwhelmed by the Qur'an, hadith, ''ijma''' (scholarly consensus or consensus of Muhammad's companions), and the individual opinions of Muhammad's companions. | |||
The foundational book in the development of the Shafi'i madh'hab is the ''Risala'' of Imam Shafi'i himself, wherein he outlines the methodology of jurisprudence in his madh'hab, as well as the specific rulings his methodology has led him to. The Risala is in many ways the first fiqh book to explicitly formulate an interpretive methodology in specific terms, and thus inspired and guided the later formalization of of the methodologies of the other three Sunni madh'hab's whose founders did not outline their own methodologies in such great detail during their own lifetimes. | |||
===The Hanbali madh'hab (Sunni)=== | ===The Hanbali madh'hab (Sunni)=== | ||