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Madh'hab: Difference between revisions
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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 reportedly received questioners from all over the Islamic empire and thus 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 reportedly received questioners from all over the Islamic empire and thus needing to accommodate a wide variety of cultural and social milieus in his legal judgements. | ||
''<nowiki/><nowiki/><nowiki/><nowiki/>'' | ''<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/>'' | ''<nowiki/><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 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 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. | ||
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===The Ja'fari madh'hab (Shi'ite)=== | ===The Ja'fari madh'hab (Shi'ite)=== | ||
The Shi'ite Ja'fari madh'hab was founded by Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (d. 765), the 6th Shi'ite imam, who | The Shi'ite Ja'fari madh'hab was allegedly founded by Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (d. 765), the 6th Shi'ite imam, who was born in Medina. The Ja'fari madh'hab is adhered to today in Iran, parts of Afghanistan, parts of Pakistan, parts of Iraq, and parts of Saudi Arabia. This madh'hab is the exclusive to Twelver Shi'ites in particular. Sunni scholars and critical historians hold that the actual attribution of this legal school to Imam Ja'far is unfounded. | ||
The Ja'fari madh'hab relies far more heavily on [[Ijtihad|''Ijtihad'' (independent legal reasoning)]] rather than focusing almost entirely on the rigid methodological and scriptural constraints that characterize the four Sunni madh'habs. Beyond this generic description, the Ja'fari madh'hab is itself divided into two branches: the ''Usuli'' branch and the ''Akhbari'' branch. According to the Usuli (lit. "principle-based" or "method-based") branch, scholars of law can and should independently interpret scripture on the behalf on the "occulted" or "hidden" twelfth Shi'ite imam. This is the branch of Ja'fari fiqh endorsed by most modern Shi'ites and the state of Iran (and the ayatollahs). The Usuli branch also further distinguishes between what is described as "conventional fiqh" (which is supposed to be objective and unchanging) and "dynamic fiqh" (which is supposed to be heavily dependent on temporal realities). The other branch of Ja'fari fiqh is the Akhbari branch, which is today almost non-existent (except for a few "neo-Akhbaris" in India). This school of Ja'fari fiqh is far more rigid and methodological, and is more easily compared to the Sunni schools of law (even if the scriptures it references are different) than it is compared to the Usuli branch of Ja'fari fiqh. | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||