Majhab is the doctrine of Islamic jurisprudence. The Sunnis follow any one of the four major doctrines of jurisprudence established by the f...
Majhab is the doctrine of Islamic jurisprudence. The Sunnis follow any one of the four major doctrines of jurisprudence established by the four Imams. These doctrines are referred to as Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali, respectively, following different Muslim states in whole or in part.
I will give a brief history of the origin and evolution of the four schools of the Sunni community.
Origin and development of Majhab
After the death of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in 632 AD, divisions arose among the Muslims. The first disagreement centered on the election of the caliph. A group wanted to elect Hazrat Ali (R) as Caliph. But Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (R) was elected the first caliph. Among the followers of Hazrat Ali, Shia doctrine originated and others became known as Sunnis.
During the third stage of the development of Islamic law, ie from 750 to 920 AD (about 200 years from the first to the second century AH), four schools of thought developed among the Sunni community based on the scientific analysis of Muslim law to solve various problems. They are as follows:
- Hanafi;
- Maliki;
- Shafi'i; and
- Hanbali.
Hanafi doctrine
The Hanafi doctrine is the oldest and most important of the Muslim jurisprudence. The number of followers of this doctrine is currently the highest. The founder of this doctrine, Imam Abu Hanifa (R) lived from 699 to 767 AD. He was a great lawyer and a man of great intellect. He studied religion and philosophy in his early life and later became a practitioner.
Imam Abu Hanifa was the first founder of Muslim jurisprudence. He was extremely gifted in fine analysis. He was able to make the right decision in any matter. He gained a special reputation as a successful practitioner of personal judgment. This is why he is called the 'Upholder of private judgment'.
One of the major contributions of Imam Abu Hanifa to the history of Muslim jurisprudence was the introduction of the principle of 'ijtihad'. He collected hadith for the purpose of developing Muslim law. He compiled a hadith called Masnad-ul-Abu Hanifa. His followers formulated, interpreted, and observed the nature of law enforcement. Thus the Hanafi doctrine made a special contribution to the development of Islamic jurisprudence and therefore Imam Abu Hanifa is said to be the founder of the ideology and doctrine of Islamic jurisprudence.
Maliki doctrin
Imam Malik Ibn Anas was born in 713 AD in the city of Medina. He was the founder of this doctrine. His reputation as the greatest hadith scholar spread. In the case of the retrograde Sunnah, he relied more on ijma to solve any problem. He placed more emphasis on the ijma of Medina. He introduced ‘istislah’ which is considered as a source of law. Spain and Africa have the highest number of followers.
Shafi'i doctrine
Imam Shafi'i is the founder of the third school of the Sunni community, which is part of the Muslim Jurisprudence. He was born in Palestine in 769 AD. He did not just study law; But also excelled in other scriptures. This great man of outstanding talent was also known for his eloquence. He also put a lot of emphasis on ijma. Imam Shafi'i wrote authentic essays on 'Osul' or usage theory. He has huge followers in Bombay, Sindh, Madras, Egypt and Africa.
Hanbali doctrine
Imam Hanbal was born in 750 in Baghdad. He was a disciple of Imam Shafi'i. He was better known as a hadith scholar than a Muslim jurist. 500 hadiths were compiled through the tireless efforts of Imam Hanbal. All these compiled hadiths have been included in the book Masnad-ul-Hanbal. Followers of this doctrine exist in Syria, Saudi Arabia, Palestine.
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