Madh’hab
All muslims agree that the basis of islam is Quran as well as sunnah. Most muslims are associated with one madhab since it is understood that they are with in the parameters of islam. These madhabs depend on geographical reasons and most do not fully understand the madhab to which they belong to. There is a common belief that all madhabs are the same with few differences like where you place your hands in prayer.
Madh-hab is derived from the verb Dhahaba which means to go. Madh-hab literally means a way of going or simply a path. The position of an outstanding scholar on a particular point was also referred to as his Madh-hab (the path of his ideas or his opinion). Eventually, it was used to refer to the sum total of a scholar’s opinions, whether legal or philosophical. Later it was used to denote, not only the scholar’s opinion, but also that of his students and followers.
Sharī’ah is the body of revealed laws found both in the Qur’ān and in the Sunnah, while Fiqh is a body of laws deduced from Sharī’ah to cover specific situations not directly treated in Sharī’ah law. Sharī’ah ’ah is fixed and unchangeable, whereas Fiqh changes according to the circumstances under which it is applied. The laws of Sharī’ah ’ah are, for the most part, general: they lay down basic principles. In contrast, the laws of Fiqh tend to be specific: they demonstrate how the basic principles of Sharī’ah should be applied in given circumstances.
Faced with several unresolved contradictions, some muslims have chosen to reject the madh-habs and their rulings, claiming that they will be guided only by the Quran and the sunnah. Others take the position that despite these contradictions, the math Habs are divinely ordained and therefore one need only follow one without question. Both of these outcomes are undesirable. The latter perpetuates that sectarianism which split the ranks of Muslims in the past and which continues to do so today. The former position of rejecting the Madh-habs in their entirety, and consequently the Fiqh of earlier generations, leads inevitably to extremism and deviation when those who rely exclusively on the Qur’ān and the Sunnah attempt to apply Sharī’ah law to new situations which were not specifically ruled on in eitheir the Qur’ān or the Sunnah. - Dr Bilal Philips
1. Imam Hasan Al Basru (d 110 AH/728 CE) did not follow any of the four mainstream sunni madhabs; rather, he had his own independent extinct madhab. Because he belonged to the generation of the Tabi'un (the followers of the Prophet's companions), he lived and taught long before the codification of the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali schools. His legal rulings heavily relied on opinion (Ra'y) and analogy (Qiyas), balanced with the direct narrations he learned from the companions of the Prophet. His specific madhab was popular in Iraq for a time but eventually disappeared and became extinct, largely due to the massive spread and official adoption of the Hanafi madhahab. While his school did not survive as an independent, codified system, his legal opinions and fatwas are preserved throughout classical Islamic jurisprudence texts, heavily quoted by later jurists across all four Sunni schools.
2. Abi Layla madhab was founded In the 8th-century, but didn’t survive and went extinct.
3. Hanaf being one of the first of the four madhhabs in historical terms is the Madhhab of Abu Hanifah who was born in roughly 80AH and died in 150AH.
4. The Awza'i school (madhab) was an early major school of islamic jurispudance (fish) in sunni islam, named after the renowned scholar and jurist. Imam al-Awza'i (88–157 AH / 707–774 CE). Though widely followed in the 8th century, it eventually became extinct as an independent living school. Founded in the Levant, it was the dominant religious law tradition in Syria, Lebanon, and surrounding areas. It briefly expanded to Islamic Spain (Andalusia) before being replaced there. Over a few centuries, the school lost official and demographic support. In Syria, it was slowly replaced by the Shafi'i and Hanafi schools, while North African and Andalusian influences favored the Maliki school.
5. The Thawri school was an early, short-lived school of Islamic law (madhhab). It was founded by the prominent 8th-century jurist, ascetic, and hadith master Sufyan al-Thawri (716–778 CE) in Kufa. Though widely respected, the school eventually became extinct as followers shifted to other major Sunni legal traditions. Gained prominence during the Abbasid era as one of the active schools of jurisprudence alongside major contemporaries like Abu Hanifa, Malik ibn Anas, and Al-Awza'i. The school lacked institutional and political backing to sustain it over centuries. While his direct students (such as Yahya al-Qattan) preserved his views, the formal madhhab did not survive, and adherents eventually integrated into schools like the Hanafi, Shafi'i, or Hanbali traditions.
6. The Laythi school (713–791 CE)(al-Madhhab al-Laythi) was an 8th-century sunni school of islamic jurisprudence founded buy the prominent Egyptian jurist snd scholar Al Layth own Sa’d. Though highly respected—and considered by Imam al-Shafi'i to be even more knowledgeable in jurisprudence than Imam Malik—the school eventually became extinct because Al-Layth's students did not formally compile or propagate his legal rulings. Similar to the Maliki school in its heavy reliance on Hadith rather than hypothetical deduction or excessive qiyas (analogical reasoning). Al-Layth famously debated Imam Malik via letters, rejecting the independent use of the customs of the people of Medina as a primary source of law. Al-Layth did not dictate or organize his formal legal opinions into a structured curriculum, and his students did not write down and spread his teachings systematically. When Imam al-Shafi'i arrived in Egypt shortly after Al-Layth's death, he studied under Al-Layth's students and integrated many of his legal views into the nascent Shafi'i school, which naturally absorbed and superseded the localized Laythi followers.
7. Imam Malik who lived from 93AH to 179AH in Madinah is connected to the Malik madhahab, where most of its source is based on Quran and sunnah that was applied and practiced in madinah. It is followed by roughly 25% of the global Muslim population, primarily dominating North Africa, West Africa, and parts of the Arabian Peninsula.
8. Imam ash-Shafi‘i was born in Makkah in the year of Imam Abu Hanifa’s death, 150AH. A man who reached a high level of proficiency in his studies he continued on and travelled north to Madinah to sit at the feet of Imam Malik. He studied under Imam Malik until 179AH when he died. He learned different fiqh such as that of of Ibn Abbas in Makkah, of Imam Malik in Madinah, of al-Awza’i, the school of Syria, from his companion, ‘Umar ibn Abi Salam, of Abu Hanifa from his follower Muhammad ash-Shaybani and of al-Layth ibn Sa‘d, the faqih of Egypt.
9. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780–855 CE), renowned for his vast memory of prophetic traditions and his steadfastness during the Mihna (inquisition). Prioritized explicit textual evidence. It uses analogical reasoning (qiyas) only as a last resort when no clear text or fatwa from the Companions exists. Historically maintains a traditionalist or Athari approach to creed, avoiding rationalist theological speculation.
10. The Jariri school (al-Jaririyyah) was a short lived extinct school Hal sunnah jurispudance founded by the renowned 9th- century polymath, historian, and exegete Abu Ja’far Muhammad bin Jarir Al Tabari (839-923 CE).
11. The Zahiri school (or Zahirism) (815–883 CE)is an extinct or minority school of islamic jurispudance within Ahl Sunnah. It was founded in the 9th century by Dawud al-Zahiri and later expanded by the Andalusian scholar Ibn Hazm. It is known for its strict literalism. he school championed strict adherence to the literal or "outward" (zahir) meaning of the Quran and Hadith. Between 10th–12th Centuries / 4th–6th Centuries AH): The school spread rapidly from Iraq to Persia, North Africa, and Islamic Spain (Al-Andalus). Its absolute golden age occurred in Cordoba due to the monumental legal writings of the famous jurist inn Hazm (994-1064 CE). Between (13th–14th Centuries / 7th–8th Centuries AH): Lacking long-term state sponsorship, the madhhab faced heavy political opposition from competing schools (primarily Malikis in Spain and Shafi'is/Hanafis in the East). By the mid-14th century, it ceased to exist as a formally operating school with active judges and institutional bodies. Some remaining practitioners eventually merged into the Hanbali school.
