The term madhhab (plural, madhahib) is most commonly translated as 'school', and is used to refer to institutions dedicated to the study of Islamic law (fiqh). There are four canonical Sunni schools of fiqh, the Maliki, Hanafi, Hanbali and Shafi’i, although history has seen a number of others, most of which have died out.
Each of the four schools differ both in the methodology they employ and in the judgements they have come to over time. All, however, employ the same basic legal framework and accept the same sources of authority, as laid down in the science of usul al-fiqh.
The majority of the most significant figures in Islamic intellectual history have followed one or other of the main madhahib. The hadith compilers al-Bukhari and Muslim both did, as did the philosopher al-Ghazali, who authored a number of texts of Shafi’i fiqh. There are notable dissenters, however, particularly the medieval jurists Ibn Taymiyyah and his disciple Ibn al-Qayyim.[1]
One of the most interesting (and sometimes heated) debates in Islam at present surrounds the place of these madhahib today. The majority of Sunni Muslims accept their authority to a degree, but some – such as Mohammad Hashim Kamali – have questioned some of their rulings in light of the altered structures of human society.[2]
Some Islamic thinkers, such as Rashid Rida, have gone so far as to argue that it has become necessary to 'democratise' the process of fiqh, and have rejected the four schools in consequence. Others, however, such as Abdal Hakim Murad and Nuh Ha Mim Keller, summarise the belief of many ulama: that there is much to be gained from following learned jurists. As Keller states, Muslims "should soberly consider the fate of whoever, in the words of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), "judges for people while ignorant.""[3]
[1] Abdal-Hakim Murad, 'Understanding the four madhabs: the problem with anti-madhabism,' available on-line.
[2] See the author’s learned discussion of the question of riddah (apostasy) in Mohammad Hashim Kamali, Freedom of Expression in Islam. Chicago: The Islamic Texts Society, 1997, p. 212.
[3] See Nuh Ha Mim Keller, ‘Why Muslims follow madhabs’, available on-line; and Abdal-Hakim Murad, ‘Understanding the four madhabs: the problem with anti-madhabism, available on-line.
