A ( ar, مذهب ', , "way to act". pl. مَذَاهِب , ) is a school of thought within '' fiqh'' (Islamic jurisprudence). The major Sunni Mathhab are Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali. They emerged in the ninth and tenth centuries CE and by the twelfth century almost all jurists aligned themselves with a particular madhhab. These four schools recognize each other's validity and they have interacted in legal debate over the centuries. Rulings of these schools are followed across the Muslim world without exclusive regional restrictions, but they each came to dominate in different parts of the world. For example, the Maliki school is predominant in North and West Africa; the Hanafi school in South and Central Asia; the Shafi'i school in East Africa and Southeast Asia; and the Hanbali school in North and Central Arabia. The first centuries of Islam also witnessed a number of short-lived Sunni madhhabs. The Zahiri school, which is considered to be endangered, continues to exert influence over legal thought. The development of Shia legal schools occurred along the lines of theological differences and resulted in the formation of the Twelver, Zaidi and Ismaili madhhabs, whose differences from Sunni legal schools are roughly of the same order as the differences among Sunni schools. The Ibadi legal school, distinct from Sunni and Shia madhhabs, is predominant in Oman. The transformations of Islamic legal institutions in the modern era have had profound implications for the ''madhhab'' system. With the spread of codified state laws in the Muslim world, the influence of the madhhabs beyond personal ritual practice depends on the status accorded to them within the national legal system. State law codification commonly drew on rulings from multiple madhhabs, and legal professionals trained in modern law schools have largely replaced traditional ''ulama'' as interpreters of the resulting laws. In the 20th century, many Islamic jurists began to assert their intellectual independence from traditional madhhabs. With the spread of

Salafi The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generati ...

influence and

reformist Reformism is a political doctrine advocating the reform of an existing system or institution instead of its abolition and replacement. Within the socialist movement, reformism is the view that gradual changes through existing institutions can eve ...

currents in the 20th century; majority of Sunni '' ulema'' have asserted independence from being strictly bound by the legal mechanisms of the four schools. Nevertheless, a minority of scholarship continues to uphold post-classical creedal belief in rigorously adhering ('' Taqlid'') to one of the four schools in all legal details. The

Amman Message The Amman Message ( ar, رسالة عمان) is a statement calling for tolerance and unity in the Muslim world that was issued on 9 November 2004 (27th of Ramadan 1425 AH) by King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan.Sunni schools ( Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali), two Shia schools ( Ja'fari, Zaidi), the Ibadi school and the Zahiri school. The Muslim schools of jurisprudence are located in Pakistan, Iran,

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Egypt, Turkey,

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, Kazakhstan,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...

and China and multiple other countries.

"Ancient" schools

According to John Burton, "modern research shows" that fiqh was first "regionally organized" with "considerable disagreement and variety of view". In the second century of Islam, schools of fiqh were noted for the loyalty of their jurists to the legal practices of their local communities, whether Mecca,

Kufa Kufa ( ar, الْكُوفَة ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Currently, Kufa and Najaf ...

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...

, Syria, etc. Burton, ''Islamic Theories of Abrogation'', 1990: p.13 (Egypt's school in Fustat was a branch of Medina's school of law and followed such practices—up until the end of the 8th century—as basing verdict on one single witness (not two) and the oath of the claimant. Its principal jurist in the second half of the 8th century was al-Layth b. Sa'd.) Al-Shafiʽi wrote that, "every capital of the Muslims is a seat of learning whose people follow the opinion of one of their countrymen in most of his teachings". The "real basis" of legal doctrine in these "ancient schools" was not a body of reports of Muhammad's sayings, doings, silent approval (the ahadith) or even those of his Companions, but the "living tradition" of the school as "expressed in the consensus of the scholars", according to Joseph Schacht.

Al-Shafi‘i and after

It has been asserted that ''madhahib'' were consolidated in the 9th and 10th centuries as a means of excluding dogmatic theologians, government officials and non-Sunni sects from religious discourse. Historians have differed regarding the times at which the various schools emerged. One interpretation is that Sunni Islam was initially split into four groups: the Hanafites, Malikites, Shafi'ites and Zahirites. Later, the Hanbalites and

Jariri Jariri is the name given to a short-lived Sunni school of fiqh that was derived from the work of al-Tabari, the 9th and 10th-century Persian Muslim scholar in Baghdad. Although it eventually became extinct, al-Tabari's madhhab flourished among Su ...

tes developed two more schools; then various dynasties effected the eventual exclusion of the Jarirites;

Christopher Melchert Christopher Melchert is an American professor and scholar of Islam, specialising in Islamic movements and institutions, especially during the ninth and tenth centuries. A prolific author, he is professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at the Uni ...

, ''The Formation of the Sunni Schools of Law'': 9th–10th Centuries C.E., pg. 178. Leiden:

Brill Publishers Brill Academic Publishers (known as E. J. Brill, Koninklijke Brill, Brill ()) is a Dutch international academic publisher founded in 1683 in Leiden, Netherlands. With offices in Leiden, Boston, Paderborn and Singapore, Brill today publishes ...

, 1997. eventually, the Zahirites were also excluded when the Mamluk Sultanate established a total of four independent judicial positions, thus solidifying the Maliki, Hanafi, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools. During the era of the

Islamic Gunpowders The gunpowder empires, or Islamic gunpowder empires, is a collective term coined by Marshall G. S. Hodgson and William H. McNeill at the University of Chicago, referring to three Muslim empires: the Ottoman Empire, Safavid Empire and the Mugha ...

, the Ottoman Empire reaffirmed the official status of these four schools as a reaction to Shi'ite Persia.Chibli Mallat, ''Introduction to Middle Eastern Law'', pg. 116. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. Some are of the view that Sunni jurisprudence falls into two groups: ''Ahl al-Ra'i'' ("people of opinions", emphasizing scholarly judgment and reason) and ''

Ahl al-Hadith Ahl al-Ḥadīth ( ar, أَهْل الحَدِيث, translation=The People of Hadith) was an Islamic school of Sunni Islam that emerged during the 2nd/3rd Islamic centuries of the Islamic era (late 8th and 9th century CE) as a movement of hadith ...

'' ("people of traditions", emphasizing strict interpretation of scripture). 10th century Shi'ite scholar

Ibn al-Nadim Abū al-Faraj Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq al-Nadīm ( ar, ابو الفرج محمد بن إسحاق النديم), also ibn Abī Ya'qūb Isḥāq ibn Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq al-Warrāq, and commonly known by the ''nasab'' (patronymic) Ibn al-Nadīm ...

named eight groups: Maliki, Hanafi, Shafi'i, Zahiri, Imami Shi'ite, Ahl al-Hadith, Jariri and

Kharijite The Kharijites (, singular ), also called al-Shurat (), were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the ...

. In the 12th century Jariri and Zahiri schools were absorbed by the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools respectively. Ibn Khaldun defined only three Sunni ''madhahib'': Hanafi, Zahiri, and one encompassing the Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali schools as existing initially, noting that by the 14th-century historian the Zahiri school had become extinct, only for it to be revived again in parts of the Muslim world by the mid-20th century. Historically, the ''fiqh'' schools were often in political and academic conflict with one another, vying for favor with the ruling government in order to have their representatives appointed to legislative and especially judiciary positions. Geographer and historian

Al-Muqaddasi Shams al-Dīn Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Abī Bakr al-Maqdisī ( ar, شَمْس ٱلدِّيْن أَبُو عَبْد ٱلله مُحَمَّد ابْن أَحْمَد ابْن أَبِي بَكْر ٱلْمَقْدِسِي), ...

once satirically categorized competing ''madhahib'' with contrasting personal qualities: Hanafites, highly conscious of being hired for official positions, appeared deft, well-informed, devout and prudent; Malikites, dull and obtuse, confined themselves to observance of prophetic tradition; Shafi'ites were shrewd, impatient, understanding and quick-tempered; Zahirites haughty, irritable, loquacious and well-to-do; Shi'ites, entrenched and intractable in old rancor, enjoyed riches and fame; and Hanbalites, anxious to practice what they preached, were charitable and inspiring. While such descriptions were almost assuredly humorous in nature, ancient differences were less to do with actual doctrinal opinions than with maneuvering for adherents and influence.

Modern era

The transformations of Islamic legal institutions in the modern era have had profound implications for the madhhab system. Legal practice in most of the Muslim world has come to be controlled by government policy and state law, so that the influence of the madhhabs beyond personal ritual practice depends on the status accorded to them within the national legal system. State law codification commonly utilized the methods of ''takhayyur'' (selection of rulings without restriction to a particular madhhab) and ''talfiq'' (combining parts of different rulings on the same question). Legal professionals trained in modern law schools have largely replaced traditional ulema as interpreters of the resulting laws. Global Islamic movements have at times drawn on different madhhabs and at other times placed greater focus on the scriptural sources rather than classical jurisprudence. The Hanbali school, with its particularly strict adherence to the Quran and hadith, has inspired conservative currents of direct scriptural interpretation by the

and Wahhabi movements. In the 20th century many Islamic jurists began to assert their intellectual independence from traditional schools of jurisprudence. Examples of the latter approach include networks of Indonesian ulema and Islamic scholars residing in Muslim-minority countries, who have advanced liberal interpretations of Islamic law.

Schools

Generally, Sunnis have a single preferred ''madhhab'' from region to region, but also believe that ''

ijtihad ''Ijtihad'' ( ; ar, اجتهاد ', ; lit. physical or mental ''effort'') is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a le ...

'' must be exercised by the contemporary scholars capable of doing so. Most rely on '' taqlid'', or acceptance of religious rulings and epistemology from a higher religious authority in deferring meanings of analysis and derivation of legal practices instead of relying on subjective readings. Experts and scholars of ''fiqh'' follow the '' usul'' (principles) of their own native ''madhhab'', but they also study the ''usul'', evidences, and opinions of other ''madhahib''.

Sunni

Sunni schools of jurisprudence are each named after the classical jurist who taught them. The four primary Sunni schools are the Hanafi, Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali rites. The Zahiri school remains in existence but outside of the mainstream, while the

Laythi The Laythi madhhab ( ar, المذهب الليثي) was an 8th-century religious law school of Fiqh within Sunni Islam whose Imam was Al-Layth ibn Sa'd. One of known characteristics of al-Layth jurisprudence was his rejection towards Maliki Th ...

Awza'i The Awza'i ( ar, الأوزاعي, al-Awzā‘ī) madhhab was one of the schools of Fiqh, the Islamic jurisprudence, or religious law within Sunni Islam in the 8th century. Its Imam was Abd al-Rahman al-Awza'i. History In the Maghreb and al ...

, and

Thawri The Thawri () Madhhab was a short-lived school of Islamic Jurisprudence. Its founder was Sufyan Al-Thawri, a great 8th century scholar, jurist and hadith compiler.Steven C. Judd, “Competitive hagiography in biographies of al-Awzaʿi and Sufyan ...

schools have become extinct. The extant schools share most of their rulings, but differ on the particular practices which they may accept as authentic and the varying weights they give to

analogical Analogy (from Greek ''analogia'', "proportion", from ''ana-'' "upon, according to" lso "against", "anew"+ ''logos'' "ratio" lso "word, speech, reckoning" is a cognitive process of transferring information or meaning from a particular subject ...

reason and pure reason.

Orthodox Sunni schools

Hanafi

The Hanafi school was founded by Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man. It is followed by Muslims in the Levant, Central Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, most of India,

, Northern Egypt, Iraq and Turkey and the Balkans and by most of the Muslim communities of

and China. There are movements within this school such as

Barelvi The Barelvi movement ( ur, بَریلوِی, , ), also known as Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaah (People of the Prophet's Way and the Community) is a Sunni revivalist movement following the Hanafi and Shafi'i school of jurisprudence, with strong Suf ...

s and Deobandi, which are concentrated in South Asia.

Maliki

The Maliki school is based on the jurisprudence of Imam Malik ibn Anas. It has also been called "School of Medina" because the school was based in Medina and their community It is followed by Muslims in Nigeria, North Africa, West Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, in parts of Saudi Arabia and in Upper Egypt. The most prominent country which adheres to Maliki fiqh is Mauritania. The

Murabitun World Movement The Murabitun World Movement is an Islamic movement founded by its current leader, Abdalqadir as-Sufi (born as Ian Dallas), with communities in several countries. Its heartland is Spain. The number of its followers may amount, according to one ...

follows this school as well. In the past, it was also followed in parts of Europe under Islamic rule, particularly

Islamic Spain Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label=Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the Mus ...

and the Emirate of Sicily. One of today's scholars

Hamza Yusuf Hamza Yusuf (born: Mark Hanson; 1958) is an American Islamic neo-traditionalist, Islamic scholar, and co-founder of Zaytuna College. He is a proponent of classical learning in Islam and has promoted Islamic sciences and classical teaching meth ...

is a prominent Maliki scholar, who is a

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...

Murabit al-Hajj Muhammad Ould Fahfu al-Massumi (c. 1913 – July 17, 2018), Sidi Muhammad Bin Salik Ould Fahfu al-Amsami, better known as Murabit al-Hajj was a Mauritanian Islamic scholar who devoted his life to worship, learning and teaching Islamic sciences. Tea ...

from Muritania.

Shafi'i

The Shafi'i school is based upon the jurisprudence of Imam Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi'i. It is followed by Muslims in the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia, Southern Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Jordan, Palestine, the Philippines, Singapore, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Yemen, Kurdistan, and southern India (such as the

Mappila Mappila Muslim, often shortened to Mappila, formerly anglicized as Moplah/Mopla and historically known as Jonaka/Chonaka Mappila or Moors Mopulars/Mouros da Terra and Mouros Malabares, in general, is a member of the Muslim community of same n ...

s of Kerala and the Konkani Muslims). It is the official school followed by the governments of Brunei and Malaysia. The Shafi'i school is also large in Iraq and Syria.

Hanbali

The Hanbali school is based on the jurisprudence of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal who had been a student of Imam al-Shafi. It is followed by Muslims in Qatar, most of Saudi Arabia and minority communities in Syria and Iraq. There are movements that are highly influenced by Hanbali fiqh such as Salafism and Wahhabism concentrated in Saudi Arabia.

Zahiri

The Zahiri school was founded by Dawud al-Zahiri. It is followed by minority communities in Morocco and Pakistan. In the past, it was also followed by the majority of Muslims in Mesopotamia, Portugal, the Balearic Islands, North Africa and parts of Spain.

Shia

Ja'fari

Twelver Shia adhere to the Ja'fari theological school associated with

Ja'far al-Sadiq Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Ṣādiq ( ar, جعفر بن محمد الصادق; 702 – 765 CE), commonly known as Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (), was an 8th-century Shia Muslim scholar, jurist, and theologian.. He was the founder of th ...

. In this school, the time and space bound rulings of early jurists are taken more seriously, and the Ja'fari school uses the

intellect In the study of the human mind, intellect refers to, describes, and identifies the ability of the human mind to reach correct conclusions about what is true and what is false in reality; and how to solve problems. Derived from the Ancient Gre ...

instead of analogy when establishing Islamic laws, as opposed to common Sunni practice.

Subgroups

Usulism Usulis ( ar, اصولیون, fa, اصولیان) are the majority Twelver Shi'a Muslim group. They differ from their now much smaller rival Akhbari group in favoring the use of ''ijtihad'' (i.e., reasoning) in the creation of new rules of ''fiq ...

: forms the overwhelming majority within the Twelver Shia denomination. They follow a Marja-i Taqlid on the subject of taqlid and fiqh. They are concentrated in Iran, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, India, Iraq, and Lebanon. *

Akhbarism The ʾAkhbāri's ( ar, أخباریون, fa, ‌اخباریان) are a minority of Twelver Shia Muslims who reject the use of reasoning in deriving verdicts, and believe in Quran and Hadith. The term ʾAkhbāri's (from ''khabāra'', news or r ...

: similar to Usulis, however reject

in favor of hadith. Concentrated in Bahrain. *

Shaykhism Shaykhism ( ar, الشيخية) is a Shi'a Islamic school founded by Shaykh Ahmad in early 19th-century Qajar Iran. While grounded in traditional Twelver Shiʻi doctrine, Shaykhism diverged from the Usuli school in its interpretation of key ide ...

: an Islamic religious movement founded by

Shaykh Ahmad Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

in the early 19th century Qajar dynasty, Iran, now retaining a minority following in Iran and Iraq. It began from a combination of Sufi and Shia and Akhbari doctrines. In the mid 19th-century many Shaykhis converted to the Bábí and Baháʼí religions, which regard Shaykh Ahmad highly.

Ismaili

Ismaili Muslims follow their own school in the form of the ''

Daim al-Islam Da'a'im al-Islam ( lit. ''The Pillars of Islam'') is an Ismaili Shia Islam Muslim book of jurisprudence. The book was written by Al-Qadi al-Nu'man. He served as da'i of four imams (from Ismaili 11th Imam Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah to 14th Imam Al- ...

'', a book on the rulings of Islam. It describes manners and etiquette, including

Ibadat ''Ibadah'' ( ar, , ''‘ibādah'', also spelled ''ibada'') is an Arabic word meaning service or servitude. In Islam, ''ibadah'' is usually translated as "worship", and ''ibadat''—the plural form of ''ibadah''—refers to Islamic jurispru ...

in the light of guidance provided by the Ismaili Imams. The book emphasizes what importance Islam has given to manners and etiquette along with the worship of God, citing the traditions of the first four Imams of the Shi'a Ismaili Fatimid school of thought.

Subgroups

* Nizari: the largest branch (95%) of Ismaili, they are the only Shia group to have their absolute temporal leader in the rank of Imamate, which is invested in the

Aga Khan Aga Khan ( fa, آقاخان, ar, آغا خان; also transliterated as ''Aqa Khan'' and ''Agha Khan'') is a title held by the Imām of the Nizari Ismāʿīli Shias. Since 1957, the holder of the title has been the 49th Imām, Prince Shah Kari ...

. Nizārī Ismailis believe that the successor-Imām to the

Fatimid The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids, a dyn ...

caliph Ma'ad al-Mustansir Billah was his elder son al-Nizār. While ''

Nizārī The Nizaris ( ar, النزاريون, al-Nizāriyyūn, fa, نزاریان, Nezāriyān) are the largest segment of the Ismaili Muslims, who are the second-largest branch of Shia Islam after the Twelvers. Nizari teachings emphasize independent ...

'' belong to the Ja'fari jurisprudence, they adhere to the supremacy of " Kalam", in the interpretation of scripture, and believe in the temporal relativism of understanding, as opposed to fiqh ''(traditional legalism),'' which adheres to an

absolutism Absolutism may refer to: Government * Absolute monarchy, in which a monarch rules free of laws or legally organized opposition * Absolutism (European history), period c. 1610 – c. 1789 in Europe ** Enlightened absolutism, influenced by the En ...

approach to revelation. *Tāyyebī Mustā'līyyah: the Musta'ali group of Ismaili Muslims differ from the Nizāriyya in that they believe that the successor-Imām to the Fatimid caliph, al-Mustansir, was his younger son al-Mustaʻlī, who was made Caliph by the Fatimad Regent

Al-Afdal Shahanshah Al-Afdal Shahanshah ( ar, الأفضل شاهنشاه, al-Afḍal Shāhanshāh; la, Lavendalius/Elafdalio; 1066 – 11 December 1121), born Abu al-Qasim Shahanshah bin Badr al-Jamali was a vizier of the Fatimid caliphs of Egypt. According to a ...

. In contrast to the Nizaris, they accept the younger brother al-Mustaʻlī over Nizār as their Imam. The Bohras are an offshoot of the

Taiyabi Tayyibi Isma'ilism is the only surviving sect of the Musta'li branch of Isma'ilism, the other being the extinct Hafizi branch. Followers of Tayyibi Isma'ilism are found in various Bohra communities: Dawoodi, Sulaymani, and Alavi. The Tayyibi ...

, which itself was an offshoot of the Musta'ali. The Taiyabi, supporting another offshoot of the Musta'ali, the Hafizi branch, split with the Musta'ali Fatimid, who recognized

Al-Amir Abu Ali al-Mansur ibn al-Musta'li ( ar, أبو علي المنصور بن المستعلي, Abū ʿAlī al-Manṣūr ibn al-Mustaʿlī; 31 December 1096 – 7 October 1130), better known by his regnal name al-Amir bi-Ahkam Allah ( ar, الآمر ...

as their last Imam. The split was due to the Taiyabi believing that

At-Tayyib Abi l-Qasim Al-Ṭayyib Abūʾl-Qāsim ibn Al-Manṣūr ( ar, ٱلطَّيِّب أَبُو ٱلْقَاسِم ابْن ٱلْمَنْصُوْر) was, according to the Tayyibi Isma'ili- Musta'li sect of Isma'ilism, the twenty-first Imam and the last Cali ...

was the next rightful Imam after

. The Hafizi themselves however considered

Al-Hafiz Abūʾl-Maymūn ʿAbd al-Majīd ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Mustanṣir, better known by his regnal name as al-Ḥāfiẓ li-Dīn Allāh ( ar, الحافظ لدين الله, , Keeper of God's Religion), was the eleventh Fatimid caliph, ruling over Egyp ...

as the next rightful Imam after

. The Bohras believe that their 21st Imam, Taiyab abi al-Qasim, went into seclusion and established the offices of the

Da'i al-Mutlaq The term Da'i al-Mutlaq ( ar, الداعي المطلق, al-Dā'ī al-Mutlaq; pl. , ) literally meaning 'the absolute, or unrestricted, missionary', is the most senior spiritual rank and office in Tayyibi Isma'ilism. The Da'i al-Mutlaq has hea ...

(الداعي المطلق), Ma'zoon (مأذون) and Mukasir (مكاسر). The Bohras are the only surviving branch of the Musta'ali and themselves have split into the Dawoodi Bohra, Sulaimani,

Alavi Bohra The Alavi Bohras are a Tayyibi Musta'lavi Isma'ili Shi'i Muslim community from Gujarat, India. In India, during the time of the 18th Fatimid Imam Al-Mustansir Billah around 1093 AD in Egypt, the designated learned people (''wulaat'') who wer ...

, and other smaller groups.

Zaidi

Zaidi Muslims also follow their own school in the form of the teachings of Zayd ibn Ali and Imam

Abu Hanifa Nuʿmān ibn Thābit ibn Zūṭā ibn Marzubān ( ar, نعمان بن ثابت بن زوطا بن مرزبان; –767), commonly known by his '' kunya'' Abū Ḥanīfa ( ar, أبو حنيفة), or reverently as Imam Abū Ḥanīfa by Sunni Musl ...

. In terms of law, the Zaidi school is quite similar to the Hanafi school from Sunni Islam.Article by Sayyid 'Ali ibn 'Ali Al-Zaidi, التاريخ الصغير عن الشيعة اليمنيين (A short History of the Yemenite Shi‘ites, 2005) This is likely due to the general trend of Sunni resemblance within Zaidi beliefs. After the passing of Muhammad, Imam

Jafar al-Sadiq Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Ṣādiq ( ar, جعفر بن محمد الصادق; 702 – 765 CE), commonly known as Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (), was an 8th-century Shia Muslim scholar, jurist, and theologian.. He was the founder of th ...

, Imam Zayd ibn Ali, Imams

and Imam Malik ibn Anas worked together in

Al-Masjid an-Nabawi Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (), known in English as the Prophet's Mosque, is a mosque built by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the city of Medina in the Al Madinah Province of Saudi Arabia. It was the second mosque built by Muhammad in Medina, after Qu ...

in Medina along with over 70 other leading jurists and scholars.

and Zayd ibn Ali did not themselves write any books. But their views are Hadiths in the books written by Imams

and Imam Malik ibn Anas. Therefore, the

Zaydis Zaydism (''h'') is a unique branch of Shia Islam that emerged in the eighth century following Zayd ibn Ali‘s unsuccessful rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate. In contrast to other Shia Muslims of Twelver Shi'ism and Isma'ilism, Zaydis, a ...

to this day and originally the

Fatimids The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids, a dyn ...

, used the Hanafi jurisprudence, as do most Sunnis.

Ibadi

The Ibadi school of Islam is named after

Abd-Allah ibn Ibadh ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ibāḍ al-Tamīmī ( ar, عبدالله بن إباض التميمي; died c. 700) was an Arab Islamic scholar and Kharijite from Basra, of the tribe of Banū Saʿd of Tamīm. In traditional Islamic historiography, he is the foun ...

, though he is not necessarily the main figure of the school in the eyes of its adherents. Ibadism is distinct from both Sunni and Shi'ite Islam not only in terms of its jurisprudence, but also its core beliefs.

Amman Message

The

Amman Message The Amman Message ( ar, رسالة عمان) is a statement calling for tolerance and unity in the Muslim world that was issued on 9 November 2004 (27th of Ramadan 1425 AH) by King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan.takfir ''Takfir'' or ''takfīr'' ( ar, تكفير, takfīr) is an Arabic and Islamic term which denotes excommunication from Islam of one Muslim by another, i.e. accusing another Muslim to be an apostate. The word is found neither in the Quran nor in th ...

'' (excommunication) by

jihadist Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...

groups to justify

jihad Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with G ...

against rulers of Muslim-majority countries. The Amman Message recognized eight legitimate schools of Islamic law and prohibited declarations of apostasy against them. # Hanafi ( Sunni) # Maliki (Sunni) # Shafi'i (Sunni) # Hanbali (Sunni) # Ja`fari ( Shia) # Zaidiyyah (Shia) #

Ibadiyyah The Ibadi movement or Ibadism ( ar, الإباضية, al-Ibāḍiyyah) is a school of Islam. The followers of Ibadism are known as the Ibadis. Ibadism emerged around 60 years after the Islamic prophet Muhammad's death in 632 AD as a moderate sc ...

Zahiriyah The Ẓāhirī ( ar, ظاهري, otherwise transliterated as ''Dhāhirī'') ''madhhab'' or al-Ẓāhirīyyah ( ar, الظاهرية) is a Sunnī school of Islamic jurisprudence founded by Dāwūd al-Ẓāhirī in the 9th century CE. It is chara ...

The statement also asserted that fatwas can be issued only by properly trained muftis, thereby seeking to delegitimize fatwas issued by militants who lack the requisite qualifications.

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * Branon Wheeler
Applying the Canon in Islam: The Authorization and Maintenance of Interpretive Reasoning in Ḥanafī Scholarship
SUNY Press, 1996.

External links

* {{Islamic theology , expandad Islamic terminology Arabic words and phrases in Sharia Islamic jurisprudence Islamic schools

"Ancient" schools

Al-Shafi‘i and after

Modern era

Schools

Sunni

Orthodox Sunni schools

Hanafi

Maliki

Shafi'i

Hanbali

Zahiri

Shia

Ja'fari

Subgroups

Ismaili

Subgroups

Zaidi

Ibadi

Amman Message

See also

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

Further reading

External links