Islamic School of Law Jurisprudence - Research Paper Example

THE FOUR ISLAM SCHOOL In the Western world, religious studies and law are best known to study the role of religion in relation to the country and its legal system. There is a huge difference between the western world and the focus of said studies in Islam, where law and religion are very closely allied, and due to that, one cannot study or follow one area in separation from the other. In numerous prevalent Muslim nations, the sharia which is the traditional and religiously established Islamic law. There are four established Sunni schools of Islamic which are Abu Hanifa, Muhammad al-Shafi, Malik bin Anas, Ahmad bin Hanbal. And each of them possesses a difference from the other right from its origin and in terms of school regime or technique. The key contrasts between them is the system of law; as it were, the point at which the sources are clear there is no contradiction, however when the sources are not accessible for example it's a matter of ijtihaad or lawful acceptance or there are various sources, how would you mesh those sources into a decision. To begin with, Abu Hanifa is the oldest of the four schools of law and was founded by an Iraq scholar known as An-Nucman ibn Thabit Abū Hanīfa. The year of foundation isn’t clearly known but the founder died 767 C.E (Zacharias, 2005, Pg. 494). This scholar, and founder, at his time, he was viewed as the best lawful researcher of Iraq but on the other hand was known for having little information about tradition. Along these lines, one won't ponder that Abū Hanīfa in his addresses, as well, did not discover it particularly critical to base choices on the convention. Alluding to reports about the Prophet assumed just an auxiliary part in his thoughts, which could need to do with the way that Abū Hanīfa had only a small repertoire of traditions. From the research, it is noted that what form the basis of Hanifa School is various dialogs and assessments recorded by his followers but he himself did not compose or make books of law. As a scholar and a religious legal adviser, Abu Hanifa practiced impressive impact in his time. His genuine believed is used a high level of thinking, exceptionally steady, lays awesome attention on the thoughts of the Muslim people group and evades extremes. The Ahmadi Muslims go along with the Hanifa School of law. Nucman ibn Thabit Abū Hanifa was the key source of the Abu Hanifa School of law according to history. He was also aware of the problems faces by the jurists in the social world of Kufa. He sees Fiqh (rules and regulation) as a process that is applicable to all ages and all places. So no jurists in the coming future would be left with no tools required to look for answers to specific problems faced. It is also noted that Abu Hanifa was a successful commercial businessman and a merchant he once gave a loan to another man to his house but he later forgave that loan. It is also noted the government plays a major role in supporting the Hanafi School and this was through the influence of Yusuf and Muhammad Al-Shaybani (former students of Hanafi School who served in the position of government judiciary) this lead to promotion and the spread of the school. He kept away from the schools that existed and chooses to live a normal life in at the heart of Islamic teaching and learning. Abu Hanifa had a different way of teaching his students instead of giving a direct solution to problems brought to him by the students he would divide up his students into groups. In which one group would defend the proposition and the other would oppose the question. Students would research extensively by studying the Quran, hadith, the Sunnah and earlier choices taken by the Suhaba and discuss among themselves and finally produce the answers. His mode of teaching was seen as of great importance since it removes the probability error and the premise would of high truth. What was unique in his era is that he was teaching and learning yet madrasas had not been built and the courts were not systematic. The resources of legislation that Hanafi school of thought used were as follows: The Quran which is the Islamic word of God it considered as the holy book. It contains the fundamental basis of sharia. Another one is Qiyas which is the proposition by analogy it applies to the situations where in revelation there were no precise to the problem. The importance of this method is that legal problems could be solved based on the analogy with what already existed in the revelation. The third one is Istihsan also called the preference. It only applies when qiayas opposes orfom and Ijma. Another one is Sunnah which contains the examples of the life of the Muhammad, his expressions, and words. Also, Posts Companions of Prophet Muhammad which is the source that clarifies various thoughts of sharia. Ijma and Orf were also the resources used in legislation. What is different from the other Islamic Sunni schools is that its way of placing less or no trust on mass oral customs as the foundation of the legal knowledge. Also, it built up the interpretation of the Qur'an through a strategy for analogical reasoning called the Qiyas (Zacharias, 2005, Pg. 495). Also settled the rule that the universal accord of the community (Ummah) of Islam on a state of law, as represented by religious researchers and legal, constituted proof of the spirit of God. This procedure is called ijma', which implies the consensus of the researchers. Thus, the school absolutely established the Qur'an, ijma’, the traditions of the Prophet and qiyas as the basis of Islamic law. And thus Hanafi acknowledged native customs as an auxiliary foundation of the law. The second Islamic Sunni School is Malik bin Anas school of thought (Malik School). This school was the result of the Fiqh i.e. rules and regulations which were imparted by Malik bin Anas. Malik school of thought issue that traded was Mu’aamalat (dealing with other humans), elements of worship (supports of Islam), ethics, and elements of faith (tawhid), the haram and the halal. Features of this school are that it tends to emphasize the legitimacy of hadith, the overhaul in its selection and deductions therefrom. This school also used some point of analogy (Quiyas) and the personal opinion (Raa’y).This school doesn't recognize the Imamah of the Ahlul Bayt. Its popularity began in the last sector of the 2nd century. The founder of this school Malik Anas grew up in the time when rules and regulations of the sharia were booming. He was a strong follower of Ahul Bayt and their basis. He gave strong support to Muhammad Dhul when he was revolted against the coercion of Abbas in 144H. In the year 146 H Malik was detained by the governor of Medina and was beaten fifty times that resulted in injuring his left hand which remained crippled the entire of his life. He lived at a period when fakes of the Hadith were rampant, therefore Malik took charged in choosing true Hadiths, and due to that, he gained a lot of popularity. Due to that many people started to study him and even quote him. In the year 153H Malik was offered a position to be Supreme Court judge over Hijaz and Medina hence he became a legal expert in the city. Malik school spread westwards through his high standards of discipline and became dominant in Spain and North Africa. It also noted that Malik died at the age of eighty-six years and was buried in a popular graveyard in Medina. The sources of Malik teachings were not different from those of Abu Hanifa. His sources were primarily the holy Islamic book that is the Qur’an, and then Prophet Traditions also called the Hadith. He preferred those which had been narrated and collected by the researchers of Hadith of Medina city. Another one is that he would refer to consensus also called the Ijma and then the traditions of the Madinah people such as practices of the Sahabah that signify the real spirit of Islam this was also called the Ta’amul. Malik also relied on the analogy (Quiyas) and the Istislah also called the public interest. The difference between the Malik School and other Sunni schools is that Malik thoughts on Ijma (consensus) differed from Hanafi School in that they assumed it to be the accord of the community signified by people in Medina. But in the period of times, the Malik school came to understood that the consensus to be the ulama also known as the doctors of law. The third school of the Islamic jurisprudence is Shafi’s School which was named by the Imam Muhammad al-Shafi (767-819).The founder of this school lived in the period of 150-260AH. This school was as a result of rules and regulations of Al-Shafi’I (El-Gamal, 2006, pg. 200). Like the other Islamic Sunni schools, Shafi’s School dealt with pillars of Islam (fundamentals of worship), tawhid, ethics, the haram and the halal, Mu’aamalat (dealing with other people). The features of this school include: it uses some of the methods of Hanafi and some of the Al-Malik that is less in a method of analogy (Quiyas) and personal opinion (Raa’y). It was also excellent in the techniques of deductive reasoning (Istin’baat) for getting a Fiqh judgment. Like other Sunni schools, Shafi’s School did not recognize the Imamah of Ahlul Bayt, though it supported it. Shafi popularity rose in190H and continued rising in the period that followed. The founder of this school was born in the year in which Imam Hanifa died that is 150H.He was a Quraish origin and he was a clever student with a strong personality. He worked so hard to upkeep himself economically when Malik died. He was against the cruel ruling of the leader of Yemen and he moved on to get rid of the governor. In 184 Shafi with 8 other people was arrested and taken to Baghdad for questioning by Al-Rasheed. His eloquence and convincing manner made Al-Rasheed pardoned him and set him free. He stayed in Baghdad where in joined active circle discussions and started actively writing books. He later moved to Egypt where he started his own discussions groups and this made him popular and started attracting many students. He had a charismatic personality, fluent in pure Arabic and a lot of knowledge of the methods of the various schools of thoughts. It is important also noting that al-Muslim and al-Bukhari did not portray hadith from al-Shafi'i - not on the grounds that he was inferior in learning, but rather on the grounds that he had slants to the school of Ahlul Bayt. One of his highlights is that his school (Shafi’s School) gained popularity because of the consistent and hardworking students. His school replaced Malik School in Egypt and spread to Syria and Palestine. It also spread in neighboring areas and also the country of Iran. It is assumed to be followed by approximately fifteen percent of the Muslims in the entire world. Imam Shafi is considered to be the luckiest of all the Imams that he was imparted ‘comprehensiveness’ he was able to gather and pile all Hadiths and traditions. The important sources of legal authority for the school are the Quran that is Islamic holy book, the Hadith from the sharia, practices, and customs of Prophet Mohammad, consensus of Sahabah (Ijma),also the opinions of prophet companions mostly that of prophet Al-khulafa, Al-Rashidun, first four caliphs recognize by the Sunni Muslims, they also emphasize on the use good and proper Instibat(derivation laws) and if there was no any consensus the school relies on the individual opinions and analogy was also used by the school. This school is considered one of the most conservative out of the four Islamic Sunni schools. The fourth school of the Islamic jurisprudence is the Hanbali School this was also the result of the rules and regulation thought by Ahmad bin Hanbal. Just like other Sunni schools, the school dealt with the elements of worship, the haram, and the halal, tawhid and also dealing with other people. The features of the school include no use of analogy (Quiyas) or any personal opinion (Raa’y) they prefer narration of shallow Hadith. It stresses taking the Hadith literally to a degree they called As’haab. Just like others the school it supported Ahlul Bayt but did not recognize him. The founder of this school headed the school between the periods of 164H to 241H. Ahmad bin Hanbal, the founder of the school was born in 164H in Baghdad. He was smart and high intellectual being with famous reputation (Hallaq, 2005 pg. 173). . At the age of 50, he witnesses much oppression who did not agree with the view of Mu’tazila concerning the Quran was Makhlooq(created piecemeal by Allah) Al –Hadith believe the contrary he believed that the whole Quran was part of the Allah. He did agree with oppression and this causes him and many others arrested and sentenced to execution in 218H. He was supposed to be executed by Khalifa but just before he was executed Khalifa died before he gave the verdict of execution of Hanbal and this lead him being interrogated a fresh he was beaten 38 times and later released. In 234 H he became popular just because of being a symbol Mu’tazila resistant to oppression. He later started narrating Hadiths and started writing the books of Mansik (Hallaq, 2005 pg. 112). Hanbal wrote his acclaimed work Musnad Ahmad b. Hanbal under the law of al-Mutawakil and passed away while al-Mutawakil was still in authority. His situation was like that of Malik, whose thoughts were likewise engendered by the Abbasid caliphate, and Abbasid advanced both of their schools of thought. One his highlights is that students who learned his rules and regulation became popular later. The students were teaching the Hanbal Madh'hab afterward though it is noted that the School did not spread further. The resources that Hanbali school of thought used for legislation includes: The Quran, the Sunnah found in Hadiths, when Quran and Sunnah did not provide proper guidance Hanbali (Makdisi, 1979, pg. 4) could recommend use of If’taa of Sahaaba (companions), also used the individual opinions of Prophet Mohammad, also they prefer used of weak Hadith over analogy (Quiyas).Hanbali school rejects used of Ijma it seems as impossible to do verification once the Muslims spreads throughout the entire world. The difference of this school from the others like Hanafi and Malik is that when there is no consensus, the opinion of Sahaaba is given a high priority over Quiyas. This idea is completely rejected by Hanafi school of thought. Another difference from the other schools is that hold on things that is impossible and lead to abuse. Unlike other Sunni schools, Hanbali School regarded wisdom as the most important thing than reason. They utilize the Isteshab rule which meant that already proven matter will be remained proven until something contrary happens. Also, this school has the principle of shutting down the evils doors and the public interests. The all four Sunni schools of the Islamic jurisprudence that is Hanifa School, Malik School, Shafi’s School and Hanbal Schools all seems to agree on the Islamic doctrines but a close study shows that they have minor differences in their practices. Considering their views on prayers, view on whether is in the law to teach Quran non-Muslims, views on the translation of Quran to other languages, views on apostates and view of war of prisoners it shows that there are differences. The following are the differences between the four Sunni schools of Islamic jurisprudence: Views on prayers: Shafi’s schools expressly considers that words used in prayer must be said or recited in the Arabic language while Hanifa School allows exceptions in the case of foreigners who is not able to pronounce or speak Arabic. Views on lawfulness to teach Quran to non-Muslims: Hanifa Schools does not resist teaching of non-Muslims Quran and therefore agrees with the ruling, on the other hand, Shafi’s School allows it if and only if agreements are set otherwise it is against the law but Malik School is totally against the law it does not support it at all. Views on the translation of Quran: Malik School is uncompromising opposed over the quiz of a whole translation. While Shafi’s School hesitates to make a positive pronouncement. The Hanafi’s School and Hanbali’s School approves the idea they even go on approving versions such as that of English, Urdu, Persian etc. Views on prisoner’s war: Hanifa School rules out that they should be condemned to slavery or even death while on the other hand, Shafi’s School allows them to be unchained for the payment of money or even be free without making any payments. Views on defectors: Hanifa’s School holds that before being destined such must be welcomed to repent, for a woman or lady apostate shall not be punished to death but forgiven. Malik School does not want this and Shafi’s School to condemn the defectors and says that should be put to death irrespective whether they are women or men. Another difference is that Imma Hanifa’s teachings and learning adoption in South Asia were as result of reflection of South Asian customs, beliefs, and ways. While adoption of Malik teaching in northern parts of Africa was also a response to more different stages. It is noted that it is only the Hanbali School that did not recognize Quiyas (analogy) it preferred used of weak Hadith instead of Quiyas, unlike other Sunni schools which used Quiyas on of the ways of the source of legislations. References: Makdisi, George. "The significance of the Sunni schools of law in Islamic religious history." International Journal of Middle East Studies 10.01 (1979): 1-8. Zacharias, Diana. "Fundamentals of the Sunnī Schools of Law." Georgetown Journal of International Law 36 (2005): 947-954. El-Gamal, Mahmoud A. Islamic finance: Law, economics, and practice. Cambridge University Press, 2006. Hallaq, Wael B. The origins and evolution of Islamic law. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press, 2005. Read More