Shafi'i School

Imam Muhammad b. Idris al-Shafi’i (150- 206 AH)

Shafi'iyyah was the third school of Islamic jurisprudence. According to the Shafi'i school the paramount sources of legal authority are the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Of less authority are the Ijma' of the community and thought of scholars (Ijitihad) exercised through qiyas. The scholar must interpret the ambiguous passages of the Qur'an according to the consensus of the Muslims, and if there is no consensus, according to qiyas.

History: The Shafi'iyyah school of Islamic law was named after Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi'i (767-819). He belonged originally to the school of Medina and was also a pupil of Malik ibn Anas (d.795), the founder of Malikiyyah. However, he came to believe in the overriding authority of the traditions from the Prophet and identified them with the Sunnah.
Baghdad and Cairo were the chief centres of the Shafi'iyyah. From these two cities Shafi'i teaching spread into various parts of the Islamic world. In the tenth century Mecca and Medina came to be regarded as the school's chief centres outside of Egypt. In the centuries preceding the emergence of the Ottoman Empire the Shafi'is had acquired supremacy in the central lands of Islam. It was only under the Ottoman sultans at the beginning of the sixteenth century that the Shafi'i were replaced by the Hanafites, who were given judicial authority in Constantinople, while Central Asia passed to the Shi'a as a result of the rise of the Safawids in 1501. In spite of these developments, the people in Egypt, Syria and the Hidjaz continued to follow the Shafi'i madhhab. Today it remains predominant in Southern Arabia, Bahrain, the Malay Archipelago, East Africa and several parts of Central Asia.

Adherents: There are no figures for the number of followers of the school. It has some adherents in the following countries: Jordan, Palestine, Syria, the Lebanon and Yemen. It has a large following in the following countries: Egypt, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, Singapore, Thailand, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and among the Kurdish people.

Headquarters/Main Centre: The school does not have a headquarters or main centre.

AL‑MADH'HAB AL‑SHAFI'I

Al‑Madh'hab Al‑Shafi'i was the product of the Fiqh (rules and regulations) as taught by Ibn Idrees Al‑Shafi'i. As in other Islamic Schools of Thought Al‑Shafi'i's Fiqh deals with tawhid, elements of faith, elements of worship(pillars of Islam), halal and haram, ethics, dealing with other people (Mu'aamalat).

FEATURES of Al‑Madh'hab Al‑Shafi'i

Al‑Shafi'i School of Thought stands in‑between the Maaliki and Hanafi Madh'habs in that it uses some of the ways of Al‑Maaliki Madh'hab and some of the Hanafi, i.e. less in the way of Qiyas (Analogy) and Raa'y (personal opinion). It excels in the technique of Istin'baat الإستنباط (deductive reasoning) for reaching a Fiqh verdict. Like other Sunni Madh'habs, Al‑Shafi'i's do not acknowledge the Imamah of Ahlul Bayt, though all of them were supportive of Ahlul Bayt. The Al‑Shafi'i School of Thought began its popularity around 190H and picked up steam in the century that followed.

IBN IDREES AL‑SHAFI'I: ابن ادريــس الشـــافـعى Head of Al‑Madh'hab Al‑Shafi'i: 150H‑204H

Al‑Shafi'i was born in 150H, the same year in which Abu Hanifa died. He was from Quraish, a bright student with a dazzling personality. An orphan, Al‑Shafi'i was cared for by his mother who brought him to Mecca when 10 years old. He joined Hudhayl tribe for 17 years (in the desert) to learn the flawless command of Arabic, literary or expression. In his late twenties by now, Al‑Shafi'i settled in Mecca where Al‑Shafi'i was enticed by friends to study Fiqh. Thus he joined Al‑Zinji, learning at his and other scholars' hands. In his thirties Al‑Shafi'i left for Medina to study at the hands of the aging Malik Ibn Anas, where he became very close to him. Malik even took care of the living expenses of Al‑Shafi'i for 4 years until Malik died. Al‑Shafi'i also studied at the hands of several of Imam Al‑Saadiq's disciples such as a) Ibn U'yainah, 2) Abu Ishaaq Al‑Madani, 3) Al‑Zuhri, and 4) Ibn Al‑Silt Al‑Basri.

When Malik died, Al‑Shafi'i had to work in Yemen to support himself financially. He was vocal against the harsh rule of the governor of Yemen. It is said that in a move to get rid of him, the governor wrote mischievous accusation about Al‑Shafi'i to Khalifa Al‑Rasheed. As a result, in 184H and along with 8 other people, Al‑Shafi'i was taken to Baghdad chained and bound in fetters. He was closely questioned by the enraged Al‑Rasheed, but Al‑Shafi'i's eloquence and convincing manners were such that Al‑Rasheed forgave him and set him free. The other 8 were not so lucky, for they could not defend their innocence that well, and were decapitated as per orders of the irrational Khalifa. (The Shafi'i was accused of loving Ahlul Bayt, since loving Ahlul Bayt was in opposition to the Khalifa policy or other Abbasi rulers, who posed as enemy No. 1 to Ahlul Bayt.)[12]

Al‑Shafi'i stayed in Baghdad where he joined the circle discussion headed by Al‑Sheybani (who was a student of Abu Yusuf and Abu Hanifa). Al‑Shafi'i contested and debated with Al‑Sheybani in his circle discussions, then began his own discussion assembly, giving If'taa' (Fiqh edicts). Both he and Al‑Sheybani were active in writing books at the same time, though the Maaliki scholars at the time paid little attention to either of them. It is said that Al‑Shafi'i studied under a total of 19 scholars.

Al‑Shafi'i became quite popular in Baghdad, but he visited Egypt, which was the Maaliki strong hold at the time. In 198H, the 48 year old Al‑Shafi'i left Baghdad again, for good, with an endorsement from the Khalifa. He was accompanied by the new governor to Egypt, and stayed as a guest with an eminent family in Egypt, whereby he started his own circle discussion and gave If'taa'. This time he stayed in Egypt for about 6 years.

Al‑Shafi'i is said to have written several books, and the book of Al‑Umm in 6 volumes is contributed to him, though after probing and research it was claimed to have been written by his disciples (Al‑Bu'waiti and Al‑Rabii).[13] As Al‑Shafi'i became popular in Egypt, his discussion assembly attracted more and more students. He differed with Al‑Maaliki and Hanafi in many points, and his teachings began to have a distinct flavor. Just as his popularity was on the increase, he was beset with a long illness. At the age of 54, there came about hotly discussed difference between him and Maaliki adherents, especially after he criticized some Maaliki doctrines or beliefs. The matter was taken to the governor. Because of that, Al‑Shafi'i was brutally attacked by the discontented Maaliki adherents, and he was hit on the head with a big iron rod (iron‑key). Al‑Shafi'i lost consciousness as a consequence, probably from fractured skull, and he died shortly after.[14]

Al‑Shafi'i had a charming personality, a very attractive way of expression in pure Arabic, good poetry, and deep knowledge of the techniques of the various schools of thought at the time. He excelled in the criteria he put forth about Istin'baat (deductive reasoning) in reaching verdicts. Al‑Shafi'i was a devotee of Ahlul Bayt to a great extent notwithstanding the government jaundiced eyes about anyone who declared any faith in them. The government took Ahlul Bayt as the enemy No. 1 solely because Ahlul Bayt rejected acknowledging the legitimacy of the rulers (Khalifa) as representing Islam. Ahlul Bayt never conformed to the policies of the rulers or their rule, thus the enmity and the collision.

HIGHLIGHTS of Shafi'i Madh'hab

The popularity of Al‑Shafi'i Madh'hab was mainly due to the consistent and hard work of the students of Al‑Shafi'i, famous among them were Al‑Bu'waiti ألبـويـطي and Al‑Muzni ألمـزني , and Ibn Abd Al‑A'laإبن عـبد ألأعلى . As Al‑Madh'hab Al‑Shafi'i took roots, it gradually replaced the Maaliki Madh'hab in Egypt, then spread in Palestine and Syria, completely replacing that of Aw'zaa'i. It also spread in Iran and neighboring areas at the time. This Madh'hab was also endorsed by the governments of the time, especially that of Ayyubi.

Shafi’i School of Thought (Al-Madhab al-Shafi’i)
From the time of his childhood, Imam Muhammad b. Idris al-Shafi’i (150- 206 AH) immersed himself in the ideas of Imam Malik. He was inspired deeply by him and nearly memorized al-Muwatta. Eventually he procured a letter of recommendation from the governor of Mecca to the governor of Madinah enabling him to meet with Imam Malik, whose status was very high in Madinah during the Abbasid time. There he became a student of Imam Malik until the death of Imam Malik about nine years later.
At that time, Imam Shafi’i fell into poverty and was obliged to return to Mecca.34 There, some individuals concerned about his condition, appealed to the governor of Yemen to find him an official position, and thus Imam al-Shafi’i was made the governor of the state of Najran in Yemen.
However, during the rule of Harun al-Rashid, Imam al-Shafi’i was accused of leaning towards the Alawiyin35 and the school of Ahlul Bayt, and so he was brought to Baghdad, handcuffed. While he was being held as a prisoner, one of his friends, Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Shaybani (who was also one of the primary advocates of the Hanafi school of thought for the Abbasid) interceded on his behalf and testified that al- Shafi’i was not on the side of Ahlul Bayt and was completely supportive of the Abbasid government. This testimony resulted in the release of al- Shafi’i, and as a result, he became very close to al-Shaybani and studied under him, learning the opinions (araa) of Abu Hanifah in ra’i (opinion) and qiyas (analogy), both of which Abu Hanifah was well known for.
However, the two differed regarding Ahlul Bayt - al-Shafi’i was in fact sympathetic towards their cause, while al-Shaybani was not.36
Out of these two influences: the Maliki school (which can also be referred to as the school of athar (text)) and the Hanafi school, was born the Shafi’i school of thought. In 199 AH, Imam al-Shafi’i moved to Egypt along with Ibn Abdullah al-Abbas, the governor of Egypt. There, his school slowly began to spread. Unfortunately, because he differed on some points with Imam Malik, Imam al-Shafi’i incurred the anger of many of the adherents of the Maliki school in Egypt, and they eventually rioted and killed him.
It is worth noting that al-Bukhari and al-Muslim did not narrate any hadith from al-Shafi’i - not because he was inferior in knowledge, but because he had inclinations towards the school of Ahlul Bayt. He said that Ali b. Ali Talib had the right to leadership at the time over Mu’awiyah and his companions,37 who were the group that began the assault on Islam. He displayed love for Ahlul Bayt and the family of the Prophet and proclaimed, “If anyone who loves the Ahlul Bayt is a rafidi (a rejecter of the three caliphates) then let the whole world witness that I am the first rafidi.” Such statements not only led to his arrest as mentioned before, but also resulted in silencing his books of hadith.

33 Al-Nas ala Deen Mulukihim
34 Mujam al-Udaba, 17:287
35 The descendants of the Holy Prophet through Imam Ali.

Hanbali School (Hanbaliyyah)

Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal (165 - 240 AH)

The Hanbali School is the fourth orthodox school of law within Sunni Islam. It derives its decrees from the Qur'an and the Sunnah, which it places above all forms of consensus, opinion or inference. The school accepts as authoritative an opinion given by a Companion of the Prophet, providing there is no disagreement with anther Companion. In the case of such disagreement, the opinion of the Companion nearest to that of the Qur'an or the Sunnah will prevail.

History: The Hanbali School of law was established by Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d.855). He studied law under different masters, including Imam Shafi'i (the founder of his own school). He is regarded as more learned in the traditions than in jurisprudence. His status also derives from his collection and exposition of the hadiths. His major contribution to Islamic scholarship is a collection of fifty-thousand traditions known as 'Musnadul-Imam Hanbal'.
In spite of the importance of Hanbal's work his school did not enjoy the popularity of the three preceding Sunni schools of law. Hanbal's followers were regarded as reactionary and troublesome on account of their reluctance to give personal opinion on matters of law, their rejection of analogy, their fanatic intolerance of views other than their own, and their exclusion of opponents from power and judicial office. Their unpopularity led to periodic bouts of persecution against them.
The later history of the school has been characterized by fluctuations in their fortunes. Hanbali scholars such as Ibn Taymiyya (d.1328) and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawzia (d.1350), did display more tolerance to other views than their predecessors and were instrumental in making the teachings of Hanbali more generally accessible.
From time to time Hanbaliyyah became an active and numerically strong school in certain areas under the jurisdiction of the 'Abbassid Caliphate. But its importance gradually declined under the Ottoman Turks. The emergence of the Wahabi in the nineteenth century and its challenge to Ottoman authority enabled Hanbaliyyah to enjoy a period of revival. Today the school is officially recognised as authoritative in Saudi Arabia and areas within the Persian Gulf.

Taken from: http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/islam/sunni/hanb.html

For more information: His life: http://sunnah.org/publication/khulafa_rashideen/hanbal.htm
Hanbali Fiqh: http://www.ummah.net/islam/mba/fiqhofthe4/qadir.htm

AL‑MADH'HAB AL‑HANBALI:

Al‑Madh'hab Al‑Hanbali was the product of the Fiqh (rules and regulations) as taught by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal. As in other Islamic Schools of Thought Ahmad Ibn Hanbal's Fiqh deals with tawhid, elements of faith, elements of worship (pillars of Islam), halal and haram, ethics, dealing with other people (Mu'aamalat).

FEATURES of Al‑Madh'hab Al‑Hanbali

Unlike other Sunni Madh'habs, Al‑Hanbali's School of Thought has almost no use for Qiyas (Analogy) or Raa'y (personal opinion), to such an extent that they even prefer narration of weak Hadith over Qiyas or Raa'y. It emphasizes taking the Hadith literally (blindly) to such an extent that they were called As'haab Al‑Hadith اصحـــاب الحــديت. Ahlul Hadith were known long time before, but As'haab Al‑Hadith was the result of its evolution.

Also like other Sunni Madh'habs, Al‑Hanbalis do not acknowledge the Imamah of Ahlul Bayt, though Ibn Hanbal was very supportive of Ahlul Bayt. Al‑Hanbali School of Thought began its ascendancy with the full patronage of Khalifa Al‑Mutawak'kil around 235H, but it never became widely spread.

IBN HANBAL: ابن حـنـبــــل Head of Al‑Madh'hab Al‑Hanbali: 164H‑241H

Ibn Hanbal was born in 164H in Baghdad at the height of expansion of the Islamic sciences and the glory of its culture. He was an astute and highly intellectual person with distinguished reputation. Ibn Hanbal grew up as an orphan, began his quest for Islamic learning at the age of 15, he learned at the hands of Abu Yusuf for a while, then Al‑Shafi'i. In 186H the 22 year old Ibn Hanbal traveled to Hijaz, Basrah, Kufa, and Yemen in quest of learning though he was in poor financial straits. He learned at the hands of, a) Ibn U'yainah, b) Al‑Zuhri, and c) Jarir Ibn Abdul Hamid among other outstanding scholar students of Imam Al‑Saadiq.

By the age of 50 Ibn Hanbal witnessed severe crushing measures by the Mu'tazila toward those who did not agree with their views that the Quran was Makhlooq (created piecemeal by Allah) according to the need of the time. As'haab Al‑Hadith believed the opposite, that the Quran was whole and part and parcel of Allah. As a result, suppression by the Mu'tazila fully supported by the Khalifas (Al‑Ma’Moon, Al‑Mu'tasim, and Al‑Waathiq) continued for about 20 years. It was a brutal suppression of any intellectual who did not agree with their view, and As'haab Al‑Hadith became the culprit for decades.

In 218H along with many others, Ahmad Ibn Hanbal was arrested and was to be executed by Khalifa Al‑Ma'Moon because he stuck to his own conviction and did not agree with the Mu'tazila point of view. It so happened that Al‑Ma’Moon died on an expedition just before he was to give the verdict for the execution of Ibn Hanbal. The following Khalifa, Al-Mu'tasim, had Ibn Hanbal in jail, interrogated him about his conviction, lashed him 38 times, but somehow he released him later from jail. The Khalifa became lenient with Ibn Hanbal since it is said that Ibn Hanbal was able to circumvent direct confrontation (though others say he was adamant in his views).

As a result Ibn Hanbal's reputation skyrocketed with As'haab Al‑Hadith who shared his views. He became famous later on when Khalifa Al‑Mutawak'kil around 234H took up the cause of As'haab Al‑Hadith against the Mu'tazila, in a move to lure the general public to his side.[15] Ibn Hanbal became the symbol of As'haab Al‑Hadith resistance to Mu'tazila orthodoxy.

While Khalifa Al‑Mutawak'kil was the nemesis of Mu'tazila, he included the devotees of Ahlul Bayt as archenemy too. A period of unparalleled persecution and killing began to take place, as a result of which the Mu'tazila intellectuals all but vanished. With the cooperation of As'haab Al‑Hadith a new phase of bloodshed began to take shape against any members or sympathizers of Ahlul Bayt too. Al‑Mutawak'kil took them as a grave threat to his rulership, and he unleashed brutal and very harsh measures to anyone suspected of being loyal to Ahlul Bayt. These measures were to such an extent, that against the Shi'a there unfolded theNaasibi, النواصب (people who earned their living by making perverted stories and pernicious poems in denouncing and damning the Shi'a). Despite this, Ibn Hanbal was brave and outspoken in support of Ahlul Bayt. He was fearless and undaunted by the attitude of the Khalifa or the people around.[16] He even narrated more Hadiths of the Prophet (pbuh) on behalf of Ahlul Bayt than most of the Sihaah Al‑Sittah, for such were his courage, virtue and nobility. And despite the fact that Al‑Mutawak'kil was supporting him with 4,000 dirham every month and the auspicious attention he was giving him, Ibn Hanbal was uncomfortable of the association with the Khalifa, to the extent that he evaded and refrained from the bond.[17] Ibn Hanbal would accept the gifts from the Khalifa but would distribute them secretly to the poor.

Ibn Hanbal was a highly learned scholar in Hadith. He wrote the books of Manasik, (the major and the minor), but his distinction goes more toward the Mus'nad of Ibn Hanbal This book was not quite finished when Ibn Hanbal died at the age of 77, and the task of editing, reviewing, and completing it fell in the hands of his son Abdullah. Mus'nad Ibn Hanbal contained 40,000 Hadiths, of which 10,000 were repetitions, and a good many others were weak. It also contained many fabricated Hadiths that Ibn Hanbal did not put originally.[18] Ibn Hanbal claimed that he selected the Hadiths from among 750,000 circulating Hadiths at his time, the overwhelming majority of which were fake.

As'haab Al‑Hadith took any Hadith literally [blindly] without giving due regard to the circumstances in which it was said nor its inner meaning. Unfortunately As'haab Al‑Hadith abused much of the power at their hands and the destruction of life or property caused by them was instrumental in enraging the general public for a long time, becoming one of the reasons of the limited spread of this school of thought.

HIGHLIGHTS of Al‑Madh'hab Al‑Hanbali

Under Ibn Hanbal many students learned his Fiqh and became famous later on. Chiefly they were Al‑Athram, Al‑Maroozi, Al‑Harbi, Abdullah Ibn Hanbal, and Salih Ibn Hanbal. They were very active in teaching the Hanbali Madh'hab afterwards though this school of thought never spread extensively.

Hanbali School of Thought (Al-Madhab al-Hanbali)

Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal (165 - 240 AH) was born in Baghdad. At the age of fifteen, he embarked on journeys to different countries to meet with various scholars. While in Baghdad, he studied under Imam al-Shafi’i, who inspired him considerably, and Abu Yusuf al-Qadi. At the time, there were two competing schools: madrasah al-athar (the school focusing on texts) and madrasah al-ra'i wal-qiyas (the school based on opinion and analogy), and Ibn Hanbal favored the former.
Although like other scholars, he too relocated to Hijaz, however he was not as well known as the leaders of the other schools of thought because most considered him to be a muhaddith (narrator of hadith) instead of a genuine faqih (jurist).
Ibn Hanbal was a strong advocate of the Abbasid government and when al-Mutawakil came to power in 232 AH, he tortured the Alawiyin and fiercely opposed the school of Ahlul Bayt, but he paid Ibn Hanbal a handsome salary of 4,000 dirhams, and invited him to Samarra to obtain blessings from his presence.38
Ahmad b. al-Hanbal wrote his famous work Musnad Ahmad b. Hanbal under the reign of al-Mutawakil and passed away while al-Mutawakil was still in power. His case was similar to that of Imam al-Malik, whose ideas were also propagated by the Abbasid caliphate, and the Abbasid promoted both of their schools of thought.

36 Tarikh Baghdad, 2:178
37 Ali b. Abi Talib huwa al-Imam al-Haq.

38 Al-Bidayah wal-Nihayah, 10:350

Maliki School

Imam Malik b. Anas (93 - 179 AH)

Malikiyyah is the second of the Islamic schools of jurisprudence. The sources of Maliki doctrine are the Qur'an, the Prophet's traditions (hadith), consensus (ijma'), and analogy (qiyas). The Malikis' concept of ijma' differed from that of the Hanafis in that they understood it to mean the consensus of the community represented by the people of Medina. (Overtime, however, the school came to understand consensus to be that of the doctors of law, known as 'ulama.)
Imam Malik's major contribution to Islamic law is his book al-Muwatta (The Beaten Path). The Muwatta is a code of law based on the legal practices that were operating in Medina. It covers various areas ranging from prescribed rituals of prayer and fasting to the correct conduct of business relations. The legal code is supported by some 2,000 traditions attributed to the Prophet.

History: Malikiyyah was founded by Malik ibn Anas (c.713-c.795), a legal expert in the city of Medina. Such was his stature that it is said three 'Abbasid caliphs visited him while they were on Pilgrimage to Medina. The second 'Abbasid caliph, al-Mansur (d.775), approached the Medinan jurist with the proposal to establish a judicial system that would unite the different judicial methods that were operating at that time throughout the Islamic world.
The school spread westwards through Malik's disciples, becoming dominant in North Africa and Spain. In North Africa Malikiyyah gave rise to an important Sufi order, Shadhiliyyah, which was founded by Abu al-Hasan, a jurist in the Malikite School, in Tunisia in the thirteenth century.
During the Ottoman period Hanafite Turks were given the most important judicial in the Ottoman Empire. North Africa, however, remained faithful to its Malikite heritage. Such was the strength of the local tradition that qadis (judges) from both the Hanafite and Malikite traditions worked with the local ruler. Following the fall of the Ottoman Empire, Malikiyyah regained its position of ascendancy in the region. Today Malikite doctrine and practice remains widespread throughout North Africa, the Sudan and regions of West and Central Africa.

Taken from: http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/islam/sunni/malik.html
His life: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Abewley/Malik.html

Translation of Malik's Muwatta :http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muwatta
The Fundamental Principles of Imam Malik'sFiqh(Muhammad Abu Zahrah) : http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Abewley/usul.html

AL‑MADH'HAB AL‑MAALIKI:

Al‑Madh'hab Al‑Maaliki was the product of the Fiqh (rules and regulations) as taught by Malik Ibn Anas. As in other Islamic Schools of Thought Maalik's Fiqh deals with tawhid, elements of faith, elements ofworship (pillars of Islam), the halal and haram, ethics, dealing with other people (Mu'aamalat).

FEATURES of Al‑Madh'hab Al‑Maaliki The Maaliki School of Thought tends to emphasize the authenticity of the Hadith اهل الحديث , the care in its selection, and the deductions there from. It also used some degree of Qiyas (Analogy) and Raa'y (Personal opinion). It does not acknowledge the Imamah of Ahlul Bayt. Malik Ibn Anas was supporter and a proponent of Ahlul Hadith. The Maaliki School of Thought began its popularity in the last quarter of the second century H.

MALIK IBN ANAS: مالك بن انـس Head of Al‑Madh'hab Al‑Maaliki 93‑179H

Born in 93H Malik Ibn Anas grew up at a time when the Fiqh of the Shari'ah was flourishing and Ahlul Bayt had a greater leeway to explain its detail since Benu Umayya's grip on power was waning. Malik Ibn Anas attended many of the discussion assemblies Imam Al‑Saadiq was giving. Malik Ibn Anas was 10 years younger than Al‑Saadiq, and lived to the ripe age of 86, when he died in 179H. Like Imam Al‑Saadiq, Malik spent all his time in Medina.

It is claimed that Malik Ibn Anas was a firm supporter of Ahlul Bayt and their cause. Malik gave full support to Muhammad Dhul Nafs Al‑Zakiya when he revolted against the oppression of Benu Abbas in 144H. In 146H, because of that support (or because of some disagreement with the government) Malik Ibn Anas was arrested by the governor of Medina and lashed 50 times. That resulted in damaging his left arm which remained crippled the rest of his life.[10]

Malik Ibn Anas lived at a time when forgeries of the Hadith were widespread. Therefore he took great care in selecting authentic Hadiths, as a result his popularity began to increase. Many people started to quote him and study at his hand.

At the same time however, Khalifa Al‑Mansoor was ever anxious to build forces to counteract the profound influence of the school of Ahlul Bayt. In 153H Al‑Mansoor approached the 60 year old Malik Ibn Anas offering him a position to be Supreme Justice over Medina and Hijaz, but with a request for Malik to write a book in Fiqh, so that Al‑Mansoor would enforce it over the whole Ummah. Al‑Mansoor had one more request, however, that the book not mention even once the name of Imam Ali.[11]

Malik Ibn Anas agreed, sensing that his book, as supported by the government, would have immediate success. However, the down‑side to this was not mentioning Ali, but that would be the price to be paid against the advantage of spreading his Islamic knowledge.

The result was the book called Al‑Mu'watta'. The Fiqh in Mu'watta' was later known as Fiqh of Malik Ibn Anas. It was spread and patronized by many rulers of Benu Abbas, and especially in Andalusia (Spain), North Africa, and some parts of Middle East. Malik Ibn Anas became the official high powered Supreme Judge for a long time. He was sponsored and patronized by Khalifa Al-Mansoor, then Khalifa Al-Mahdi, then Khalifa Al-Haadi, then (and especially so) by Khalifa Al‑Rasheed. This support was done not due to what this Fiqh deserved but mainly as a counterweight against Ahlul Bayt and their enormous influence in the society.

Many Books were published as commentaries about Al‑Mu'watta' and the school of Maaliki became one of the survivors of the many Islamic Schools of Thought at the time. What was crucial to its survival (besides its dynamism) was the official support and encouragement of the Abbasi government to spread it as far as possible.

Historically during this period there were many Schools of Thought ofgreater depth than the Maaliki, which even continued for a century or two but eventually died out because they insisted to be independent of government influence, therefore the government did not support them, thus leading to their demise.

Maliki School of Thought (Al-Madhab al-Maliki)
Once Al-Mansur al-Abbasi failed to sway Abu Hanifah to his side, he turned his attention towards Imam Malik b. Anas (93 - 179 AH) and proposed that the body of Islamic knowledge unify under one definitive book and set of guidelines, rather than be split among several schools of thought, as was the case at that time. He encouraged Imam Malik to write al-Muwatta (the book that Imam Malik is well-known for). History says: Al-Mansur spoke to al-Malik around 150 AH and encouraged him to write Fiqh al-Muwatta. He told him, “Put down this knowledge in writing, and try to avoid the eccentricity (shawad) of Ibn Abdullah al- Masud, the leniency (rukhsah) of Ibn Abbas, and the harshness (shadaid)
of Ibn Umar. Be moderate in this fiqh and write whatever the majority of the imams and sahabah agree upon, and we promise you that we will bring all the people to follow your school of thought, and your fiqh and your knowledge, and we will spread and promote your book in the provinces and states, and we will ask the people not to oppose it, and they will not give judgments other than those in accordance with your books.”32
Imam Malik spent approximately 11 years writing al-Muwatta, and his book eventually became the definitive legal text of the Abbasid state.
The Abbasid rulers in turn, exhibited the utmost respect towards Imam Malik to the extent that Harun al-Rashid would stand whenever he saw Imam Malik, and then sit on the floor in front of him to listen to what he had to say. Through his open support of al-Mansur, Imam Malik alienated his teacher Rabiat al-Rai who refused to compromise his principles for the government and then parted company with Imam Malik.
Imam Malik continued to support the Abbasid government beyond the reign of al-Mansur into the time of al-Mahdi al-Abbasi. Just like al-Mansur, al-Mahdi al-Abbasi succeeded not in winning over the support of the Hanafi school of thought, but to entice two of Abu Hanifah’s most famous students (as mentioned above).
At the same time, as they fostered the growth of the Maliki movement, the Abbasid also attempted to suppress the school of Ahlul Bayt. Not only were the ideas of Ahlul Bayt school threatening, but its leaders were also popular, such as Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq. The sixth Imam of the Shia school of thought, who had nearly 4,000 students attending his classes.
Like the other Imams from Ahlul Bayt, Imam al-Sadiq was put under house arrest and later imprisoned. Only after methods of intimidation and coercion to halt the spread of his teachings failed, did the Abbasid attempt to counter his ideas by creating another intellectual entity to compete with him, in this case, the promotion of the Hanafi and Maliki schools of thought.As it is said, people tend to follow the religion of their leaders;33 therefore, the ideological path that the Abbasid government was laying out was rudimentary for the people to follow. Still, like the rest of the
imams of Ahlul Bayt, Imam al-Sadiq gave up his life at the hands of the ruling power for his unwavering resistance to compromise the principles
of Islam.

31 Al-Dahlawi, Hujjat Allah al-Balighah, 1:151

32 Al-Imamah wal-Siyasah, 2:150

Hanafism

Imam Abu Hanifah al-Nu’man b. Thabit (80 - 148 AH),

The Hanafiyyah School is the first of the four orthodox Sunni schools of law. It is distinguished from the other schools through its placing less reliance on mass oral traditions as a source of legal knowledge. It developed the exegesis of the Qur'an through a method of analogical reasoning known as Qiyas. It also established the principle that the universal concurrence of the Ummah (community) of Islam on a point of law, as represented by legal and religious scholars, constituted evidence of the will of God. This process is called ijma', which means the consensus of the scholars. Thus, the school definitively established the Qur'an, the Traditions of the Prophet, ijma' and qiyas as the basis of Islamic law. In addition to these, Hanafi accepted local customs as a secondary source of the law.

History: The Hanafi School of law was founded by Nu'man Abu Hanifah (d.767) in Kufa in Iraq. It derived from the bulk of the ancient school of Kufa and absorbed the ancient school of Basra. Abu Hanifah belonged to the period of the successors (tabi'in) of the Sahabah (the companions of the Prophet). He was a Tabi'i since he had the good fortune to have lived during the period when some of the Sahabah were still alive. Having originated in Iraq, the Hanafi School was favoured by the first 'Abbasid caliphs in spite of the school's opposition to the power of the caliphs.The privileged position which the school enjoyed under the 'Abbasid caliphate was lost with the decline of the 'Abbasid caliphate. However, the rise of the Ottoman Empire led to the revival of Hanafi fortunes. Under the Ottomans the judgment-seats were occupied by Hanafites sent from Istanbul, even in countries where the population followed another madhhab.Consequently, the Hanafi madhhab became the only authoritative code of law in the public life and official administration of justice in all the provinces of the Ottoman Empire. Even today the Hanafi code prevails in the former Ottoman countries. It is also dominant in Central Asia and India. There are no official figures for the number of followers of the Hanafi School of law. It is followed by the vast majority of people in the Muslim world. Main Centre: The school has no headquarters as such. It is followed by the majority of the Muslim population Of Turkey, Albania, the Balkans, Central Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, India and Iraq. Taken from:http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/islam/sunni/hana.html

For more information:
http://www.muslim-canada.org/hanifah.htm
http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~burraaq/abuhanifa.html

Hanafi School (Al-Madhab al-Hanafi)
The Hanafi school, founded by Imam Abu Hanifah al-Nu’man b. Thabit (80 - 148 AH), was the first to acquire widespread popularity. The first scholar to pay allegiance to this school of thought was Abul Abbas al-Saffah who was the leader of the revolution against the Umayyah dynasty and the founder of the Abbasid Empire. Other
scholars and jurists (fuqaha) also joined him in the hope that a just government would rise and implement the sunnah of the Prophet and save the Muslim ummah from the tyranny of the Umayyah dynasty.
However, Abu Hanifah soon realized that the Abbasid were not sincere in their call to establish the Islamic sharia (law) and Islamic government, and so he distanced himself from the government and refused to accept the formidable position of leadership in the judiciary system (al-qada) during the time of al-Mansur al-Abbasi. Al-Mansur tried to bring Abu Hanifah to his side, but he refused and was then imprisoned, and according to some accounts even tortured. Some historians have also reported that the Abbasid eventually poisoned Abu Hanifah.
Nonetheless, the Abbasid government succeeded in attracting two of the most prominent students who had studied directly under Abu Hanifah: Abu Yusuf al-Qadi and Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Shaybani.Abu Yusuf joined the Abbasid government during the reign of al-Mahdi al-Abbasi in the year 158 AH. He continued working for them during the rules of al-Hadi and al-Rashid and wrote several works on jurisprudence, one of the most noteworthy being Kitab al-Kharaj, which he wrote at the request of the caliph Harun al-Rashid.
He enjoyed an intimate relationship with the ruling powers, and through this, they supplemented the salary they paid him with gifts and lavish invitations, enabling him to lead an extravagant life for that time. The other student, Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Shaybani, assumed leadership of the judiciary system (al-qada) during the time of Harun al- Rashid. He wrote many thesis in jurisprudence (fiqh), including Jami al- Sagheer, which he narrated from Abu Yusuf al-Qadi, Abu Hanifah, and Jami al-Kabeer.29
Undoubtedly, the government played a central role in promoting the Hanafi school of thought because of Abu Yusuf al-Qadi and Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Shaybani, and particularly since the position of judiciary leadership that the latter took, was central in promoting the jurisprudence (fiqh) of a particular school of thought. Regarding this issue, Ibn Hazm says:
Two schools of thought were promoted and spread in the beginning of their emergence by leadership (riyasah) and the government (sultanah).The first was the Hanafi school of thought; since Abu Yusuf al-Qadi was declared the leader of the high court, he employed people only from his school of thought. The second school of thought that was supported by the government was the Maliki school of thought.30

Along the same line, al-Dahlawi says:Any school of thought whose leaders are famous and who assumed the positions of judiciary leadership (qada) and authority (ifta or the fatwa)
will spread among the lands and expand day after day. Conversely, the people will not know any school of thought whose leaders did not assume the position of judiciary leadership and authority, and they will die out in the future.31From this, it is clear that the expansion of a school of thought at that time, hinged on the government. The government in turn, supported the schools of thought because of their willingness to compromise Islamic principles in favor of the government, and so a reciprocal relationship developed between the government and the propagators of the schools of thought who used the judiciary positions (the position of qadi) that they were appointed to, to spread their ideologies to the masses.

28 His work on Abdullah b. Saba is available in English under the title of Abdullah Ibn Sabaand Other Myths and has been printed in two volumes.

[21] Bāqir Sharīf al-Qurayshī, Tuhfaāt min Sīrat A’imah Ahl al-Bayt (a), page 12

[22] Asad Haydar, Al-Imām al-Sādiq wa al-Madhāhib al-Arba‛h, volume 1, page 175

MADH'HABS- Schools of Thought Development and Evolution

Source :- http://www.islamicbooks.info/H-21-Math'habs/Madh'habs-1.htm

Main Sources for this chapter:

Al‑Saadiq and the Four Madh'habs, Asad Haidar.

Manaaqib Abu Hanifa, Al‑Makki.

Manaaqib Malik, Al‑Sayooti.

Tabaqat Al‑Shafi'iyya.

Mus'nad Ahmad (Ahmad Ibn Hanbal).

WHAT IS MADH'HAB?

No Schools of Thought ever existed in Islam at the time of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Neither his exemplary practices nor his Hadith (the Sunnah) were put in writing during his lifetime. After the death of the Prophet (pbuh) many of the prominent Sahaaba (Companions of the Prophet (pbuh) adhered to Imam Ali's explanation of the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh). The number of such luminous personalities increased gradually, and came to be known as the Devotees of the teachings of the Prophet (pbuh) as passed down by Ali. They were named Al‑Khaassah,الخاصه meaning the elite, the distinctive, or the special. In Arabic they were referred to as Al‑Shi'a. The rest of the Muslims were referred to asAl‑Aammah, العامه meaning the general public or the common man.

When Mu'awiya became the Khalifa (ruler), he promoted the termAl‑Jama'ah الجماعه (the throng of the society) to gain support for himself among the people. About 150 years later, the term Jama'ah was modified (by people conforming to Abbasi government policy) in an attempt to fight off Ahlul Bayt's enormous influence in the society. Later the term Jama'ah was modified to Al‑Sunnah wal Jama'ah السنه والجماعه. The term of Sunnah wal Jama'ah was prevalent during the 3rd century H. when the Schools of Thought in Islam المذاهب were in a flux but were more or less consolidating.

Later in the 3rd century H. the term was modified again, and rather than calling it Al‑Sunnah wal Jama'ah, it was abbreviated to Ahlul Sunnah اهل السنه. This became a general term for the four Sunni Schools of Thought.

By the year 250H the four Sunni Schools of Thought were popularized and patronized by the Abbasi government, as well as by their own enthusiasts, thus spreading in various areas of the Islamic Ummah at variable speed. The existing Schools of Thought by this stretch of time were:

Ø Ja'fari, as headed by Imam Al‑Saadiq.

Ø Hanafi, as headed by Abu Hanifa, Al‑Na'maan.

Ø Maaliki, as headed by Malik Ibn Anas.

Ø Shafi'i, as headed by Ibn Idrees Al‑Shafi'i.

Ø Hanbali, as headed by Ahmad Ibn Hanbal.

Outstanding among the vanished Schools of Thought were:

Ø Madh'hab of Al‑Thawri renowned for 2 centuries and could trace its pathway to Imam Al‑Saadiq's Institute.

Ø Madh'hab of Ibn U'yainah, renowned for 3 centuries, and could trace its pathway to Imam Al‑Saadiq's Institute.

Ø Madh'hab of Aw'zaa'i, followed for more than one century.

Ø Madh'hab of Dawood Ibn Ali Al‑Dhaahiri, followed for several centuries.

WHAT IS SHI'I AND WHAT IS SUNNI?

SHI'I: A Shi'i is a person who is a devotee of only the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as passed down by Ahlul Bayt. Ahlul Bayt are the direct family of Muhammad (pbuh), and a Shi'i regards their teaching of the Prophet's Sunnah as the most authentic and accurate. In brief a Shi'i sees himself as the Devotee of Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and nothing else and the Fiqh laid down by Ahlul Bayt. A Shi'i believes in Imamah, that the 12 Imams were Divinely Commissioned, and they were specified by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). He also believes in Ismah عصمه(that the Prophets and the Designated Imams are shielded by Allah from: a) Sin, b) Religious Error, and c) Forgetfulness).

SUNNI: A Sunni is a person who follows mostly the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as passed down by the teachings of Sahaaba and Scholars after the Prophet (pbuh). Sunnah of some Khulafaa is said to be included in their teachings. In brief a Sunni sees himself as following the Sunnah as the Sahaaba and certain scholars had specified and the Fiqh as laid by the head of the particular Madh'hab. A Sunni does not believe in Imamah.

BEFORE THE YEAR 150H:

The Shi'a School

For the first 150 years after the Prophet (pbuh) the only evolving School of Thought was the Shi'a school as passed down by Imam Ali, and the chain of narration as the Golden Chain of Narration.[1] At that period the Golden Chain of Narration consisted of Ali, Al‑Hasan, Al‑Husain, Zainul Abideen, Al‑Baaqir, and Al‑Saadiq all of whom are the direct lineage of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). This chain narrated Hadith and explained Islam with each Imam referring the narration by way of his father directly up to the Prophet (pbuh). For instance, Imam Al‑Saadiq used to say “My narration is the narration of my father, and his is that of his father and so on, all going up to Ali who narrated directly from Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)”[2].

Those who followed this information (called Shi'a) would acknowledge narrations by other sources, as long as those narrations were confirmed by Ahlul Bayt [be they Hadith or examples of the Prophet (pbuh)].

Because of political predicaments with the rulers, and because Ahlul Bayt took the government of the time as invalid (unlawful) from Islamic point of view, there developed a boiling turmoil caused by the direct collision first with the government of Benu Umayya then with that of Benu Abbas. The governments were very eager to seek and enroll the support of Ahlul Bayt, but Ahlul Bayt adamantly refused supporting them, since genuine Islamic teachings and their consciousness of Allah, (Taq'wa) prevented Ahlul Bayt from playing politics with Islam. Because of their refusal to acknowledge the legitimacy of the Khalifa or his government, Ahlul Bayt and their devotees were exposed to tremendous harassment —if not near‑persecution— at the hands of some Khalifas and their administration.

When the government of Benu Umayya became weak, Al‑Saadiq saw a golden opportunity, and he was the first to be able to freely pass down the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as his family had taught him. Thus the basis of the Ja'fari (Shi'i) School of Thought crystallized.

[1] Ma'rifat Uloom Al-Hadith, Al-Neisaaboori, Page 55.

[2] Al-Rowdhah, Ibn Ali Al-Neisaaboori, Page 275.

[3]Abu Al‑Abbas Ibn Uq'dah. Also in Mu'tabar, by Najm Al-Deen. Also Al‑Mufeed. Al‑Tibrisi, in A'laam Al‑Wara, Section 3.

[4]Manaaqib, Shahr Ashoob. Also Al-Saadiq and the four Madh'habs, Asad Haidar, Vol. 1, Page 67.

[5] Al-Dhari'ah, Buzurg, Vol. 6 Page 301-374.

[6] Manaaqib Abu Hanifa, Al-Makki, Vol. 2, Page 59.

[7] Al-Tuh'fa, Al-Aaloosi, Page 8.

[8] Manaaqib Abu Hanifa, Al-Mowaffaq, Vol. 1, Page 173.

[9] Maqaatil Al-Talbiyyin, Abu Al-Faraj, Page 247.

[10] Al-Intiqaa', Ibn Abd Al-Barr, Page 43-44.

[11] Al-Imamah wal Siyasah, Vol. 2 Page 195.

[12] Al-Intiqaa', Ibn Abd Al-Barr, Page 96.

[13] Dhu'ha Al-Islam, Ahmad Amin, Vol. 2, Page 231.

[14] Tawaali Al-Ta'sees, Ibn Hajar, Page 86.

[15] Dhuhr Al-Islam, Ahmad Amin, Vol. 4, Page 8.

[16] Tabaqat Al-Hanaabilah, Ibn Abi Ya'la, Vol. 2, Page 120.

[17] Taareekh Ibn Katheer, Vol. 10, Page 239.

[18] Min'haaj Al-Sunnah, Vol. 4, Page 27. Also Adhwaa' Ala Al-Sunnah Al-Muhammadiyya, Page 293.

Yes! I have found, regretfully, some of the rulers and notables of those past ages preferring their ijtihad, due to their advantages, to the apparent meanings of the Qur'an and the Sunna and their clear texts. They have interpreted those texts according to their tendencies audaciously and led people to contradict them (the Qur'an and the Sunna) willingly or unwillingly with all their powers. This cannot be excused in any case. We are Allah’s and to Him we shall surely return! .....Here are some examples of interpreting the clear texts by those people according to their own opinions. They have preferred their personal benefits to those verses and traditions.

When Power and Piety Collide A Critical Analysis of Early Caliphate in Islam Understanding the Present by Knowing the Past

FROM THE BACK COVER:
Over fourteen hundred years have passed since Prophet Muhammad bonded rival tribes, united neighbors, and partnered the believers to form one community - the Muslim ummah. However, since the moment that the final Messenger publicly declared his prophethood and message, the internal relationship of the Muslim ummah has yet to fully synthesize.

Why is this so? In addition, how can a person better understand the fabric and tendencies of the Muslims?

To understand the situation of the Muslims today, an objective and deep look into Islam’s history and its key figures is critical. When Power and Piety Collide chronicles the early history of Islam, its development during and shortly after the life of Prophet Muhammad, and then draws an illuminating light on the reasons why Muslims today have yet to establish a fully harmonious ummah.

The author, Imam Sayed Moustafa al-Qazwini was born in Karbala, Iraq to an intellectual and scholarly family who trace their lineage back to the Holy Prophet Muhammad. He initiated his higher theological studies in Islam at the seminary in Qum, under the instruction and guidance of prominent Muslim theologians, thinkers, and philosophers. Imam al-Qazwini is the founder of the Islamic Educational Center of Orange County, California. He spends his time lecturing and teaching Islam worldwide.

Hadith is the record of the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The sayings and conduct of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) constitute the Sunnah.

The Hadith has come to supplement the Holy Quran as a source of the Islamic religious law. The Hadith is the second pillar after the Quran upon which every Muslim rests his faith. Hadith consists of Mat'n and Isnad. Mat'n means the text of the Hadith, while Isnad means the chain of transmitters to that Hadith.

The Holy Quran,
Holy Quran is the principal source of religious thought in Islam, has given full authority to the external meanings of its words for those who give ear to its message. The same external meaning of the Quranic verses has made the sayings of the Prophet complementary to the words of the Quran and has declared them to be authoritative like the Quran. For as the Quran says: "And We have revealed unto thee the Remembrance that thou mayst explain to mankind that which hath been revealed for them" (Quran, XVI, 44). And, "He it is who hath sent among the unlettered ones a messenger of their own, to recite unto them His revelations and to make them grow, and to teach them the scripture and Wisdom" (Quran, LXII, 2). And "And whatsoever the messenger giveth you, take it. And whatsoever he forbiddeth, abstain (from it)" (Quran, LIX, And, Verily in the messenger of Allah ye have a good example" (Quran, XXXIII, 21). It is quite evident that such verses would not have any real meaning if the words and deeds of the Prophet and his silence and approval were not authority for us just as the Quran itself is. Thus the words of the Prophet are authoritative and must be accepted by those who have heard them orally or received them through reliable transmission.
Moreover, through such a completely authentic chain of transmission it is known that the Holy Prophet said, "I leave two things of value amidst you in trust which if you hold on to you will never go astray: the Quran and the members of my household. These will never be separated until the Day of Judgment." According to this and other definitely established hadiths the words of the Family and Household of the Prophet form a corpus that is complementary to the Prophetic hadith.The Household of the Prophet in Islam have authority in religious sciences and are inerrant in the explanation of the teachings and injunctions of Islam. Their sayings, received orally or through reliable transmission, are reliable and authoritative. Therefore, it is clear that the traditional source from which the formal and external aspect of religion is derived, which is an authoritative document and which is also the basic source for the religious thought of Islam, consists of two parts: The Book (Quran) and the Sunnah. By the book is meant the external aspect of the verses of the Holy Quran; and by the sunnah, hadith received from the Prophet and his revered Household. Traditions of the Companions
In Shi`ism hadiths transmitted through the companions are dealt with according to this principle: if they deal with the words and actions of the Prophet and do not contradict the hadiths of the Household of the Prophet, they are acceptable. If they contain only the views or opinions of the companions themselves and not those of the Prophet, they are not authoritative as sources for religious injunctions. In this respect the ruling of the companions is like the ruling of any other Muslim. In the same way, the companions themselves dealt with other companions in questions of Islamic law as they would with any Muslim, not as someone special. The principle that the hadith possesses validity, as attested by the Quran, is not at all disputed among Shi`ites or in fact among all Muslims. But because of the failure of some of the early rulers of Islam in preserving and guarding the hadith, and the excesses of a group among the companions and followers of the Prophet in propagating hadith literature, the corpus of hadith came to face a certain number of difficulties. On the one hand the caliphs of the time prevented the writing down and recording of the hadith and ordered any pages contaning texts of hadith to be burned. Soemtimes also any increase in activity in the transmission and study of hadith was forbidden. In this way a certain number of hadiths were forgotten or lost and a few were even transmitted with a different or distorted meaning. On the other hand another tendency also prevailed among another group of the companions of the Holy Prophet who had had the honor of seeing his presence and actually hearing his words. This group, which was respected by the caliphs and the Muslim community, began an intense effort to propagate the hadith. This was carried to such an extent that sometimes hadith overruled the Quran and the injunction of a quranic verse was even considered abrogated by some people through a hadith. Often the transmitters of hadith would travel many miles and bear all the difficulties of travelling in order to hear a single saying. A group of outsiders who had worn the dress of Islam and also some of the enemies within the ranks of Islam began to change and distort some of the hadith and thus diminished the reliability and validity of the hadith that was then heard and known. For this very reason Islamic scholars began to think of a solution. They created the sciences concerned with the biography of learned men and chains of transmission of hadith in order to be able to discriminate between true and false hadith. The Method of Shi`ism in Authenticating the Hadith Shi`ism, in addition to seeking to authenticate the chain of transmission of hadith, considers the correlation of the text of the hadith with the Quran as a necessary condition forits validity. In Shi`ite sources there are many hadiths of the Prophet and the Imams with authentic chains of transmission which themselves assert that a hadith contrary to the Quran has no value. Only that hadith can be considered valid which is in agreement with the Quran. Basing itself on these hadiths, Shi`ism does not act upon those hadiths which are contrary to the text of the Quran. As for hadiths whose agreement or disagreement cannot be established, according to instructions received from the Imams they are passed by in silence without being accepted or rejected. Needless to say there are also within Shi`ism those who, like a group among the Sunnis, act on any hadith whatsoever which they happen to find in different traditional sources. The Method of Shi`ism in Following the Hadith

A hadith heard directly from the mouth of the Prophet or one of the Imams is accepted as is the Quran. As for hadiths received through intermediaries, the majority of Shi`ites act upon them if their chain of transmission is established at evry step or if there exists definite proof concerning their truth, and, if they are cocerned with principles of doctrine which require knowledge and certainty, according to the text of the Quran. Other than these two kinds of hadith, no other hadith has any validity concerning principles of doctrines, the invalid hadith being called "tradition with a single transmitter" (khabar wahid). However, in establishing the injunctions of the Shari`ah, because of reasons that have been given, Shi`ites act also on a tradition which is generally accepted as relaible. Therefore it can be said that for Shi`ism a certain and definitely established hadith is absolutely binding and must be followed, while a hadith which is not absolutely established but which is generally considered as reliable is utilized only in the elaboration of the injunctions of the Shari`ah. Developement of History and Hadith Collections Let us read the following tradition very carefully and judge for ourselves if we can ever give a possibility that such words have been uttered by the messenger of Allah. The tradition is in Sahih Muslim, and is written in the section of necessity of joining to the majority of people, and is as follows:

Narrated Hudayfh Ibn al-Yaman: Prophet said: "There will come rulers after me who do not guide to my guidance and do not practice my Sunnah, and the hearts of some them are the hearts of Satans but they are in the body of human." I said: "What should we do at that time?" Prophet (PBUH) said: "You should just listen to them and obey those rulers. No matter if the hurt you and take your wealth, you should follow them and obey them." Sunni reference: Sahih Muslim, Chapter of al-Imaarah (chapter 33 for the Arabic version), Section of necessity of joining the majority, 1980 Edition, Arabic version (Saudi Arabia), v3, p1476, Tradition #52.
The above was just one example. There are more than 12 traditions similar to this in the same section of Sahih Muslim. Who sold such traditions as Sahih (authentic) to us? Aren't they those who wanted to make their kingdom strong and away from any possible opposition? Any complaint is against the above alleged word of prophet, and those people are sentenced to death. In another tradition in the following section in Sahih Muslim, prophet has ordered to kill those who disobey these unjust rulers. Let us see where the origins of these books are, and who controlled the writing of them. Muawiyah was the first one who turned his attention to write the history and collecting the fabricated Hadiths (traditions). He got a history of the ancients written by a person in the name of Ubayd whom he called him from Yemen. Marwan who had been exiled by the Prophet for his anti-Islamic activities and who had a great influence with Uthman, was the implacable foe of Ali. His son, Abdul Malik ascended the throne in year 65 AH, reestablished himself in year 73, and died in year 86. Abdul Malik was the one under whose funding finally a set of Islamic History, Hadith (tradition), and Tafsir (interpretation of the Quran) was provided. al-Zuhri was the first historian who wrote the history of Islam under the direct order and fund of Abdul Malik. He also wrote Hadith collection. The works of al-Zuhri was one of the main source for al-Bukhari. al-Zuhri was attached to the royal family of Abdul Malik, and was the tutor of his sons. (See "al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah," by Shibli who is a great Sunni historian, part I, pp.13-17). Among the students of al-Zuhri, two persons, namely Musa Ibn Uqbah, and Mohammad Ibn Ishaq became famous historians. The former was a slave of the house of Zubair. Although his history is not available today, it had been the most popular work on history for a long time. You will find its references in many history books on different subjects. The second student, Mohammad Ibn Ishaq is the most famous historian for Sunnis. His biography of the Prophet, called "Sirah Rasul Allah", is still the accredited authority on the subject in the shape that was given to it by Ibn Hisham, and is known as "al-Sirah of Ibn Hisham". al-Zuhri is the first who compiled the Hadith also. (See "al-Sirah al- Nabawiyyah," by Shibli, part I, pp.13-17). All Sunni History and Hadith books written afterwards by other people were in great influence of these works.

The above gives evidence to the following facts:
1- Sunni Hadith and History books were first compiled under the direct order of Umayyah Kings,
2- The first authors were al-Zuhri, and his two students Musa and Mohammad Ibn Ishaq,
3- These authors were attached to the royal family of the Umayyah kings. The hatred of the house of Umayyah against Bani Hashim (the house of Prophet and Ali) is well-known. The wars of Abu Sufyan and his son Muawiyah against Prophet and Ali respectively, also the horrible massacre of the grandson of prophet at Karbala by the grandson of Abu Sufyan, are only some of top items among the long list of such crimes. These are the criminals who FIRST wrote the history and Hadith books. (The books written afterwards by other people were in great influence of these works.) They fabricated many traditions to justify their deeds, and to say that prophet has ordered us to obey them even if they are unjust. What I quoted above was just one example of such traditions. Who was the first one that used the term "Ahlussunnah and al-Jama'ah"? If one searches through the history books, he will find that they agreed to call the year in which Muawiyah seized the power as "The Year of al- Jama'ah" meaning the majority of people. It was called so, because the nation had already become divided into two factions after the death of Uthman: The Shia of Ali and the followers of Muawiyah. When Imam Ali (AS) was martyred and Muawiyah took over the power, the year was called "al- Jama'ah". Out of these two parties, the majority leading by Muawiyah won the throne, and the other party was considered as a dangerous rival. Therefore the name of "Ahl al-Sunnah and al-Jama'ah" indicates the Sunnah of Prophet merged by the innovations by Muawiyah, and the agreement on his leadership. The Imams and members of Ahlul-Bayt who are the descendants of the Prophet, know more than anybody else about the Sunnah of their grandfather and what it entails, for as the proverb goes: "The people of Mecca know its paths better than anyone else". But the majority of people did/do not follow the 12 Imams whom prophet has mentioned their numbers (see Sahih al-Bukhari) and their names (see Sunni books like "Yanabi'ul Mawaddah" by al-Qunduzi al-Hanafi). Despite the acknowledgment of al-Bukhari and Muslim about 12 Imams, they always stop at the four Caliphs. Shia/Sunni and Scrutinizing Hadith One major difference between the Shia and the Sunnis is that Sunnis accept any tradition from any companions no matter if these companions fought each other, abused each other, rebelled against their righteous Caliph, and or innovate new things in to the religion. The Shia, however, believe that all the narrators in the chain of a document should have been JUST. If they have done any injustice in the history (such as those mentioned above) their narrations are void for us unless the same tradition has been narrated with another chain of narrators who all of them are proven to be trustworthy. One of the Wahhabi friends said that Shia, when narrating a Hadith, only say the Imam so and so said, one of our friends said...Now how we can authenticise the Hadith? If a person has heard something directly from the 12 Imams, and that person is trustworthy for the Shia and his narration is not against Quran, then the tradition is authentic for us, since we believe in the infallibility of Imams as well as Prophets. The knowledge of Imam has been derived from the knowledge of their fathers and forefathers up to the Prophet (PBUH&HF). However, the chain of narrators should be evaluated. If the chain turns out to be broken (i.e., one element in the chain is missing), then the tradition is considered weak in Isnad. Thus all the narrators should be named, and this is the case for the majority of Shi'i collections of traditions. Nevertheless, there are only a number of traditions in Usul Kafi in which the last element in the chain is missing, i.e., the name of the person who reported to Kulaini in person. In stead of mentioning his name, Kulaini has used the phrase "a group of our associates". But Kulaini has mentioned all other elements in the chain. The reason for this was that, as I mentioned, Shia have always been under prosecution of unjust rulers including the Abbasids. If Kulaini (RA) have mentioned the names of those who reported to him and were still alive, and if the book could have found his way to the officials, then all those reporters would have been killed. To protect them, he did not mention their names and codified it by saying "a group of our associates". However he mentioned the name of those who reported to him but died during Kulaini's life.
But the good news is that since Kulaini knew the regulations of scrutinizing of the traditions by the Shia, he told some of his students how the names of the last narrators are codieifed. More specifically, it was mentioned that: I. Whenever you read in Usul Kafi, that "a group of our associates narrated from Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Isa", then the group here means the following five persons:
1.Abu Ja'far Muhammad Ibn Yahya al-Attar al-Qummi
2.Ali Ibn Musa Ibn Ja'far al-Kamandani
3.Abu Sulayman Dawud Ibn Kawrah al-Qummi
4.Abu Ali Ahmad Ibn Idris Ibn Ahmad al-Ash'ari al-Qummi
5.Abul Hasan Ali Ibn Ibrahim Ibn Hashim al-Qummi. II. Whenever you read in Usul Kafi, that "a group of our associates narrated from Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Khalid al-Barqi", then the group here means the following four persons:
1.Abul Hasan Ali Ibn Ibrahim Ibn Hashim al-Qummi
2.Muhammad Ibn Abdillah Ibn Udhaynah
3.Ahmad Ibn Abillah Ibn Umayyah
4. Ali Ibn al-Husain al-Sa'd Abadi. III. Whenever you read in Usul Kafi, that "a group of our associates narrated from Sahl Ibn Ziyad", then the group here means the following four persons:
1. Abul Hasan Ali Ibn Muhammad Ibn Ibrahim Ibn Aban al-Razi, who is known as Allan al-Kulaini
2. Abul Husain Muhammad Ibn Abdillah Ja'far Ibn Muhammad Ibn Awn al- Asadi al-Kufi, resident of ray.
3. Muhammad Ibn al-Husain Ibn Farrukh al-Saffar al-Qummi
4. Muhammad Ibn Aqil al-Kulaini. IV. Whenever you read in Usul Kafi, that "a group of our associates narrated from Ja'far Ibn Muhammad who narrated from al-Hasan Ibn Ali Ibn al-Faddal", then the group here consists of the following person:
1. Abu Abdillah al-Husain Ibn Muhammad Ibn Imran Ibn Abi Bakr al- Ash'ari al-Qummi. Thus the narrators of those traditions are known and can be evaluated accordingly. Nontheless, we do not claim that al-Kafi is an all authentic book of traditions for the Shia. There are certain traditions in al-Kafi which are reported by weak narrators who are known to the Shia scholars of Hadith. Imam Ali (AS) said: Be the enemy of the oppressor and the helper of the oppressed one. (Nahjul Balagha, the sayings of Imam Ali) Please compare this tradition of Imam Ali with the tradition of Sahih Muslim given at the beginning of the article.

SUNNI HADITH & CORRUPTION EVIDENCES
The 4 Sunni schools of Fiqh Jurisprudence	Corruptions in Hadith
In Defense of Hadith Extensive Research book	The Prohibition of the writing of Hadith
Fabricated Traditions book	Abu Huraira \| Abu Huraira or Paul \|Falsification of Hadith
A critical assessment of Sahih Bukhari & Sahih Muslim	Hanafi fiqh exposed

Abu Yusuf Al‑Qadhi	Student of Abu Hanifa, later appointed as Supreme Justice by Khalifas Mahdi, Haadi, and Al‑Rasheed. He appointed only Justices subscribing to the emerging Hanafi school of thought.
Ahlul Bayt:	Fatima and the designated twelve Imams from Ali to Al‑Mahdi, who safeguarded the teaching of Islam and conferred it to the Ummah as Muham mad (pbuh) had taught it.
Ahlul Hadith:	Those who emphasized the importance of Hadith selection and the Seerah in their jurisprudence; usually Malik's school, and probably Ahlul Bayt's.
Al‑Aammah:	General term used to refer to the common people or the general public.
Al‑Ah'kaam:	The detailed rules and regulations of the Shari'ah, according to the Ij'tihaad of the Jurist.
Al‑Khaassah:	The term used for the Shi'a to mean: The Special, The Distinct, or The Elite; generally referred to the devotees of Ahlul Bayt.
Al‑Mansoor:	The second ruler (Khalifa) of Benu Abbas and the effective establisher of their rule.
Al‑Nafs Al‑Zakiyah:	A great leader who revolted against the oppressive rule of Khalifa Al‑Mansoor. Abu Hanifa supported his and his brother's revolts and probably for this support Abu Hanifa was imprisoned by Al‑Mansoor, and died in prison or shortly after leaving prison of poisoning.
Al‑Qiyas (The analogy):	Methodology of thought more often referred to by Hanafi school of thought.
Al‑Raa'y (The Opinionated):	Methodology of thought often referred to by Hanafi and other schools of thought.
Al‑Sheybani:	Like Abu Yusuf, Al‑Sheybani was instrumental in establishing the Hanafi school of thought.
As'haab Al‑Hadith:	Those who took the Hadith blindly, then identified themselves with Ibn Hanbal's Fiqh.
Baghdad:	The town built by Al‑Mansoor to be the capital for the Abbasi regime.
Basrah:	A town in Iraq used to be an intellectual center for 2‑3 centuries.
Benu Abbas:	Descendants of Ibn Abbas (who was a highly scholarly person tutored by Imam Ali). Benu Abbas established their rule after toppling Benu Umayya.
Benu Umayya:	A clan in Mecca who were the adversaries of Muhammad (pbuh), then accepted Islam. Afterwards they became the rulers of the Islamic nation. They consisted of Benu Sufyan and Benu Marwan.
Books of Usool:	The famous 400 basic books written by the alumni of the Institute of Ahlul Bayt and were used as references afterwards.
Bukhari:	The famous person who collected the Hadiths after a high degree of scrutiny. His book is one of Al‑Sihaah Al‑Sittah. He died in the year 256H.
Fiqh:	Rules and regulations of Islam.
Ghulaat:	The exaggerationists who falsely attributed un‑Islamic attributes to some Imams.
Golden Chain of Narration:	The narration of Hadith and other Islamic matters by the persons of Ahlul Bayt.
H:	Hijrah calendar.
Halal:	What is ritually permissible in Islam.
Haram:	What is Islamicly unlawful and not allowed, and is punishable.
Hijaz:	The province including Medina and Mecca, was an intellectual center for about two centuries.
I'lm:	Knowledge of the ways of Muhammad (pbuh), Sunnah, Hadith, Tafseer of the Holy Quran, Fiqh as well as the Prophet's Traditions.
Imamah:	A fundamental component of faith in Islam according to the Imamiyah‑Shi'a.
Ismah:	Means that Allah has safeguarded all the Prophets and the Specified Imams who followed Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) from, a) religious error, b) sin, and c) forgetfulness.
Jabriah:	Believers in absolute predestination.
Khalifa:	The head of Islamdom who during Benu Umayya and Benu Abbas were usurpers of power in the form of monarchs.
Khariji:	Outsiders, a movement detrimental to Islam, which lasted for 4‑5 centuries.
Khilaafah:	Rulership of the Islamic Ummah, supposed to be representing Muhammad (pbuh) after him. However, with the advent of Benu Umayya the Khilaafah became as a mundane rulership no longer based on Taq'wa.
Kufa:	Kufa was the new capital of the Islamic Ummah during the times of Imam Ali, and it became an intellectual center for 2‑3 centuries.
Madh'hab:	Fiqh School of Thought in Islam.
Ma'soom:	See Ismah, a person whom Allah safeguards from religious error, sin, and forgetfulness.
Murji'ah:	An ideology encouraged by Benu Umayya since it held to the notion that Benu Umayya's rule was legitimate from Shari'ah viewpoint.
Qadariyah:	Believers in unlimited free will.
Qum:	Seat of learning in Persia, an intellectual center.
Shari'ah:	Islamic Constitution in the Quran.
Shi'a:	Believers in the teachings of Muhammad (pbuh) as passed down by Ahlul Bayt, and that Imamah is an indispensable part of the Islamic faith.
Taq'wa:	Absolute consciousness of the creator, the perfection of execution of the Islamic injunction.
Ummah:	Islamic society.
Zaid Ibn Ali:	A highly respected person who revolted against the tyranny of Benu Umayya. He was the brother of Imam Al‑Baaqir. He was supported by Abu Hanifa.
Zandeeqs:	Agnostic or atheist.

Searchable Bukhari/ Muslim/Malik	Corruptions in Hadith /Abu Huraira
In Defense of Hadith Extensive Research book	The Prohibition of the writing of Hadith book

4 Sunni schools of Fiqh -Sahfii , Hanbali , Maliki & Hanafi

Shafi'i School

33 Al-Nas ala Deen Mulukihim 34 Mujam al-Udaba, 17:287 35 The descendants of the Holy Prophet through Imam Ali.

Hanbali School (Hanbaliyyah)

Maliki School

33 Al-Nas ala Deen Mulukihim
34 Mujam al-Udaba, 17:287
35 The descendants of the Holy Prophet through Imam Ali.