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Branches of Islamic Thought
by
Christine Huda Dodge
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- Four main schools of Sunni Muslim thought
- Rulings are based on Islamic primary sources
- Qur’an doesn’t address entirety of Muslim life
Early in Islamic history, over the course of a few centuries, scholars needed to develop a system whereby they could sift through and interpret the vast amount of material in Islamic jurisprudence. The Qur’an was clear in its instructions, but it did not address every possible scenario or question that may come up in a Muslim’s life.
The Sunnah was collected in several hundred thousand hadith reports. The challenge facing the scholars was how to go about interpreting the material for new situations that arose in the lives of believers, or in response to particular questions that were not addressed in the two main sources of Islamic law.
Several early scholars took up the challenge, writing about and codifying their interpretations of Islamic jurisprudence. The work based on some of these scholars has developed into several branches, or “schools of law” (called madh’hab in Arabic).
The Four Main Schools
The main schools of thought among Sunni Muslims were named for the scholars that founded their work, although the details were often worked out by later generations of scholars. They are:
- Hanafi
- Maliki
- Shafi’i
- Hanbali
Since all of the scholars based their opinions and rulings on sound Islamic primary sources, they are all regarded as valid and there is a universal acceptance of all of them. The differences among the legal rulings are generally very minor: for example, how to move one’s hands during prayer, or detailed rules about fasting.
Other Schools and Deviations
Beyond the four accepted schools of legal thought in Islam, some groups have separated from the rest of the Muslim community to follow their own scholars and legal systems. Generally, these groups have mixed Islamic teachings with their own beliefs to come up with a new form of Islam. Some are considered to be Muslims, while others have embraced teachings that place them outside the fold of Islam.
…from The Everything Understanding Islam Book.
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