Schools of muslim law

SCHOOLS OF MUSLIM LAW
By:
RASHMI DUBEY
FACULTY OF LAW

INTRODUCTION
 Schools of Muslim Law – During the lifetime of Prophet Mohammed, there were no
schools of Muslim Law and the Principles of Muslim Law were uniform at that time. After
the death of the Prophet Mohammed, the question of succession to prophet arose. There were
two conflicting views/opinions among Arabs. One group supported election method/principle,
while the other group supported the principle of inheritance. According to the first view(i.e.,
election method) , the successor to Prophet Mohammed should be elected by the Muslim
Community. The other view (i.e., the principle of inheritance) the legal heir of the Prophet
Mohammed should succeed. The members of the first group, who supported the Election
principle/method came to be known as ‘Sunnis’. While the other group, who supported the
principle of inheritance came to be known as ‘Shias’. Thus, there are two main Schools of
Muslim Law namely –i) Sunni School, and ii) Shia School. Both sects are subdivided into
various schools.

SUNNI SCHOOLS
• The Sunni Schools were developed during the reign of the Abbadids. They are sub-divided
into four as stated below;
i) Hanafi School;
ii) The Maliki School;
iii) Shafei School; and
iv) Hanabali School
i) Hanafi School: It was founded in Kufa (which is now modern Iraq) and is also known as ‘the
Kufa School’. It is named after its founder Imam Abu Hanifa. The Hanafi School is well
represented in Iraq, its home country and also in Syria. It covers vast majority of Muslims all
over India. The Hanafi School is very important in respect of matrimonial law.

SUNNI SCHOOLS
ii) The Maliki School : It is also known as the Madina School. It is named after its founder
Maliki-Ibn-Anas. The Maliki School spread westward over practically the whole of North
Africa, Central and West Africa and upto Spain. Many Muslims of the eastern coastal areas of
Arabia are followers of the Maliki School. The Maliki School and Hanabali School have hardly
any adherents in India.
iii) The Shafi School : It is founded in Egypt and is named after its founder Imam Shafi, a pupil
of Malik. The Shafi School spread to lower Egypt, Hejha, South Arabia, East Africa and some
parts of Iraq and Persia. There are some Shafis on the West Coast of India as well as in Central
Asia.
iv) The Hanabali School: It was founded by Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal. The Hanabali School
prevails in Saudi Arabia.

SHIA SCHOOL
• Imam Jafar as Sadik, the Sixth Imam of Imamias founded the Shia School (and hence, the
Shia School is earlier than the Sunni School). After the Sunnis, the Shias consist of the next
largest group of Muslims in India. The Shias do no accept any tradition. According to them,
the Imam is the final interpreter of the law.
The Shia Schools are sub-divided into three as follows:
i) The Ismailias
ii) Athna Asharias or Immamia; and
iii) The Zaidyas.
i) The Ismailiyas :- After the death of Jafar, minority of Shias followed his elder son, Ismail, and
hence, they came to be known as ‘Ismailias.’ Originally, the Ismaili School prevailed in Egypt.In
India, Ismailis are divide into two groups namely :a) the Khojas; and b) the Bohoras (known as
Eastern Ismailis and Western Ismailis respectively).

SHIA SCHOOL
ii) Athna Asharias or Immamia: After the death of Jafar, the sixth Imam, majority of the Shias
followed Musa Kazim. This sect came to be known as Ithna Ashari School. Almost half of the
Muslim population of Iraq belongs to this sect.
iii) The Zaidyas :After the death of the fourth Imam Zaynul Abidin, one faction of the Shias
accepted his son Zayd as their Imam and hence came into existence, the first school of Shias, the
Zaidas.

Schools of muslim law

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Schools of muslim law