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Since the prophecy of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. differences of opinion among the Companions had existed. However, this did not pose a big problem. Any disagreements or differences of opinion will be brought to him and he will give the final verdict.
After the demise of the Prophet s.a.w., the ummah is deprived eternally of the services of a ‘consultant’ in resolving any disagreements or differences of opinion.
In the absence of the Prophet, the role of resolving conflicts fell on the shoulders of the Caliphs. As Ahadith have not been compiled yet then, the search for Ahadith as a source of legislation and final arbiter in dispute resolution became a key feature of the era.
So, the period immediately after the demise of the Prophet s.a.w., differences of opinion did not lead to the emergence of mazahib.
During Caliphate of Uthman r.a., Islam expanded rapidly so much so that new believers of the nascent faith were no longer limited to the Arabs only.
These new believers brought with them their own customs and traditions, some of which were in consonance with Islam, some in contradiction to Islam and many more that were neutral to Islam.
The seeds for the germination of the mazahib began to take shape when the Companions who had moved to other locations in the Islamic Empire became a focal of attention of the local inhabitants as a source of knowledge and Ahadith.
In the cosmopolitan cities of Kufah and Basrah in Iraq then, a host of new issues and problems arose brought about by the conversion to Islam of people from different races and regions. Ijtihad had to be resorted in order to come up with resolutions to these new issues and problems.
The proceedings of a “private legislative council” in Iraq comprising Abu Hanifa (died 150 AH / 767 AD) and his pupils paved the way for the emergence of the first school of thought that had a wide influence – the Hanafi mazhab.
It represents a first step in bridging the gap between theory and practice of Islamic law.
The Hanafi school, which is also known as Ahlul Ra’i, emphasised more on using personal opinion based on logic in finding solutions to new problems.
On the other hand, Malik ibn Anas (died 179 AH / 795 AD), who became the founder of the Maliki school in Medina emphasises the use of analogy with the cases that have occurred in the search for solutions to new problems.
The Maliki school which flourished in the milieu of the Prophet’s Sunnah in Medina, at first tried to immortalise the decisions that had been reached in the cases that have occurred in Medina in finding resolution to new problems and issues. For this reason, the Maliki school is also known by the name of Ahlul Hadith.
Imam Shafi’i (died 204 AH / 819 AD), in his effort to integrate the two schools of thought, eventually became the founder of the Shafi’i school.
He was the first to compile the sources of Islamic law in his book, Ar-Risala. His systematic arguments accompanied by a coherent methodology in explaining the origin of Usul Fiqh, left a deep effect on the structure of thoughts of the other mazahib.
Among his students, many became the founders of new mazhab, including Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (died 241 AH / 855 AD), a muhadithun (an expert in the science of Hadith) of prominence and the founder of the Hanbali school.
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