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The Four Sunni Schools of Thought
Question asked by Waseem.
Posted on: Tuesday, November 30, 2004 - Hits: 4013

Question:
Can you explain what led to the forming of the 4 Sunni schools under the Imams, and how do these differ among each other?

Answer:
A brief answer to your question follows:

In the beginning, we see that some of the companions of the Prophet (sws) were more learned and had more insight into the religious texts than others. These people settled in different parts of the empire during the time of the period of the rightly guided Caliphs. People were attracted to them and asked them questions regarding their understanding of the religious sources. They also naturally attracted a large number of students. Almost all the major centers of the empire had such great scholars from the companions and the successors. We know that not everyone can learn the whole texts and the details of the legal matters in their sacred texts. This happened with those living in early Islam too. The commoners would come to these scholars and ask their views on the issues facing them. These scholars would respond to them according to their understanding of the religious sources. They, however, never held it compulsory for anyone to follow only what they said.

The four Imams were scholars of this stature, who systematically studied the sources and gave their opinions on the issues. Their followers later on developed a feeling of strong association what their teachers and the scholars of the town were preferred over the foreigners. With the passage of time, this strict association became customary and the spirit of original research and objectivity vanished to be replaced by a kind of bias which led the people to follow what their own scholars would hold. It was only the semi-scholars - who were not firmly grounded in knowledge - who helped in spreading this blind attachment and following. There were many great scholars like the four imams were; their names have not survived because they did not have brilliant students who could work further and develop their approach. Gradually, their thought and views became extinct. Thus, we find the entire Sunni Muslim community following these four schools of thought.

As for the nature of difference in their approach, it is the difference of principles of interpreting the texts and determining the status of the acts of Sunnah where these people differ. It would not be easy to mention the areas where they have differed this way. I would suggest you go through any available work on the issue. What follows is a link to a similar kind of study:

http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/humanrelations/alalwani_disagreement/chapter7.html

http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/humanrelations/alalwani_disagreement/chapter8.html

Regards,
Tariq Mahmood Hashmi
Research Assistant, Studying Islam

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