Understanding the Four Madhhabs

by Abdal Hakim Murad

Why four schools of thought? Is it necessary to follow one? Discussion on these and other questions. A great book for those confused about this subject. Because of the traditional pious fear of distorting the Law of Islam, the overwhelming majority of the great scholars of the past - certainly well over ninety-nine percent of them - have adhered loyally to a madhhab. It is true that in the troubled fourteenth century a handful of dissenters appeared, but even these individuals never recommended that semi-educated Muslims should attempt ijtihad without expert help.

Genres: Islam, Religion, Nonfiction, Theology, History

30 pages, Paperback

First published October 23, 1995

About the author

Timothy John "Tim" Winter (born 1960), also known as Abdal Hakim Murad, is a British Sufi Muslim researcher, writer and teacher. His profile and work have attracted media coverage both in the Muslim World and the West. Conversant in both traditional Islamic scholarship and Western thought and civilization, Winter has made contributions on many Islamic topics.

Born in 1960, Winter was educated at Westminster School, and graduated with a double-first in Arabic from Pembroke College at the University of Cambridge in 1983. He then studied and taught traditional Islamic sciences at the Al-Azhar University in Egypt for several years, and spent several more in Jeddah, where he administered a commercial translation office and maintained close contact with Shaykh Habib Ahmad Mashhur al-Haddad. In 1989, he returned to England and spent two years at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London where he concentrated on Turkish and Persian.

Winter is currently the Shaykh Zayed Lecturer of Islamic Studies in the Faculty of Divinity at Cambridge University, Director of Studies in Theology at Wolfson College, and a doctoral student at Oxford University, where he is studying the relationship between the government and Sufi brotherhoods in the Ottoman Empire.[citation needed] Winter is also the secretary of the Muslim Academic Trust (London), Director of The Anglo-Muslim Fellowship for Eastern Europe, President of the UK Friends of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Director of the Sunna Project, which has published scholarly Arabic editions of the major Sunni Hadith collections.

Reviews

[Lumumba Shakur · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most eloquent and succinct explanations of the development and eventual canonization of the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence. Anyone who does not understand or rejects the authority, veracity or relevance of any of the four schools should be given this as apart of their educational process.

[Rreze · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A madhhab (school of thought) is, after all, nothing more than a piece of precision equipment enabling us to see Islam with the maximum clarity possible."

[Saleem Akhtar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very intense and extremely concise work.
A few pages but actual reading and comprehension may take you weeks.

Dr. Murad identifies the Madhabs of fiqh as a blessings on Muslims within their extremely turbulent history. Moving away from them will lead of further chaos, he argues.

[Mehmed Gokcel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Abdal Hakim Murad is able to refute the army of reformists and doubters that have spurred within the ummah with the ease of taking a stroll in the park. This short account summaries the position of Sunni Islam leaving no questions asked.

[B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Madhhabs are providing sophisticated techniques to avoid innovation (bid'a) within the Muslim community.

Some prerequisits for being a Mujtahid:
a. Mastery in Arabic
b. Mastery in Qur'an and Sunna
c. Mastery of special disciplines within Hadith
d. Mastery of Companion's views and their 'ijma
e. Mastery of qiyas or analogy
f. Knowledge of one's society (maslaha)
g. Knowledge of general objectives of Islamic jurisprudence (maqasid)
h. Highly intelligent and pious

A mujtahid fi'l-shar is the highest achieveable level of scholarly education (as Imam al-'Azam, Imam Malik, ash-Shafi'i, Ahmad ibn Hanbal). Then comes a mujtahid fi'l- madhhab (as al-Imamayn, Ibn 'Abidin or an-Nawawi), who is one who remains within one school, but is able to differ from received opinion wothin it. A mujtahid fi'l-masa'il is someone who stays within a school, but are knowledgeable in particular issues within the madhhab (as Imam at-Tahawi, or as-Sarakhsi).

Three of the greates 'Ulema among the Companions are 'Omar b. al-Khattab, Seyyidina 'Ali, and Ubayy b. Ka'b. Others were Ibn Masud, Zayd b. Thabit and Abu Hasan al-Ash'ari.

If there is an ambiguity in an incident, the Qadi cannot permit Hudud. On top of that, he even should strive to search an ambiguity within a certain case.

"Non-Madhhabism is a bridge to "la-diniyya"." - 'Allama Zahid al-Kawthari

Hence, Non-Madhhabism is a bridge to schisms and divisions.

Non-Madhabism, and claiming to follow the Qur'an and the Sunna diectly - without considering the works of the 'ulema - serves as a trojan horse that destroys the Muslims from within.

To believe that one has the abilities to derive rulings and laws - without really having the abilities to do so - is a form of compoundend igronace.

[Hammad Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, pretty short, to the point and explains the development of the Four Madhhabs perfectly. Recommended read.

[Shahrian Shihab · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/5

[Ibrahim · Rating 5 out of 5]

The main idea of this book is about the importance of madhhabs, usually rendered in English as schools of jurisprudence. It provides some of the arguments against laymen's ijtihad and what damage would it cause to the Ummah.

This book is highly referenced so it is very credible. And there are notes in almost every paragraph to make sure the readers get the same meaning as the author intended.

A lot of references in this book make it seems like it is an academic read, however, this book was really well-written. The author didn't choose complex vocabulary over the simple and clear one. And what more fascinating is that there is no verbosity in this book, he utilized these 30 pages incredibly well.

I'm looking forward to read other books written by Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad.

[Karima · Rating 5 out of 5]

“We might compare the Quranic verses and the hadiths to the stars. With the naked eye, we are unable to see many of them clearly; so we need a telescope. If we are foolish, or proud, we may try to build one ourselves. If we are sensible and modest, however, we will be happy to use one built for us by Imam al-Shafi'i or Ibn Hanbal, and refined, polished and improved by generations of great astronomers. A madhhab is, after all, nothing more than a piece of precision equipment enabling us to see Islam with the maximum clarity possible. If we use our own devices, our amateurish attempts will inevitably distort our vision.”

[Mohammed Ilyas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucidly written and well-reasoned. It is written primarily for those who are willing to undercut the scholarship of the four madhhabs and believe in making their own ijtihad, even if they lack the most rudimentary qualification to do so. It is one of the most dangerous trends that we witness in our time.

The following lines from this brief book stood out to me:

"In a Western-influenced global culture in which people are urged from early childhood to 'think for themselves' and to challenge established authority, it can sometimes be difficult to muster enough humility to recognise one's own limitations.

We are all a little like Pharaoh: our egos are by nature resistant to the idea that anyone else might be much more intelligent or learned than ourselves.

The belief that ordinary Muslims, even if they know no Arabic, are qualified to derive rulings of the Shari'a for themselves, is an example of this egotism running wild.

To young people proud of their own judgement, and unfamiliar with the complexity of the sources and the brilliance of authentic scholarship, this can be an effective trap, which ends by luring them away from the orthodox path of Islam and into an unintentional agenda of provoking deep divisions among the Muslims.

The fact that all the great scholars of the religion, including the hadith experts, themselves belonged to madhhabs, and required their students to belong to madhhabs, seems to have been forgotten.

Self-esteem has won a major victory here over common sense and Islamic responsibility."

[Tahir Hussain · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very short but valuable introduction to explaining the development and canonisation of the four madhhabs. Though it is only fifteen pages, thirty including the detailed notes (which should not be overlooked) it does a good job explaining how the four madhhabs should be perceived and the threat of abandoning them, for example, "If one's child is seriously ill, does one look for oneself in the medical textbooks for the proper diagnosis and cure, or should one go to a trained medical practitioner?" I highly recommend reading it. This is a valuable work in understanding that the best way to follow the Qur’ān and Sunna for the laymen is by following the great mujtahids and leaving ijtihad in the continuation of developing fiqh to the qualified scholars. It truly is a case of quality over quantity.

[Farhad · Rating 5 out of 5]

"We might compare the Koranic verses and the hadiths to the stars. With the naked eye, we are unable to see any of them clearly; so we need a telescope. If we are foolish, or proud, we may try to build one ourselves. If we are sensible and modest, we will be happy to use one built for us by Imam Malik or Ibn Hanbal, and refined, polished and improved by generations of great astronomers. A madhab is, after all, nothing more than a piece of precision equipment enabling us to see Islam with the maximum clarity possible. If we use our own devices, our amateurish efforts will inevitably distort our vision."

[Farouk Abu Alhana · Rating 5 out of 5]

In explaining the importance and remaining relevance of the madhhabs, Abdal Hakim Murad establishes in this booklet the danger of forsaking them.

"With every Muslim now a proud mujtahid, and with taqlid dismissed as a sin rather than a humble and necessary virtue, the divergent views which caused such pain in our early history will surely break surface again. Instead of four madhhabs in harmony, we will have a billion madhhabs in bitter and self-righteous conflict. No more brilliant scheme for the destruction of Islam could ever have been devised."

[Hamaad · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice treatise from Shaykh Abdal Hakim on the importance and necessity of the madhaahib, the four accepted schools of Sunni Islam.

It covers the history of the Unity of Sunni Islam, despite certain schisms i.e. Khawarijism and Shi'ism; the concept of Ta'arrud Al Adillah (where scholars deal with the apparent differences found in Divine/Prophetic texts and principles of reconciling these differences); how madhabs were formed out of Qadis dealing with many different narrations and the need for usul (roots of jurisprudence) and furu' (principles of practice), and much more.

The Shaykh also addresses the ongoing disease of making Islam a "do-it-yourself" thing and completely denying the blessed work of the imams before us, and everyone in the Muslim community being mini-mujtahids in our time. Being that this paper was written in 1999, sadly not much has changed. With this new wave of "Tik Tok Imams" and people even making entire posts belittling and riling people of different ways of practice, it's disheartening to see the Muslim community become this divided, even amongst Sunnis, something which the Shaykh also laments on. It's sad to see people still jumping on this trend, no matter how many years go by, no matter how many trends come and go.

For people who wish to understand the depth and important nature of Islamic Scholarship, and why they can't just follow The Qur'an and the Sunnah on a basic understanding (or the lack of), should read this.

[Omar Misdaq · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picture this: you’re a teenage British Muslim in the mid/late 90s.

Blur are on the radio, Blair is in power, and “Bid’ah!” is the cry of the faithful up and down Cool Britannia. Seeking not only the typical second generation immigrant grail (a sense of identity) but more importantly closeness to the Almighty, your attempts to find a home in British Islam are frustrated by the widespread confusion of the times.

Yes that was me. And although I always intuited that the Wahabbis didn’t have the kind of light I was after, it was still a perplexing time. Thankfully, we had the guiding light of Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad to guide us on this side of the pond (while Shaykh Hamza took care of the Americans.) The ‘Salafi Da’wah’ side were aggressive, single-minded, and certainly confident of their position, but it was clear to me that they were misguided. This (beautifully typeset and printed) booklet only spelled it out decisively, in the elegant and learned style that we’ve come to expect from our Shaykh.

I knew back then that the Traditional Muslims would eventually beat back the intolerant Salafis. And here we are almost 30 years later and yes the classical tradition of Islamic civilization has prevailed over the fitna of those years. This humble booklet was a key weapon in that war, and did much to turn the tide. May God bless Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad and his family, and give him long life and good health.

[Razi Shaikh · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Today in some Arab capitals, especially where the indigenous tradition of orthodox scholarship has been weakened, it is common to see young Arabs filling their homes with every hadith collection they can lay their hands upon, and poring over them in the apparent belief that they are less likely to misinterpret this vast and complex literature than Imam al-Shafi'i, Imam Ahmad, and the other great Imams. This irresponsible approach, although still not widespread, is predictably opening the door to sharply divergent opinions, which have seriously damaged the unity, credibility and effectiveness of the Islamic movement, and provoked sharp arguments over issues settled by the great Imams over a thousand years ago.[68] It is common now to see young activists prowling the mosques, criticising other worshippers for what they believe to be defects in their worship, even when their victims are following the verdicts of some of the great Imams of Islam. The unpleasant, Pharisaic atmosphere generated by this activity has the effect of discouraging many less committed Muslims from attending the mosque at all.’

[Opu Hossain · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is more like of the history of the four Madhabs than to what or how a particular Madhab is followed. The writer attempted to explain how and why the four Madhabs came to existence in general and the history behind it. Though the significant of the four Madhabs in the life of the Muslims are so high but in some cases it is not not allowed for instance if the evidence from the Qur'an and Sunnah is clear to a person compared to the explanation of a particular Madhab. However, a better understanding of the Madhabs can be found in the book "The Evolution of Fiqh: Islamic Law & the Madh-habs" by Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips from the link below: The Evolution of Fiqh: Islamic Law & the Madhhabs

[Emil Idris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad but I have to say I was disappointed with this book. Not that there was anything wrong with it per se, but it was not at all what I expected. I was looking forward to a detailed comparison of the 4 madhabs, but instead encountered a mere pamphlet describing the importance of following a madhab in general. The entire book is only 30 pages, half of them being footnotes. There is some useful information here but I suppose I will have to look elsewhere to gain a thorough understanding of the differences of the madhabs.

[M S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good luck reading this if you don’t have knowledge of the terminology used. I would say this book is a very good read to learn more about the evolution of the 4 madhabs. It’s a short but difficult read. The author praises the four madhabs and criticises the ones who choose another path but these. Eh all in all it’s a good read, even though difficult. I liked this quote from the book:

“A madhhab is, after all,
nothing more than a piece of precision equipment enabling us to see Islam with the maximum clarity possible.”

[Jeroen De Schutter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read, curious to learn more! The last sentence rings like a bell: “With every Muslim now a proud mujtahid, and with taqlid dismissed as a sin rather than a humble and necessary virtue, the divergent views which caused such pain in our early history will surely break surface again. Instead of four madhhabs in harmony, we will have a billion madhhabs in bitter and self-righteous conflict. No more brilliant scheme for the destruction of Islam could ever have been devised.”

[Shon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read part of this with the Imam of my mosque, then reread it again on my own. A very short book, essentially a research paper in pamphlet format. Literally half of the 30 pages of the book is the endnotes.

The text itself was clear and easy to read, and very interesting. The title is slightly misleading though; it is more of a text explaining the concept of a Madhhab and why it is necessary, and not a text explaining each of the four Maddhabs themselves.

[Osama Arshad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gives an overall very good introduction to the concept of Taqlid and why it is necessary in Islam. It was a rather concise read and I would've preferred more detail, however I'm glad that I read it.

[s · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing and eloquent. must-read for many muslims these days on the vitality of the four madhhabs, and adhering to sound scholarship.

[Jawwad Zafar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short book could've been an article instead

[Abdulaziz Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

An oustanding criticism of some certain groups of Muslims who follow their non-traditional revivalist "scholars" and reject the 4 schools of thought. It explains one of the core problems that has led to a partly disunified ummah. Dr. Abdulhakim Murad without a doubt is one of most eloquent English Muslim scholars.

[Faizanemadina · Rating 5 out of 5]

love it!

[Nurshafira Noh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief writing about this matter.

[Hizer Mir · Rating 1 out of 5]

full of logical fallacies and completely glosses over the very political reasons only four madhabs have survived.