The Four Great Leaders

I hope you are well, if not then we ask the Healer to heal and protect you.
This is only through the Mercy of of the Most-Merciful.

Over time, four schools of Fiqh(Islamic Jurisprudence) grew and flourished among the Muslims. To this day, those schools still hold a great deal of influence. These schools are:

The Hanafi School: This school developed in Kufah, where the companions Abdullah Ibn Masood and Ali Ibn Taalib lived. It is named after Abu Haneefah al-Numaan ibn Thaabit (80-150 A.H). He has been recognized by all as one of the greatest juristic minds in history of Islam. Along with Abu Haneefah himself, his students Abu Yoousuf, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan and Zafar, greatly contributed to the formation and development of this school. The Hanafi school is still dominant in modern-day Pakistan, India, Turkey, the ex-Soviet states and other parts of the Muslim world.

Abu Haneefah was asked, “If you made a statement that contradicts the Book of God, (what should be done)?” He replied, “Leave my statement for the Book of Allah.” It was then said, “(Suppose it contradicts a) report from the Messenger of God (SAW)?” He replied, “Leave my statement for the report of the Messenger of Allah (SAW).”
(Saalih al-Fulaani, Eeqaadh Himam Ooli-Absaar)

The Maliki School: This school developed in Madinah, the adopted home of the Prophet (SAW) and the residence of many of his Companions. The school is named after Maalik ibn Anas (95-179 A.H), a noted scholar of Hadith as well as a jurist. This school spread quickly to North Africa, where it continues to hold sway, and was the dominant school in Muslim Spain.

Imam Maalik is recorded to have said, “I am but a human being. I make mistakes and I am also correct (on other occasions). Examine my opinions. Take whatever (of my opinions) which are in agreement with the Book and the Sunnah(Prophetic Traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW)). And leave whatever (of my opinions) which do not agree with the Book and the Sunnah.”
(al-Fulaani p.97)

The Shaafi’ee school: This school is named after its founder, Muhammad Ibn Idrees al-Shaafi’ee (150-204 A.H). From a Makkan family, Al-Shaafi’ee moved to Madinah and studied under Imam Maalik. He also went to Iraq and had a dialogue with Muhammad Ibn al-Hasan, the student of Abu Haneefah. Al-Shaafi’ee was the first scholar to compile work on Islamic legal theory or Usool al-Fiqh. This work was a great contribution and, among other things, clearly spelled out the authority and place of the Sunnah in Islam. Today, the followers of the Shaafi’ee school can be found throughout Egypt, Syria, Malaysia, Indonesia and other places.

Al-Rabeeh reported that Imam Al-Shaafi’ee said, “If you find anything in my book that differs from the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (SAW), then speak according to the Sunnah of the Messenger and leave what I have said.”
Al-Shaafi’ee also said, “If the Hadith is authentic, it is my opinion.”
(Riyadh: Maktabah Taibah V.3 Pg.98)

The Hanbali school: This school is named after Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (164-241 A.H). Imam Ahmad was a great scholar of Hadith. He compiled one of the larger works of Hadith, entitled Musnad Ahmad. With respect to his fiqh, he was greatly influenced by his teacher Imam Al-Shaafi’ee. The Hanbali school is most dominant in modern-day Saudi Arabia.

Ahmad was asked whether it was better to follow Al-Auzaa’ee’s opinion or Malik’s, and he said, “In your religion, do not blindly follow any of those. Take what has come from the Prophet (SAW) and his Companions…”
(Al-Fulaani Pg.145)

One main aspect can be concluded from the statements of the Companions, the four great Imams, and other scholars: They all agreed that whatever comes from the Prophet (SAW), which is authentic, must be accepted and whatever comes from anyone else can only be accepted if it is not in conflict with what is stated in the Quran or Sunnah.

Every other human is subject to err while the Prophet (SAW) was guided by Allah and protected from committing error.

In other words, if one is presented with an authentic Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (SAW), he has no choice but to follow that Hadith.
He must give up his own personal opinion in favour of what the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said.
He must give up the opinion of his school of Fiqh, culture or traditions in favour of what has been authentically reported from the Prophet (SAW).
Issues are no longer open to debate, discussions or opinion once the Prophet (SAW) has stated something on that issue.

Unfortunately I will not be able to explain why some schools of Fiqh contradict authentic Ahadith because of its length. I am, however, willing to share with you many books on this subject as well as authentic Ahadith books including the Saheehayn and the Sunan books available in Arabic and English, or both. Email me if you want any of these books in PDF format. I will continue with the third and fourth source of Islam, and perhaps move on to the Ruling of Islam.
We ask Allah to guide us and to make us of those who understand His Deen

وعليكم السلم و رحمة الله و بركاتة